The frugal gardener is a resourceful character. If you take a look in their garden shed, you are libel to see a great many homemade gardening handy helpers. Do it yourself garden projects will most likely abound everywhere for the frugal gardener. Just like any frugal gardener, the Hillbilly Gardener takes great pleasure in homemade projects of all kinds. Much of this is born out of necessity. But even if that were not the case, the Hillbilly Gardener would still pursue do it yourself backyard projects because, like any frugal gardener, he enjoys inexpensive gardening and the feeling of accomplishment that comes from doing it himself. The frugal gardener hates waste and like any gardener, they want to make every task as easy and simple as possible. Often, this comes in the form of little do it yourself garden projects that address the simplest of things that they do. Here in the Garden of Weedin, the Hillbilly Gardener has added garden ergonomics to his list of areas that he seeks to address. Actually, garden ergonomics is an area that should have been addressed years ago by the Hillbilly Gardener. Today, the Hillbilly Gardner can't stress enough the need to start addressing and practicing garden ergonomics early in life. Homemade projects that address not just garden ergonomics, but any area that requires any form of physical effort, waste and/or cost are good areas for the frugal gardener to apply homemade gardening handy helpers. It doesn't matter at all if your inexpensive gardening homemade projects are not as fancy or as pretty as a store-bought version. Get that notion out of your mind right now. The only one that your do it yourself garden projects have to please is yourself. If they fill a need, save cost and stop waste or make life easier in any way then your homemade gardening projects are a success and after all, you are the ONLY one that has to be pleased with your homemade projects (unless it upsets the neighbors or violates some municipal ordinance of course). The frugal gardener also realizes that often do it yourself backyard projects are the only way to obtain that gizmo or gadget that will address their need or want because the item is not available commercially. Bear in mind that commercially available products are normally driven by what the mass market wants and/or will buy. It is unfortunate indeed that all to often, what a person buys is what some slick advertising tells them to buy. The need and/or want of the individual and discerning frugal gardener often falls outside of what the commercial market considers viable or profitable. Besides, no one knows your need and/or want better than you do. The Hillbilly Gardener often hears "I'm not talented enough to do that" or "I'm not mechanically inclined" or some other such nonsense. I'm here to tell everyone who will listen – "You are very much more talented than you give yourself credit for being" and you can tell everyone the Hillbilly Gardener told you so. All most folks need to get started on your own homemade projects or your own handy helpers is a little encouragement. Well consider yourself encouraged and the Hillbilly Gardener is rooting for you. Do you know someone who is pretty handy with tools and fixing things? Do you have difficulty knowing where to start? Well, the next time you have an idea, go to them and ask them to give you some tips on getting started. I'll bet they would not mind at all helping you out. In fact, I'll bet that most of them would enjoy it and you might just give them an idea or two as well for some do it yourself backyard projects that they will want to do themselves. If not – drop me a line – the Hillbilly Gardener would love the opportunity to help any way he can. Homemade gardening gizmos and other handy helpers can make any Garden of Weedin inexpensive gardening and any gardener a truly frugal gardener. One that can take pride in the fact that they did it themselves, saved some money and/or time and stopped some waste. Drop the Hillbilly Gardener a line and let us know about some of your own handy helpers or do it yourself garden projects. We would love to hear about them and if you give us permission to do so, we would like the opportunity to share them with others right here. The efforts of each of us shared with all of us makes each of our own Garden of Weedin's a little bit better place. To each of you, the Hillbilly Gardener wishes you the very best. May your harvests be bountiful and your weeds few. the "Hillbilly Gardener" Back To The Top Back To The Tips And Tricks Index NOTE Please take a moment to read the cautionary notes before checking out our tips and tricks. Think of these as "Safety And Satisfaction Tips". (Click Here) |
