Too Much Stuff! Part 3: Make and Repurpose

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

I run a community garden group (around 100 people) and collect all our ex-compost bags, dumpy bags etc for re-use. We refill them - storing or moving old top soil, gravel, building works, moving shrubs etc. Growing potatoes (roll down the tops of the bags to fill them). They are also great for making leaf mould etc on a small scale. Last year I gave a huge load of 100 bags to an allotment holder who needed a great many. The bags are also good for opening out - for blocking out light for no dig beds/ dealing with weeds, lining ponds or planters. Maybe collect your bags, buckets, bottles etc and put high quantities on Freecycle or similar. ----- In trying to hold to a semi-permaculture mode of rehoming everything hyper-locally - the phone tech is now good enough for homes to be pretty easily found for everything - in London, at least. Old Bottles, bags, tarps, pipes, hoses, old tools, corks, gravel, pallets, plastic sheeting - pretty much everything can be found a new use. Having three big allotments near by is helpful for this. Also, it really helps knowing where these homes are now, so that there can be an easy flow through. I can dig out an old bed for a pond, knowing exactly who will want the top soil, or get a dumpy bag of manure, knowing a dozen people will find the bag really, genuinely useful for their projects. Unwanted stuff doesn't pile up and storage doesn't become a problem.

[@andersonomo597]

Corks - any suggestions on how to reuse them, please? I have a boxful that I want to get rid of - wine here is all now with Stelvin or screw top closures (or in casks, which aren't too bad for everyday enjoyment). I was thinking of burning them but would prefer a better solution - Thanks!!

[@REDGardens]

Yes, they are really good for leaf mould at a small scale, and for containing all the different soil mixes or material I collect or mix.

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

@@andersonomo597 I dig out a hole in the cork middle and glue them onto bamboo sticks to stop people getting poked by them in a public planting area. I use the sticks around pavement planting areas to stop passers by walking over the beds. I get through dozens of corks like this. Community groups donated old nail polish and we decorated the corks so people could see the sparkles on the sticks at night. They are effective without being a trip hazard. Corks are also good to make ink and paint stamps (in the way of cut potatoes). I use cut corks to silence doors that slam or bang. - - Natural cork takes paint, nail polish, glue, wood glue very well. It's a good insultator too. There should be all sorts of garden applications for viewing corks (and glue) in the way of Lego. 🌱 They should compost pretty well over time.

[@andersonomo597]

I love the sheltered seating area - and it gives me hope that you DO occasionally take a break! My garden is a tiny fraction of the area you manage so I can only imagine the work and effort you put into such a large expanse. Great video - and inspiring as always. Now I just have to get away from the screen and put that inspiration into practice!

[@REDGardens]

I can't believe that it took me so long to build something like that. I often want to bring my laptop up to the gardens to do some record keeping and update everything, but it was always too bright, and didn't have a clean and dry place to keep it out of the sun, but this new shelter works well for that.

[@teac117]

Japanese method for microclimate. 3-4 stakes. Old plastic bag from soil/compost delivery. Cut the top open and slide it down. Works the same as your cloche with mesh sans insect barrier.

[@REDGardens]

Sounds like an interesting thing to try.

[@stathisxanthopoulos1933]

i feel like this channel deserves a lot more attention than the one it has until now

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@marksmit5193]

6:05 I think your cloches for the poly culture garden work less well because of the mesh on top. The mesh allows convection, removing the greenhouse function. If used for warmth then it would be better to have a small portion near the bottom for ventilation. Kind regards and thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and findings!!

[@kittencollective]

You just gave me a great idea to tag plantings for this season. thank you!!

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@watashinoetube]

This video gives us enormous amount of useful information

[@REDGardens]

Excellent! Glad to hear.

[@wendygreenfield9631]

We use discarded bricks to hold row covers. They are quite tidy looking and store easily in compact piles at the end of the row.

[@BattlingApathy]

This has been a great mini-series. It's amazing how much stuff can be accumulated, even if you're still using it all! Until this year I have always just 'inherited' buckets for the garden, which has been frustrating because they're often in poor condition, don't stack, or aren't large enough. I decided to invest in a couple of heavy-duty buckets for moving material in the scale between a shovel and a wheelbarrow - particularly for compost or woodchip. Transoplast from the Netherlands makes a heavy-duty 30L bucket that is fantastic. They are really robust, and (can) hold a lot more than the standard 10L. It's a bit pricey, but I figure a long-term investment in quality tools can be worthwhile.

