No vegetable gardener should be without one of these handy tools.

It is simple to make and ensures that your vegetables are planted at the correct spacing equally, which enhances the overall appearance.

All you need is a 4' length of roofing lathe. This is already impregnated with preservative, so it will last longer and saves you the trouble of having to apply the preservative yourself.

Mark out, using a pencil and ruler, every 6". Using a handsaw cut a shallow groove across the wood on the pencil marks that you have made. If you wish you can mark the 1' measurements by knocking in nails - 1 nail for the 1' mark, 2 nails for the 2' mark and so on.

It is now simple enough to plant out at 3" spacings, 6", 9" 12" etc. And all the spacing will be exact.

You can also use the marker to make seed drills. Simply lay the marker where you want to sow the seeds and using your handy dibber, run it down the side of the marker. This will make a small furrow suitable for sowing your seeds in, which will be perfectly straight.

Most gardeners tend to have a broken spade or fork handle lying about. By cutting it off to a suitable length and using a sharp knife (always away from you), taper the end to a blunt point. You now have a dibber for making holes prior to transplanting your seedlings or Onion sets.

A garden line is a handy piece of equipment. You can use it in conjunction with your marker board and dibber to ensure your rows run parallel to each other, mark out seed drills, mark out edges, the list goes on.

All you need are 2 pieces of 1" square timber about a foot long and a ball of nylon string. You can sharpen one end of the wooden stakes if you wish, it can make it easier to push into the ground, but if your soil has been recently dug you shouldn't need to. The string can either be unwound from the ball onto one of the stakes, or, if there is a hole down the centre of the ball you can just push it over the stake.

Tie the loose end of the string to the other stake and you have yourself a garden line.

When sowing seedlings a small sieve can be a tremendous help in covering the seeds with a fine layer of compost.

You will need a piece of fine mesh (approximately 1/16") about 1 foot square. Ideas for this mesh include - the plastic netting sometimes sold for pond use, a sheet of aluminium mesh sold in car accessory shops for reinforcing fibreglass, and 4 pieces of timber approximately 1 1/2" x 1" about a foot long.

Using waterproof wood glue, make up a square box. When the glue has set, cut the mesh to the same size as the outside of the box. Fasten the mesh to the box using small broad headed tacks (drawing pins can be used if the nylon mesh is used).

Your sieve is now ready for use. You will find that the compost will go through it better if it is allowed to dry out slightly.

When sowing seedlings it is best to sow on a flat surface of compost.

A selection of firming boards can be made to do this job.

All you need is some 3/8" plywood and some dowel about 3/4" - 1" in diameter.

Using the container that you intend to sow your seeds in, mark around it onto the plywood. Cut out the shape, cutting about 1/8" inside the line you have marked out. Cut a length of the dowel to a suitable length for a handle (about 2"- 3") and glue or nail the dowel to the centre of the board you have cut out. Smooth all the edges with a piece of sandpaper. You now have your firming board.

To use, lightly fill your container with compost without pressing it down. Smooth off level with the top of the container and press your board on top to firm it down. This will give the correct amount of compaction that the compost requires.

I use various sizes of containers for sowing seeds, depending upon what the seeds are, so I have made up the following boards - full size, half size, quarter size seed trays, 1 1/2", 3", 4" and 6" plantpots.

To ensure that your firming boards last a lifetime and do not have to be replaced, seal them with a polyurethane varnish.

This handy little tool can be made in a matter of no time and can be used for cleaning soil from your boots or from tools.

Mark out onto 3/8" plywood or a piece of timber the shape in the diagram. Cut out the shape and bevel the front edge. Smooth all the edges with sandpaper.

Now, when digging and the soil clogs your spade, you can scrape it off with your handy scraper, or, you can make sure all the soil is off your shoes before going indoors (and, if like me, getting nagged at for treading soil into the house).

Last updated 9 March, 2002
© copyright 1999, P. A. Owen