Handy Coat Holder Pole Spring and fall are two seasons of high activity for gardeners. But, as is normal for these seasons, you start out in a jacket but soon start dressing down as the temperature and your activity level rises. Your jacket gets hung from whatever is handy and before you know it, it's in the dirt. Or it gets late, you're gathering your tools for the day and because your jacket is tossed across the fence across the way, it's left out all night. It rains during the night or there's a heavy dew and the next morning you get ready to get busy and start looking for your jacket and then it hits you - I left it out on the fence! You're already hauling tools to where you're working. Why not add this handy little helper to your arsenal and always have your jacket handy and clean. And best of all, its right there at the end of the day to remind you to grab it as well as your tools.  Using whatever wood you have handy that is lightweight and about 4 to 5 feet long, sharpen one end to go into the ground. This can be a fancy, smooth point if you like or a simple "hatchet point". You're the only one you have to please here. |  Attach an inexpensive coat hook to the pole near the top. Feel free to paint or decorate the pole to match your tastes if you like. I'm rather partial to "John Deere Green" with a "John Deere Yellow" hook myself. | 
Finished coat hook pole. Always handy. I'll come back and paint it later as one of my fall projects. |
Tame That Twine Twine is used by virtually all gardeners for virtually everything. It has become an invaluable part of every gardeners tool box. We use it to tie up tomatoes, vines and straying flower stalks. Bags of fertilizer get tied by twine, tools hung by twine and roses trained by twine. A need arises and we trustingly reach into our bucket for our trusty twine. But this time, we reach into our bucket and pull out something more resembling the remnants of a discarded birds nest than a ball of twine. We poke, pull, twist and weave the tangled mess, cutting off short pieces at a time until out of frustration, we throw the whole mess away and look for another. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to have twine ready to use and tangle free at a moments notice any time we needed it. Well, the following dispenser may not be 100% foolproof all of the time, but it's pretty dare close. The following twine dispenser uses a 32oz Kraft Miracle Whip® plastic jar, which is sized for two of the rolls of twine I buy almost as if it had been designed for this purpose. Any wide-mouth jar that will fit two rolls of twine without letting them flop around much will probably work as well. I use predominately biodegradable jute twine (dyed green when I can find it) in the garden that can go directly into the compost. 
After a thorough cleaning, start by drilling a 5/16 inch hole in the center of the lid. To make drilling without catching and possibly cracking the lid or injuring your hand, start out with a small drill bit and work your way up through several sizes until you reach 5/16 inch. | 
After unwrapping two balls of twine, locate both the inner and outer ends of the twine. Next, tie the inner end of one ball to the outer end of the second ball of twine using a square knot. This is one of two important steps in order to make the balls feed properly. | 
After pulling the knot tight, trim the ends no longer than 1/4 inch from the knot, but do not trim the excess next to the knot or it may come untied. | 
Now you're ready to load your twine into your dispenser. This is critical to making it work. Stack your balls of twine on top of each other so that the ball with the free end coming from the center is on top. This ball is placed on top of the second ball on the same side where the end is coming out of the center. | Envision it this way, as the twine is pulled from the center out of the first ball of twine. As it gets to the outside end of the first ball of twine, it will start pulling the twine from the inside out of the second ball. The string feeds inside out, inside out. | 
Next insert the free end of the twine (this will be coming from the center of the top ball of twine) through the hole in the lid. |  The finished twine dispenser ready to go into my garden tool bucket. | The one thing I might add to this dispenser is a small spring clip to hold the string from being accidentally pulled out. I'm also working on a way to add a belt clip. When finished, I'll pass these on to you. | |
Back To The Top Back To The Tips And Tricks Index
Handy Tool Totes There's no doubt that walking is good for you. But one of the most frustrating things facing most gardeners is running back and forth to the garden shed to retrieve simple tools you need during your day in the the garden. End those frustrating trips by having all of your common tools with you at once. Bucket Aprons Aren't Just For The Handy Man Most gardeners use a wide variety of small tools and basic supplies during a day in the garden. One of the handiest inventions for organizing small tools in one place was never intended for the garden. | 
A 5 gallon bucket equipped with a "bucket apron" will hold all of the hand tools and basic supplies most gardeners will use throughout a day in the garden. | 
