by Stan Logan | Oct 30, 2020 | Irrigation
I have always been cheap. My wife has been working on me to change this attitude for 50 years now, and I must admit that she has largely been successful. I still, however, really resist throwing anything away. It’s not that I am a hoarder, I just find extreme pleasure on finding a use for an object after I have saved it for years. I have junk drawers that are a challenge to close. This cheapness applies to tools as well. For instance, I am still using the wheelbarrow and sawhorses my dad (who was a contractor) gave me nearly 50 years ago—and they were old and beat up then!
Anyway, this impulsion to save stuff has resulted for instance in collection of old soaker hoses and pieces of soaker hoses that fill a garbage can. I’ve now decided that the garbage can is the best destination for this accumulation. You see, our main iris garden was watered by a variety of soaker hoses—different sizes and different ages. The result was very uneven watering—some parts were completely dry, some parts over watered, and there were frequent squirts here and there. LaVille would have to drag a hose through the garden and water everything every week. After listening to several complaints (she is careful not to nag), I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy new soaker hose. I was looking for ½ inch hose everywhere, but only found 3/8”. Interesting enough, I found the same brand at every store. For instance, the 50 foot SoakerPro by Element was about $17 at Home Depot. However, the same hose was $5.72 at the Lowes in West Sacramento. I jumped on that one! In fact, I bought two.
The hoses were easy to install. I first unrolled the coils and twisted it to take out all of the loops. Then as I dragged it through the garden I pinned it using “U” shaped wires made from coat hangers that I had been saving. When I turned on the water, I couldn’t believe how well the water was distributed. I bet this system could also be used to water lines of potted plants if they were, say, all one-gallon pots.
So, if you find that your soaker hose is squirting rather than dripping, head for West Sacramento. Don’t be cheap and take the hose out in the street and run over it with the car—which is the old, recommended treatment for soaker hoses that get clogged by minerals. You will love how much better a new hose works.
Happy dripping!
Stan, The Tool Man
by Stan Logan | Oct 30, 2020 | Garden tools, Weeds
Do you remember that day in high school biology when you dissected a night crawler? If you don’t, let me tell you that it is an earthworm about 7 inches long. You used your scalpel to carefully cut in incision in the dorsal surface at the anterior end. Then using a probe, you scratched at the tissue of the wall segments and pulled back and pinned the body walls to the wax of the dissection tray. Further scratching with the probe finally revealed the brain which consisted of two connected tiny white lumps lying on top of the esophagus. We called this process teasing, and I am reminded of my first dissection back in 1957 whenever I am fighting the oxalis growing in my lawn. I only have a few spots where oxalis insists on returning. Several years ago. I removed 8 square feet of lawn that was hopelessly infested with this weed. I thought I had eradicated it, but 2 or 3 areas continue to be a problem.
So weekly, after each mowing, I get down on my hands and knees and use a teasing technique to remove any oxalis before it has a chance to go to seed. The tool I use is a dinner plate knife because is it rigid, narrow, and had a dull rounded end. I grab the oxalis by the neck (not really the neck) and pull gently. At the same time, I tease (scratch) the soil where I figure the root is located. Generally. the root gives way and another plant bites the dust (so to speak).
I figure that I have a right to tell you about this experience because it does involve a tool, albeit a tool with very limited use. By the way, this is also the tool I use to spread peanut butter in the rat traps that I try to keep baited year-round.
I guess the one question remains—will I be able to completely tease the oxalis to death—or will it outlast me and tease me to death?
Stan, The Tool Man
P.S. My editor says the last line is a little grim.
Table knife as garden tool
by Stan Logan | Oct 11, 2020 | Safe Gardening
Have you recently been frustrated by having more garden refuse than your bin can hold? This has been my case in recent weeks as fall approaches and I have increasing amount of debris to get rid of. I have found that by climbing into my bin, and jumping up and down, I can compress the plant material into a much smaller volume. Now although this activity is a lot of fun, there are several dangers of which you must be aware. The plant material itself can be a threat if there are sharp pokey things that might penetrate your legs. Then too, the act of climbing into or out of a bin creates the possibility of a tumble. Then too, if you compress the plant material too low, you may not be able to escape. But I guess that’s OK since it’s an organic bin, and you are definitely organic. Sounds like a gruesome episode you might watch on TV about a missing person. Yuck.
I hope that you don’t have to face the weekly volume problem of garden refuse like I do. The City of Davis doesn’t do street pickups for 6 straight months! In any case, perhaps you should leave dumpster stomping to a local neighborhood child. They would probably love it.
Stan, The Tool Man
Polypropylene Dolly
by Stan Logan | Oct 10, 2020 | Safe Gardening
Have you recently been frustrated by having more garden refuse than your bin can hold? This has been my case in recent weeks as fall approaches and I have increasing amount of debris to get rid of. I have found that by climbing into my bin, and jumping up and down, I can compress the plant material into a much smaller volume. Now although this activity is a lot of fun, there are several dangers of which you must be aware. The plant material itself can be a threat if there are sharp pokey things that might penetrate your legs. Then too, the act of climbing into or out of a bin creates the possibility of a tumble. Then too, if you compress the plant material too low, you may not be able to escape. But I guess that’s OK since it’s an organic bin, and you are definitely organic. Sounds like a gruesome episode you might watch on TV about a missing person. Yuck.
I hope that you don’t have to face the weekly volume problem of garden refuse like I do. The City of Davis doesn’t do street pickups for 6 straight months! In any case, perhaps you should leave dumpster stomping to a local neighborhood child. They would probably love it.
Stan, The Tool Man
by Stan Logan | Oct 5, 2020 | Garden tools
How is organic dumpster diving different from ordinary dumpster diving? Well, ordinary dumpster diving has been around for decades—ever since dumpsters have been created to store discarded items. Organic dumpster diving is a more recent activity allowed by the recent effort to keep organic materials out of the landfill. Now, searching through the contents of your organic bin may seem somewhat unpleasant, if not downright disgusting. However, sometime a dive seems imperative. Have you ever been working with a favorite tool, and after depositing plant clipping or weeds into your organic bin, that beloved tool has disappeared? After endless searches has revealed no misplaced tool, the fear slowly arises that you have thrown away your tool. This happened to me several days ago when my hand rake suddenly disappeared. So, I pulled the garden refuse out of my bin. No tool. Then I went over to my neighbor’s bin, to which I had added my excess, and pulled all the plant material out and into a garbage can. No tool. Now I must admit that most organic dumpster dives are unsuccessful. I figure the success rate is about 20%. And sure enough, I later found the hand rake lying on the back of the Prius in the driveway. I continues to amaze me how I will have absolutely no recollection of where I put something down.
So, I guess I’d have to say that organic dumpster diving is not something I think you’ll enjoy, but it is the only way that you can be assured that your treasured tool is not gone forever.
Happy diving (?)
Stan, The Tool Man
