Tag Archives: tools

Black Friday for gardeners

I was going to post a bunch of Black Friday deals for gardeners here but it is going to be easier for me to post them at Allium Fields on Facebook instead, so please look there.

As I said there:

I want to make clear that with these Black Friday posts I am NOT encouraging people to buy things you don’t actually need.

However, using drip irrigation properly saves water; using the same trellis for a decade rather than buying new ones each year saves energy, and so on.

So if you’re going to buy things that help save the planet as well as make gardening easier and more fun, you may as well buy them on sale. Buying a new TV every year is complete nonsense and a waste of your money as well as damaging the planet.

Carry on!

Black Friday 2017 – Dripworks

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I’m going to post a few Black Friday offerings over the next few days from garden-related places I like. If you’ve got any to add, feel free to drop them in the comments or drop me a line.

Dripworks is a good site for irrigation items (tubing, emitters, timers and more) that offers not only good products but good advice, with “How to” videos and sample layouts to help you design your irrigation system.

If you’re new to irrigation, look at their pre-designed “kits” for sale. You can always add to or adjust your system from these kits, so they’re a great way to start.

They’ve got an offer now until 11/26: Spend $49+ get 20% OFF Retail order. Enter promo code (BF20R17).

Potato bags, bins and harvests

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We grow potatoes more for the fun than the quantity, since I’m the only one that eats them. This is half of this year’s crop.

This is half of our potato crop. At home we grow them in potato “bags” made of polypropylene. At schools and other places we grow them in storage containers with holes drilled in them.

One great thing about this method is that once you run out of space in the garden you can just plunk a tub anywhere, regardless of soil quality (or any soil at all) and grow potatoes. Continue reading →

Easy compost turning with video

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Turning compost can be difficult for people with limited upper body strength, a bad back or limited height, depending on the style compost unit you use. Plunging a pitchfork or shovel into a pile is easy, but lifting that material may not be.

What we’ve found is that a long bulb auger does the job well, at the right price. Continue reading →

Quick and easy rabbit protection

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Baby kale tucked safely away from nibbly rabbit teeth.

Cute and fluffy, rabbits can cause a lot of damage to your leafy greens, broccoli and more.

While a hinged cover on a raised bed is great, it doesn’t make sense for everybody, especially if you don’t have a raised bed. Fencing an entire garden can be costly and not necessarily effective, as rabbits can hop over low fences when they want to, and humans can have a hard time getting over tall fences.

A smaller, less cumbersome and less expensive solution can be found in chicken wire “chimneys” or cylinders. (See video below.)

Continue reading →

Hinged garden covers for raised beds

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Dolorean hinged garden protection to keep out critters.

I help maintain a raised bed garden at a local preschool where the garden animals include not just kids, but also: Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, rabbits, groundhogs, moles/voles, turkey and deer.

For a few years this has meant that any peas, carrots or greens (lettuce, broccoli, etc.) planted would never grow to harvest. So when the kids said they want to grow strawberries, something had to be done to prevent a complete loss.

Thus came the Delorean hinged cover. Continue reading →

Making large paper pots

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Now that we know newspaper is as safe as anything else to use in the garden, here is a quick tutorial on how to make paper pots.

I generally use a soil block maker to start seeds and then another block maker for transplanting, but when I do make small paper pots, I use this wooden maker. However, you can use the same technique to make smaller pots using any concave-bottom-shaped vessel – some people use tomato paste cans, for example.

In this example, I’m making large paper pots – I typically use this size for tomato or pepper seedlings as their final up-potting before they get planted.

How to make large paper pots: Continue reading →

Compost: Stuff you need to start composting

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It is the most basic of questions: What ‘stuff’ do I need to if I’m going to start composting?

Not surprisingly, the answers are simple and inexpensive. You can compost with a gold-plated compost unit or some pallets tied together, and you can always change things around later.

Here are some basics that I recommend: Continue reading →

Wicked light, wicked strong, compost sifter

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Compost screens, finished and unfinished.

I’ve taught a few classes and done some exhibits about compost recently and have had a great time answering questions.

Several people have asked about the sifter/screen I use. I always point out that you don’t really need a screen, or that in a pinch a milk crate will do the job, but if you want a screen to give you a finer product, then this is a great, sturdy, lightweight unit.

Most people with just a few tools can build this compost screen which is designed to be light enough that people with limited upper-body strength can use it. The arms rest across most wheelbarrows and it is sturdy enough to handle sifting compost or getting rocks out of soil. Continue reading →