[@MeowMeowKapow]

Oh!! I can help with the fading labels! I used to run an art channel (this channel I'm writing from, actually) and one of the biggest issues in some of the mediums I used was lightfastness, meaning how much they do or don't fade in the sun. Sharpies are NOT lightfast, pretty much at all. Just by switching your marker, you'll immediately get better results. You have some options that are relatively accessible, like getting artists pens that have proven to be lightfast and waterproof. Some that could be useful would include Sakura Pigma Microns, or Tombow Fudenosuke, both of which are definitely waterproof and have decent lightfastness. Or the Tombow Mono drawing pens. I personally, last year, used the Staedler Lumocolor permanent garden pens on my labels, and just pulled some up with weekend that were still super clear and barely, if at all, faded. Most india ink markers or pens will be lightfast and waterproof, and are very easy to find both online, in art stores, and in big box stores. Sharpies, while convenient, really are not the right choice for anything that will touch the sun-they can completely fade within about three or four months, depending on conditions..

[@MeowMeowKapow]

Oh, and this year, as an experiment, I'm marking some of my plants using some Posca pens I just happen to have an abundance of. They're acrylic paint pens, so they're permanent and also colorful. If they are lightfast, though, remains to be seen. I'm also trialling two inexpensive pens I got from amazon, with no expectation for them to start with as Idon't know the quality of their pigment, going into this season. Guess I'll find out, going out!

[@REDGardens]

Wow, thank you for detailing all those options. It was really disappointing to see them fade so quickly, in a couple of months some if them were almost gone. I didn’t realise that switching pens would make so much of a difference, but makes sense. Thanks.

[@gazdazpanelaku]

Bruce, thank you for your work. Really great job.

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@NannaCarlstedt2]

Ben, If you put some hard wax on the sticks instead of oil it will be much easier to write on them, and your pen will definitely last much longer...

[@REDGardens]

That would be an interesting thing to try. Someone else recommended a type of UV resistant marker (I didn't know they existed), and am going to try that out.

[@angelad.8944]

You could burn the letters into the labels. That would be shallow enough to carve out every season but not wear off all the time. Worth trying on some this year to see how the words weather over the season. You just need one of those wood burning pens. I too am at the point of sorting through and really thinking about inventory verses usefulness. As you gardens evolve, so too should your inventory. You have shared many good thoughts and ideas here today. Thank you. ☺

[@richm5889]

Great video! I love the additional use of pallets for storage and sheds. I'm dealing with too much stuff to and in my small community garden I use loops of wire attached my fencing and use them to contain my various stakes of all types of materials.

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@jeshurunfarm]

Harvesting containers are cool. I have a lot of them. Thanks Red.

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@carolepearson5512]

Absolutely love your videos, always informative and always varied in your approach to the subject… just wondering though when are you going to shell those drying beans that are your background??

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. Those beans are login to be left until later in the spring! Most of them are not in good shape because of the humidity, and I left the pods and vines there as a backdrop for these videos. So just decoration at them moment!

[@marxagarden]

Excited to put some of your organization practices to work at our garden. Using the pallet bays for a variety of uses other than compost is an excellent idea and I like that a roof can always be added when needed.

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@marqessanzcora4089]

Thanks for every detail mentioned 🤝🏼

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@latinoenturquia8486]

Thank you for sharing success and failing because some of your ideas I was thinking of implementing and now I can see that maybe others are better.. Thanks !!!

[@REDGardens]

it would be great if people benefit from my mistakes! 🙂

[@josephsaid6922]

Always enjoy your videos. Mississauga

[@REDGardens]

Glad you like them!

[@wond3rgnome637]

I looked into labels marking and found wax pencils work well. In the end I bought Artline Garden Markers last year and those labels have lasted around 6 months so far.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the suggestion. Others have recommended getting special UV resistant markers - I didn't even think that there would probably be such a thing!

[@od1bo]

@@REDGardens I use grease pencils aka China markers (as in the dish-ware) with good success on plastic wood and aluminum stakes I have. The white ones are great for writing on the side of pots. They also tolerate writing with a little water around. edit: thanks for the vid, good lesson to regulate what you bring in!

