Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! June 2023.
This month’s question…
Do you have an item or tool or something that you made, or an implement meant for something else that you are using to assist you in your garden? Or have you seen something and thought of how you will use it? It could help with gardening, fencing, hangings, critter control, to name a few. It can also be something you have seen someone else use…
What is it and how should it be used?
Here’s some examples from my history:
My sister-in-law used an old golf bag to carry around her hoe, rake, gloves, spade, etc.
My uncle took an old stool and used it when pruning.
I use an old milk carton carrier, upside down, for a stool, then I turn it over and bring in anything I have pulled or cut to the big trash can. Also, when I’m smart enough, I have an apron with deep pockets for gloves, spade, etc.
I have seen broken pots used for decoration and I think they look lovely!
Jim Bishop, of 92103, stated…
… This works great for pulling out small weeds around cactus, other plants, around rocks and other places too dangerous or too tight for fingers.
Kathy Voltin shares…
… Disposable chopsticks make nice supports for new transplants that need a little support while rooting. They also mark either end of my seed row so that I know where the new plant is (and can pull out the weeds outside of that seed line). I also use bamboo skewers for the same purposes.
And Sharon Reeve declares…
… I use chopsticks to make holes for cuttings. Not really original, I know.
Also, Joanne Kemp replied…
… Chopsticks for planting succulents or propping up a single plant.
From Instructables 101+ Life Hacks Using Chopsticks: 9 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables comes "Step 5: Chopsticks in the Garden" and from The Farmers' Almanac comes 10 Clever Uses For Disposable Chopsticks - Farmers' Almanac - Plan Your Day. Grow Your Life. (farmersalmanac.com)
Marjorie Hardy shares…
… I purchase tulle fabric to keep critters, small and large, out of my garden. The fabric is very flexible and inexpensive.
Lori Smith responds…
… I use broken chimes from wind chimes as dibblers to make holes when I plant succulent.
Cindy Bruecks of 92107 claims…
… I have a lot of little micro-sprayers in the garden, and now that I also have a gardener, I find some of the micro-sprayers get damage: the little emitters knocked off, the arms on a 4 or 8-way spaghetti tubing head broken, etc. To mark the micro-spray equipment (and to make it easier to avoid an accidental collision with a trash container or a garden worker) I use PVC slip joints. I get the 4" size, nice and big, and drop one over each spray head or riser. I can even paint them a bright color so they are easily visible. I have a small meadow in the front yard (read wild grassland with some of the native bunch grasses four feet tall) and the slip joints have helped the workers see and avoid the all-to-fragile sprayers.
Cindy Sparks stated…
... Slip joints for micro-spray protection.
Cathy Tylka of 92026 reports…
... I sometimes use old, cracked pots, (nothing personal), to decorate my garden, but really, I’m cooling my roots!
I also used an old bed frame to make a panel for my Cecil Brunner to grow. It was several years ago, but now, since the rain, it is filling out!
And last, but not least, I use several layers of the Sunday newspaper to remove cactus for replanting…or I use an old piece of carpet. Of course, I’m wearing gloves!
Karen England of 92084 saw this …
… graveyard of broken pots at the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas recently and said aloud, to no one in particular, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Question for next Month…
What tastes good and grows in your garden. You can also wish it did! Also, tell us how you obtained it; bought seeds, small plants someone gave to you, was already there…?
Also, is it better this year since all our rain?
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