| But I've Just Got A Few Small Chores To Do The same principles apply for the gardener who only has a few small chores to do. Eliminate steps back and forth to the garden shed and make your day more productive. |  Here, a handy "multi-compartment tote" can hold all of the tools and supplies you will need | to do a few chores or some planting. These are available in the hardware or housecleaning departments of most hardware stores or home centers. | I've Only Got A Couple Of Big Jobs To Do Even with only a couple of jobs to do, it's amazing how many tools you will end up using. At the end of the day you might be amazed how many tools you have out to put away and just how many trips you made back and forth to the tool shed. | This tip uses a handy tub and a "two-wheeled dolly" to haul everything at once to save you trips and save the back. A two-wheeled dolly should be a part of every gardeners tool arsenal to save your back anyway. The tub is often replaced with a large trash can here in the Garden of Weedin. | 
|
Back To The Top Back To The Tips And Tricks Index
Tool Rest 
Note the "John Deere Green" Tools. A good winter project to protect handles and metal parts. | When you're working in the garden, do your long-handled tools always manage to end up on the ground? If so, you know how much of a bother it can be to pick them up and if you have back issues it can be a real "pain in the back". Add to this the safety issues of stepping on or tripping over the tools on the ground. Therefore, tools on the ground are much more than an inconvenience. Construct simple tool rests and strategically locate them throughout your garden. Here, the Hillbilly Gardener constructed this simple tool rest out of scrap lumber and painted it so that it could also be used as a decorating element when not in use. |
Bucket Stakes What gardener hasn't had the task of chasing down buckets and watering cans that have blown here and there. Or they are never where you need them the most. Make handy bucket holders out of old broom handles or whatever to place anywhere you want to keep a bucket or watering can handy. Storing them upside down keeps rain, leaves and other debris out and no more chasing down your buckets. Here, these may be cheap mop handles, but why not give them a second use before discarding them and I don't have to hunt down a watering can when I want to water or string long lengths of garden hose for a small watering job. | 
|
Easy Bulk Handling 
Trash cans are also a great way to store dry leaves, ground straw, dried finished compost, etc. until you're ready to use it. Cheap storage for the frugal gardener. | How often have you had a heavy day of pruning, weeding or raking leaves and at the end of the day you were left with piles of material to pick up? Oh sure, some might say "why not just put the material into a wheelbarrow, etc. ?" How often have you gotten busy doing some pruning, weeding, etc. and suddenly realized you needed to get a load of compost, etc. ? You must stop what you're doing and go unload the wheelbarrow first right? Large wheeled trash cans are inexpensive and if taken to the garden with you to place materials in as you collect them, saves the back-work. If you purchase wheeled units, the moving is easy and if you get interrupted or don't feel like dumping it right then - no problem, Just put the lid on it until you're ready! They're great for storing bulk materials in as well. |
Back To The Top Back To The Tips And Tricks Index
Spray Bottles What gardener doesn't use spray bottles? They come in handy for so many uses. Look around your house. How many products do you have that are in spray bottles? Most of these can be recycled to use in and around the garden and keep them out of the landfill. WARNING - Never place chlorine or chlorinated products in bottles that have contained an alkaline product or vice versa. The two chemicals can have a dangerous reaction, even with the bottle thoroughly rinsed out. CAUTION - Always thoroughly rinse bottles out before reusing them for any purpose! First with cold water and then a second time with very hot water. | 
The names were obliterated to avoid the appearance of a possible endorsement and to avoid letting anyone know just how cheap the Hillbilly Gardener really is. |
Build A Utility Area 
This utility area can easily be framed in and back-filled with gravel or even concrete at a later point if desired for a neater or more "finished" look. The choice is yours. | Every frugal gardener collects "stuff". There are always compost bins, pots, tubs, bags of soil and amendments, fencing, etc. All to often, these wind up taking up room in a garage or shed. Many of these can be stored outside. Find an out-of-the-way place that is still handy and create a utility area dedicated to outdoor garden storage. If it will be viewed by others or passers by, the area can be screened with fencing to block the view. This area can even be easily equipped with outdoor shelving if you like in order to better utilize your vertical space. |
Back To The Top Back To The Tips And Tricks Index
the "Hillbilly Gardener" |