[@tubthump]

@@od1bo cut pot noodle pots into appropriate sized strips. Write on the white side with chinagraph pencil. Wipe off with dry cloth and re-use.

[@LjubomirSimin]

All three videos on this topic are so relatable! Spot on.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! Glad you appreciated them.

[@permiebird937]

One way to store the reused plastic bottles is to stack them on a rope through the handles then hang. Hang either from one end, or run both along the ceiling like a swag.

[@REDGardens]

I have used a piece of twine to keep them together, but I should try hanging them from the roof.

[@klauskarolina]

I love your honesty and practicality. This wooden plant labels are amazing 😍. I use a soft pencil to write plant variety on a stick, it keeps better than a sharpie marker.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I suspect a soft pencil would work quite well.

[@marenlc]

@@REDGardens A garden marker (like a Sharpie but lightfast) or a wax pencil are also better than Sharpies for plant labels. I love the stick-label idea!

[@ashmash1934]

Dude, definitely grow some bamboo!!! I inherited a patch at my place in Wales and I use tons of it every year for all my garden structures: peas, beans, toms, cucumbers etc. Plus when it's thin, young and green it's really flexible so you can even use it to make hoop-like supports for fleece, mesh and netting. It dries curved and then stays that way. Must have saved me many hundreds of pounds over the last 12 years. One of the best things in my garden and I never even planted it. I just use twine and bamboo for EVERYTHING, so have nothing to store really. I have a pile of older bamboo, but every year I cut some new stuff for new things I'm making and some older stuff gets chopped up and chucked on the compost heap. No mess/storage and no waste and no cost. Well, I buy twine/mesh and fleece I guess, so very low cost and low storage is probably more accurate. ;)

[@kurt5490]

I thought the purpose of the water jugs under the fleece was to moderate the overnight temps to protect from frost. Not " help it grow faster". This might be a benefit. Would painting them black help them absorb more heat energy and resist UV degradation?

[@KarenLoasby]

We did an experiment with our stick labels to see what would reduce fading of their pyrography wording. Linseed oil didn't have any noticeable difference to untreated labels. Danish oil and yacht vanish both darkened but were still readable. The best results were the ones were treated with OSMO UV. But Osmo would be an expensive and time consuming route for lots of plant labels, so mostly I just turn the labels away from the sun now.

[@thenortonfamilyhomestead]

I love the bush bean support idea! I've been growing bush beans for quite a while (definitely one of my favorite plants), and never thought to support them like that!

[@REDGardens]

It worked well for me, though the panels were a fair amount of work to cut out.

[@dojodance]

I use large feed bags on paths and under fencing for weed control

[@REDGardens]

I should do that around some of the storage units I am building.

[@samuelclark1095]

Your channel is going to be my new Growing Guide. I hope to convert a portion of my oak woodlands, where I have a few clearings, into a productive growing space. I am very fortunate to own a pond for water but I've tested it for tannin and ph it is unusable for most plants and it causes most root vegetable crops to be lacking in flavor or become bitter. If anyone in the comments has any insights I would appreciate it. I've considered building a primitive water filter to process water before use, but feel I still need to buffer the acidity. Thank you so much for providing your experiences in the great detail that you do.

[@REDGardens]

That is an interesting issue, and something I done have any knowledge of. Hopefully someone else may be able to provide some insights.

[@jabolbot9371]

Oh THANK YOU! This was a great subject! I’ll have to go back and find part 1. Appreciate all that you share.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@etiennelouw9244]

I did see a nettle growing in there in the video, nettles soaked in water for 2 weeks are a good spray for aphids.

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@nicohelpdesk435]

Wow. Impressive management for all your stuff. Loving your ideas for outdoors storage with covered pallets. It makes sense to scavenge too many things as most stuff can probably be repurposed to a new future idea as you do. Your use of plastic containers with water to increase soil temp at night, I may be wrong on the dates of need but you could probably use some stones lieing around that bother you for the same purpose. Anyways, thanks very much as always for your brilliant breakdowns and experiments.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. The covered pallets do work well for me as I can get my hands on lots of pallets, and have leftover plastic to use, which I find work well in combination.

[@startingfromseed3]

Cattle panel and welded wire with t-posts are some of the best choices for vining crops. They last forever. Pounding the t-posts is the hardest part.

[@REDGardens]

For some strange reason, cattle panels don't seem to be available here.

