Garden Tools II

I've done some repairs/modifications to existing tools i've had around the yard.

This first one is a digging bar. I made it from the leftover beak side of a pick-mattock i bought last year from wal-mart.the bar is 3/4 black pipe with a piece of 5/8'' rebar down the center for additional wieght. I used plumber's putty to join the pieces after grinding down a nipple on the end of the beak.This fit just perfectly into the pipe! Dad's addage of measure 2x cut 1x works well, but I've modified it a little. Measure  & cut ad nauseam infinitum.
The second piece is the companion to the digging bar. it's the mattock side. I originally bought the pick/mattock from Walmart last fall. Three weeks ago i was clearing a small weed patch and stopped to rest a moment. while leaning on the handle,it snapped with no warning! I'm just grateful I wasn't swinging it at the time! Never buying garden tools from Walmart again (and if I can I'll just craft them from what I have lying around!)
Third is a leaf rake. the handle snapped about three weeks ago, so I put a piece of 1/4-in. PVC pipe onto it, shoved 5/8-in. rebar down the center adn bolted it on. Viola!
The last one is the first one I made almost a year ago and was the first one i did. I'd just bought the new leaf rake adn rather than throw out the older one wich had some badly bent tines, I just cut off the outer ones and re-aligned the innner ones. Now I have a rake that can get into the chicken house door to clean it out. (Eeww!)
I'll post pics here later.

Garden Tools

here are a few pics of handy tools past & present. this one was made from an 8'' ripsaw blade, a brass latch bolt, a mesquite branch and a braided length of pink mason's twine. I cut the blade into shape and on the largest edge, i just cut off the teeth of the saw and ground a utility edge to it. the latch and the rope keep a bit of tension on the blade to keep it tight. due to its thinness, it was a nice sharp blade that took out weeds nicely. I gave this to Tara when she lived at the Ivyglenn address when she had started her garden.

This next one was my personal favorite because of its thin blade and the curve of the handle. the blade is from an old squarepoint shovel, mesquite handle, and some lag screws I had in the garage. It kept an edge nicely and was great for weeding in hard to reach areas.

This final one was also made from an old squarepoint shovel and

some bolts, and 1/4 '' galvanized steel pipe and a floor flange. this one I made for Jill and she used it on occaison. it was very good for

slicing weeds (or toes ir one was not careful!). I used it on occaison

and we still have sixty toes.

tomato pics

Here are the dozen "Black Prince" plants-these were planted in early October. i always plant by the dozen as that makes for happy plants. As for pests, the jungle-like atmosphere it creates by having the plants so close together attracts predators. the closeness also assists pollenation, shades the soil in the summer, insulates it in winter, etc. the branches also help hold eachother up

Halloween 2010