[@startingfromseed3]

@@REDGardens that’s unlucky, those things are the best. Welded wire 2x4 is pretty good too. Beans love 2x4 fence. Here’s a tip. If you have welded wire and t-posts you can extend the t-posts with pvc to make them taller then vinyl line between the t-posts so the beans can go higher. You can easily do a 6-7 foot wall for beans to climb and it lasts for ever...

[@bobaloo2012]

A couple of ideas come to mind. I had a lot of trouble with the row cover pulling out form under the rocks when it got windy, so a couple of years ago I bought a. bunch of cheap sandbags and put perhaps 4 kilos of sand in each. Now I use them to hold down the fleece. Being flexible, they "stick" to the row cover a lot better and it stays in place muich better. For labels I use old blinds. They sell these things to go over windows made up of perhaps 100 pieces of thin white plastic, 2cm wide and a 80cm long, designed to allow you to keep out the sun or open the view. They get buggered up easily and I find them all the time in the trash or at yard sales for free. A quick trip through my bandsaw and I have 100's of nice markers of whatever length I want and they last for years.

[@REDGardens]

Sandbags would probably be a useful investment, though it would be nice to reduce the amount of plastic I bring in the gardens. The old blinds sound like an interesting idea. One blind would produce a lot of labels!

[@andersonomo597]

That's a brilliant idea for reusing blinds! One more thing to look out for - I cannot resist eyeballing the piles of stuff people throw out!

[@armithel3133]

10:00 Nice work as always. For your sticks, try tossing them in embering campfire when theyre green, rake them out after a few good minutes, and cut the surface after. This should keep them from resprouting and rotting when they are rewettend from the ground. They do this to the lodgepole pines (plus creosote) for the power line poles in my area.

[@REDGardens]

Good idea about the campfire, thanks.

[@michaelmcclafferty3346]

As always , a very thought provoking video. Thanks. I liked the weather shelter in particular and the stick markers. Some very interesting comments too from others.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. The comments from others are always interesting!

[@gdreilly]

I really enjoy your video's!! Thank you for doing them!

[@Tomhohenadel]

Always an interesting discussion Bruce. Looking forward to seeing this snow gone and starting to work the garden. Thanks

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@robertromatowski4681]

You always have great information. Thank you for your time and effort!!!!

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@zacharyhess8069]

Awesome way to live and spend your time Great job!

[@bottlesandcans9010]

PVC siding or PVC window blinds make an excellent plant tag, write on it with a pencil. Will last many years.

[@REDGardens]

Sounds like a good option!

[@bottlesandcans9010]

@@REDGardens Make sure to use pencil. Do not use a sharpie marker it will bleach in the UV sunlight. Pencil !

[@ginninadances]

I am soooo feeling this! Thank you!

[@lizc8187]

Bruce, if you're getting rid of the shopping baskets, please let me know. I could definitely use a few. Elizabeth

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@valeryasteel4167]

Tip to make the lettering on the sticks last longer: go over it with clear nail polish

[@REDGardens]

That would be an interesting option to try.

[@happyhillsfarm9598]

I loved your compost sieve videos! Very inspiring!

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@waterphoenix3120]

For the stick labels, you could look into acquiring pens with better "lightfastness". Some inks fade faster than others. Some inks are made to survive in sunlight for a long time. Or as somebody else suggested, you could try using paint pens (with high lightfastness ratings). Personally, I use bog-standard, cheap graphite pencils on temporary labels outside. Pencil doesn't seem to fade or wash off in the rain - at least not on plastic labels. (Edit: But don't expect to be able to erase the pencil easily afterwards.)

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, I should have though of finding a better marker. Apparently there are a few good UV resistant options out there. Or a pencil!

[@johnboyle4062]

Washing up liquid and sponge scrub works on pencil

[@Tippler0611]

Love the stick labels! I bet paint pen would last longer. Milk crates are essential in my garden... I use them as harvest baskets, seat, stepstool, hand tool storage, and exploring the idea of clipping fleece or plastic to them similar to your mini coldframe\cloche. When its time to put the garden to bed, they get stacked on their sides, filled with smaller items and covered with a largie piece of a reclaimed fabric banner (double knit polyester that doesnt hold water).

[@REDGardens]

Definitely should have thought of getting a better marker/pen! I use some beer crates for similar purposes, but forgot to include them in these videos.

[@danielmcfadden6654]

I love the stick idea gonna be using it this year!!!!

[@REDGardens]

Cool. Others have suggested finding a UV resistant marker, or using a soft pencil.

[@niminiable]

I made some good experience with a simple HB pencil for labeling. You might give it a try.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, that would probably work better than the marker.

[@VanderlyndenJengold]

I think I recognise the old A frame onion drying unit.

[@richm5889]

On most of the towns around here in the US there are Facebook groups with titles such as "Buy Nothing..." and the name of the town or "Everything is Free..." and the name of the town. While most don't actually restrict the group to residents of the Town, it helps to keep pick-up and delivery and reuse local.

[@kirstypollock6811]

Ah, you have so many pallets! Not a cheap or even available option round here :-(. They sell hugely expensive versions in the DIY centres for garden furniture.😂😂

[@REDGardens]

I have a local bakery that regularly have pallets they want to get rid of. For some reason the hauliers don't want to take them back.

[@cwallcw]

Tears, wonderful tears 😂 This was my fav of the genuine banter that makes you two work. Milk, bahahaha!

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@flatsville9343]

I cut the tops & bottoms off aluminum cans & then cut them in two & flatten to get two rectangular metal pieces. I then use a dead ball point pen to "etch" plant name & cultivar ( date etc...) on the blank silver side & staple to the bed or a paint stir stick. Punch a hole to attach with wire to a tree, shrub or trellis. Etching in metal never fades. If a burr occurs on the cut edge, just flatten edge with a hard edged plastic or wooden straight edge. A bit tedious, but they last forever.

[@REDGardens]

That sounds like a cool option, especially for the trees. Thanks

[@nefraial]

I'm sorting stuff atm given between seasons gives me some extra time here and there. But I seem to have a problem where an object I decided to get rid of due to not having used for 5 years is suddenly something needed 3 weeks later. Stuff management isn't easy. This has led to leaning toward storage of more than I'd like where things are useful. Labelling is important. Record keeping is something I've done for a long time and I use a lot fewer labels these days when it comes to in ground beds. I have my own home made labels for all pots and nursery plants etc... that is a necessity. Yet when it comes to in ground labels I found too many problems of labels becoming unreadable in weather or lost altogether, turning up in compost etc, that I became conscious about retaining an accurate carry around garden notebook for areas instead. I keep all garden bed designs recorded, and update seasonally, I'll write and draw exactly what variety is growing where in my notebook and how much space things are taking up, numbers of plants, etc.. Mostly I know what variety is where as I've planted it but if I forget something there's no label in the garden to check. I check my notebook. Meaning the notebook needs to be handy at all times and I've developed a habit for it to be so, keeping it up to date like a diary, proving much more reliable than garden labels. I grow a lot of seeds so there are not always several varieties of a species growing at one time. Sometimes I do grow several types of a species for testing and comparison rather than saving and given my habits these are not kept close enough to each other at any stage to cause potential mixing. I can say "That group over there is all this variety and those on the other side are that". Having grown seeds for 40+ years I'm very familiar with what crosses with what and when. Tool shed labels are important if there is any chance you are not going to be the only one touching a tool. I'm always surprised by how much a label matters. At a communal garden I helped get into shape, the tool shed was nicely set out with hooks and tools but people would not know where things belonged and tools would get lost or into a mess. I decided to label behind the tool what tool belonged on the hook etc.. A person said I was being insulting to point out the obvious while I was doing it. A rake gets hung on the hook right? Later it was appreciated as not only could a visitor ask where to put a shovel and be told they'd find a label for it in the tool shed making it easy for them, but if there was an empty hook everyone could read the label and know what tool was missing or being used at that moment.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the detailed comment. It is good to find out about what other people are doing. A good notebook, and bold habits of keeping it updated, are definitely a way to go for a lot of people. And I think you are probably right that it is easier than labels for many things. I tried a notebook years ago and found it cumbersome, or at least I wasn’t good at keeping it updated. Since starting to work with Kris, I have to keep everything online - all the plans, task lists and records are on spreadsheets we share. And in addition we find the labels t be really useful, not for all crops, but to mark anything that is different. Having those labels has really helped to remind us what is going on, and to help identify the varieties. We have way too many things going on. The spreadsheets are essential, and the labels are quite useful. They also are cool for people visiting g and wandering around the gardens.

[@flatsville9343]

Don't beat yourself up over sun brittled plastic. You gave it 1-3 different kinds of re-use. That's good.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, but a few more seasons would have been better.

[@johnboyle4062]

Paint with black weathershield Paint works

[@glassbackdiy3949]

I love the stick labels, I've cut a ton of blackthorn to copy your idea; I've also made some hand weeders copying your design, but with an added blackthorn handle which I find a huge improvement; I made a large compost screener too, but after two full days screening composted woodchip, and only half way through the pile, I'm eyeing up trommel designs on youtube! I've managed to cut out plastic bags completely, the only bags we buy in are chicken feed for which I've found a supplier using paper sacks that are much easier to reuse for root storage or in place of cardboard for new beds. I have a large collection of large dumpy bags from a log drying experiment, I can use a few but I really need to get rid of them! I am also developing a deep distaste for plastic. Thanks for sharing, always some useful insight.

[@REDGardens]

I want to try a tommel design as well!

[@glassbackdiy3949]

@@REDGardens Have a look at 'Terry King gardening on a budget' channel, since you have no electric on site his relies on a mobility scooter rear axle ran from batteries, cheapest effective design I've seen on YT (and I've looked a lot lol) I'm torn between Terrys and a concrete mixer based design, depends which parts I can get my hands on first!

[@LOVEisTHEultimateLAW]

is farming a full time occupation for you ? all those approaches and data collecting must take an insane amount of time Loving the vids thx for sharing

[@REDGardens]

Managing this RED Gardens Project is a full time occupation for me. This includes growing food, doing a lot of trials, data collection, teaching and making all these videos.

[@kirstypollock6811]

That's 2 full time jobs. I know from the past how long video editing takes!

[@artandmore575]

Hey you!!! You're actually inventing, improving, trying other possibilities,..... it's impossible not to accumulate stuff, it's part of .... hahahaha.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! 🙂

[@marqessanzcora4089]

Strawberry detailed video about growing them in Ireland and what variety? Thanks

[@REDGardens]

I need to do some explorations first, I down have enough experience, but planning to try a few things this year, so possibly a video in the autumn or over winter.

[@kirawelty]

Please talk more about the honesty fridge.

[@REDGardens]

I am planning a video about that for the spring.

[@northerntable]

Have you tried using wax pencils (listo brand) for your labeling?

[@OrtoInScatola]

@6:45 loved it! You made me laugh! Out of topic, how do you read your script while staring straight into the camera? Which brings me to a suggestion, what about all the stuff you have for filming the project and to prepare all the statistics?

[@kirstypollock6811]

I love the stick labels! Wish I'd watched this last week, as I've just chipped the most suitable branches I had. Also I'm not sure I have a big enough knife or the strength to easily flatten them like you did.. But the bush that grows sticks will regrow very quickly, or I can try again next year, or battle with apple or oak tree twigs. I cut up plastic containers for labels, but still have the fading ink problem. I wonder if the kind of small burning iron artists use (dunno what you call them) would work better...

[@REDGardens]

I find the local willow bushes/trees are great for a continual supply of appropriate size wood, and it is a lot easier to cut the flat part when it is green/fresh. But I don;t think the willow wood lasts too long.

[@kirstypollock6811]

@@REDGardens the willow in my garden is a white willow with hilariously crooked branches. I have a "stake bush"in the front garden. I have no idea what it is, but it grows back fast from being cropped right down and you get 1.5m long straight stakes, nearly 2cm.dia at the base inside a few months in the spring/summer! It may be its purpose. There's other stuff here like that - shrubs with flowers good for soap, other that's traditional for brooms. I'm in the ex-DDR (East Germany) and the old farmer who had this place before me was in any case born in 1928. So they would have been used to making all sorts of things...

[@EddieGalois]

7:08 would use of dark outdoor spray pain extend the life of the jugs as well as increase heating? Or would such paint flake overtime or slowly leech pollutants into the soil causing too many other issues?

[@REDGardens]

The dark paint would definitely help them absorb heat during the day, but I would be worried about flaking paint. Filling with something that made the water darker, without causing pollution problems later might be a partial solution.

[@EddieGalois]

@@REDGardens charcoal dust in the water seems innocuous enough.

[@REDGardens]

@@EddieGalois I think that might be worth a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@EddieGalois]

@@REDGardens Thank you for the time and the videos.

[@gratituderanch9406]

Use a different marker on your sticks. Sharpies and sharpie extreme don’t last. Find a UV fade resistant markers. I got my garden markers off Amazon, but but sharpies just don’t last. Love the idea of using sticks though!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the advice.

[@baconbits9]

Old t shirts will fit nicely over your plastic jugs and keep the UV rays from degrading them.

[@REDGardens]

That sounds interesting.

[@josephlarsen]

With the sticks, if you put them in the ground node facing down it shouldn't root. Also, if you use the plant pens they should last all season long easily enough, maybe multiple seasons

[@REDGardens]

Both good tips. Thanks.

[@kirstypollock6811]

Genius! Somehow I automatically put sticks in "right way up" when I use them. I'll remember that, at least for shorter ones or where they are the same thickness all the way.

[@josephlarsen]

@@kirstypollock6811 ya i learned this one on accident trying to clone trees

[@saethman]

Regarding the marking sticks you could try to burn/scorch the letters into the wood - takes a lot longer than just writing with a pen or pencil, but might be more durable (possible even reusable until the wood itself has decayed too far)

[@REDGardens]

I think that wight be a nice option for more permanent things. For regular stuff I am often just out in the gardens and need to get it done.

[@peter2327]

A german polytunnel company has a product called "WÄRMESPEICHER BETA SOLAR" it is a black polyethylene film tube (should be sourcable from the packaging industry, too) with 7cm diameter and clamps to seal the ends for one season. you fill it with water and it helps equalize the temperature in the mini tunnel at the full length, not punctually. Yes, it has to be bought. But you can roll the tube onto one clamp if empty and it is much easier storable than the canisters and tanks. If you know a woodworker with a router table you also can make the clamps for yourself (I know that not everyone ships to ireland). For the sticks labels: cool idea, i use flat aluminium stock and Edding Markers (I guess this are Sharpies in the anglo saxon world). Wipe with paint thinner and reuse forever. I'd use a draw knife to carve the sides. with the knife you get a bending force on your wrist, that will hurt after a sort time. With a draw knife you use both hands and only have straight pull forces. Draw knives are everywhere, chances are your household alredy has one (for example to fit broom sticks to brooms).

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting. A collapsible tube makes sense. Thanks. And a draw knife would be easier, but I don't actually have one (not very common here in Ireland).

[@kirstypollock6811]

Ooh yeah, I liked the stick idea but didn't think I could do it with a knife. I don't have a draw knife but I should get one!

[@peter2327]

@@kirstypollock6811 you also need a way to clamp the workpiece... as both hands lead the knife. So either a workstop at your side or a carving bench or a workbench with a good vise. a drawknive on its own is almost useless.

[@thepandaman]

I used a plastic yogurt pot with a sharpie to write the names of the 7 types of garlic I'd planted next to each other, only to discover it had well and truly faded/washed off. Now got 7 mystery varieties of garlic to enjoy! *sigh* But can relate to so much of this video! Piles of awkward to store, but useful stuff.

[@rogerclarke7407]

I use crayons to mark stuff i want to keep track of. a different colour for each just in case it becomes unreadable.

[@BlackJesus8463]

That's a lot! Where did the chickens come from? 😅😅

[@REDGardens]

I had a bunch of hens a few years ago, and planning to get more this year.

[@BlackJesus8463]

@@REDGardens nice!

[@tobruz]

Hey Bruce! I am looking to make hoops What size diameter of fencing wire do you use (gauge or diameter). Is the poly pipe 1/2” and held in place with a short piece of rebar? Thanks Bruce from Ontario

[@REDGardens]

I think the smaller diameter wire is 2.5mm and the thicker stuff is 4mm - don't know the gauge equivalent. It is 1/2' poly pipe, and I just stick the ends into the soil.

[@tobruz]

@@REDGardens thanks my friend!

[@jasonfalk]

Sharpie pens fade really fast, try a carpenter pencil. If you really want to use a pen, there is one called “garden marker “ that won’t fade but do seem overpriced for what they are. Grease pencil can be another option but in all my tests, a pencil works best and will never fade.

[@REDGardens]

I should try a pencil. I wrongly assumed that the marker would last a long time.

[@jasonfalk]

@@REDGardens Yeah, I had the same problem a few years ago. I did a test where I tried several markers on various tags and then stuck them all in a pot for a few seasons to see how each held up. Sharpies where the worst out of all of them, sometimes only lasting a month or two and showing signs of fading in weeks if the exposure was high. Other common home depot quality such as Milwaulkee makers were better but still not great. The Garden Marker brand pens lasted very well but I find the general quality of those pens low and they don't write as well if tags or wet or dirty. Pencil, especially a softer lead, holds up forever and will write fine if tags are wet or dirty. I personally like an architecture style pencil with the fatter and softer 2mm lead (Something like the Staedtler Mars 780 with 4B lead). With this setup, the writing is darker than with harder leads, you don't have to sharpen it, and it is less prone to breaking than a standard mechanical pencil. The cheaper runner up is a standard carpenters pencil which also work great and hold up very well but you will have to sharpen it from time to time. The other thing I like about pencil is that you can erase it from a tag by rubbing a tag with a pinch of damp soil making it much easier to re-use your tags. Hope that helps!

[@thebraziliangardener8481]

your supplies will certainly outlast you,last month i just got a lot of suplies from the wife of my friend who died at 77 as he was a great gardener

[@acctsys]

I don't much care for the brittle plastic jugs and plastic bags. The sticks are quite nice, and I'm not sure there's a better solution than a better pen.

[@REDGardens]

Definitely going to get a better marker.

[@tubthump]

If stones aren't being used to weigh down netting etc they could be used as heating mass instead of plastic bottles filled with water (= no plastic to degrade in sun and no piles of stones in the way!)

[@tubthump]

Or contrive some method of using the stones as weights inside the tunnel

[@tubthump]

Even if it's only down one side of the tunnel

[@tubthump]

Even if it's only down one side of the tunnel

[@REDGardens]

Thermal mass is a good option.

[@Omapk]

A blessing and a curse where I live, very invasive bamboo grows wild in every forest. A curse in that it is horribly invasive and a blessing that I can get an unlimited number of free 10+ foot poles.

[@rulerofthelight]

Wax crayons for labeling

[@NilsNone]

regarding the sticks taking root. Boil them. I bet you got a big metalbucket lying around. Make a fire, put some water in the bucket and then put all your sticks in... after some time they should be dead

[@REDGardens]

Boiling them is an interesting option. I might try that, and some that I just roast over the fire.

[@robertcroweiv3037]

All this stuff you have is like compost, when you think you have enough, you don't.

[@REDGardens]

True!

[@Sean_neaS]

This could be made into bunch or youtube shorts. it might be easier to find what you're looking for and get more views.

[@REDGardens]

good idea

[@nickn.332]

Not sure if it would help in your context, but one method for storing carrots, parsnips, potatoes and presumably other root crops is to store them in a space/shed with a sand floor, burying vegetables in the sand in layers, this is typically set somewhat into the ground or in a root celler to keep things cool. The sand is generally left slightly damp. The couple over at Back To Reality tested this here in ontario with potatoes and found they were delayed sprouting by at least a couple weeks (kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWW0kHellriNi7M their 7 minute summary vid). My grandfather in Poland used this method in his cellar and for potatoes my mom recalls picking a place above the water table to hill up and bury large quantities of potatoes in straw to keep the soil out, covering the top with enough soil to keep frost back. Again, might not be sensible in your context although in a pinch might be a way to protect a bumper crop if storage runs short.

[@REDGardens]

I have used trays of carrots stored in damp sand, left in our cellar, and it did seem to work well. But it was heavy lifting them down into the cellar, and I need to get better containers to not end up with sand spilling on the floor.

[@scootertasmania6619]

Your a clever operator. Good idea with the stick. I liked your article on rats....i have a problem with them and picked up an idea or two from you. The plastic bags you could burn and use the heat for hot water to kill weeds? Keep up the good work.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I'd rather not burn plastic.

[@Chris-op7yt]

free often ends up needing so much work and hassle that it costs way more than commercial product. good plastic labels will save you a tonne of time. plastic trellis comes in a roll, and just need stakes and zip ties. a lot of the so called free ends up costing much more than normal. unless not paying workers is a thing. sometimes re-use is okay but if total cost (including actual or nominal labour cost) exceeds potential benefits, then it's false economy.

[@REDGardens]

Very good point!