10 Simple Garden Hacks (Beginner to Pro)
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2023
- We all love a handy hint, a thrifty tip, an inspirational idea, especially when they save us time, effort and money. Ben has quite a few tricks up his green sleeves and in this week's episode, he spills the beans as he shares some of his genius garden hacks.
For more ingenious hacks, watch these next:
• My Top Tricks of the T...
• 10 Best Gardening Hacks
• My Top 10 Time Saving ...
Want to grow in straw bales?
• Kickstart a Weed-Free ...
If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
www.GrowVeg.com
gardenplanner.almanac.com
gardenplanner.motherearthnews...
and many more...
To receive more gardening videos subscribe to our channel here: ruclips.net/user/subscription_...
If you've noticed any pests or beneficial insects in your garden lately please report them to us at BigBugHunt.com 
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I appreciate that after following you for YEARS, you haven't resorted to the clickbait junk many garden/RUclips channels do.🙌.
I see so many clickbait titles (10 things you have to stop doing etc with no details about content), or 20 minute videos with 10 minutes intro, 6 minutes of sales pitches, and a mere 3 minutes of information because they didn't think out their presentation.
YOU videos are ALWAYS quick, concise, helpful and interesting, and sometimes amusing too.
THANK YOU for what you do, & how you do it. Please don't change a thing.
I love your channel just the way it is and recommend it to others!
♥️♥️
Well said, great comment 😊👍
😂 exactly.
How very kind of you to say - it's really appreciated. I think it's so important to get good information across rather than stringing people along, as you say. Thanks for your support. :-)
Very good point!
I seed whole swaths of things like Sweet William or California Poppy by putting the seed into spice shakers and then just shaking them over the area I've readied. I also harvest seed from these same plants every year and store the seed in the same lidded shakers. Saves a ton of time and stores really well.
What a really super idea! :-)
Brilliant. Thanks to you I have just found a new use for those shakers that come in Cappuccino coffee sachets
multi-boxes I buy at the supermarket. Thanks. 😁😁
I just planted garlic cloves the other day. My Purple Top Turnip, Tokinashi Tunip, and golden beetroot seeds are sprouting. I have assorted lettuces, Nagasaki Cabbage, Pak Choi, and turnips ready to harvest, and I am still harvesting peppers and Seascape strawberries. The temperature finally cooled down to season normal temperatures here in Sylacauga Alabama, but it is on the rise again. Yesterday's high temperature was 81F (27C). Average first frost is in ten days, but no sign of frost in the fore cast. The deer aren't invading the garden and nibling away at my peppers-strange.
Lots growing there! :-)
We recycle pill bottles. Especially the ones from the pharmacy
Instead of using plastic water bottles as underground water helpers, I use terracotta pots. I cover the drain hole at the bottom with a coin (US $.50 or CAD $1 is the right size) caulked in place. Bury to the rim next to plants (especially tomatoes), and fill with water. The clay gradually seeps the water out into surrounding soil over a couple of days. Cover with a pot saucer to keep water from evaporating and keep small animals from falling in. Cheap and re-usable over many years, and best of all, NO PLASTIC.
For storing seeds, I followed the example of the local seed library, which repurposed a huge vintage oak card catalog cabinet to store and display seed packets for people to use. I bought a vintage 4-drawer card catalog online. It's pretty and practical--I even alphabetize the seed packets!
I was wondering whether I’d have to find a special glue to make homemade ollas out of clay pots. Your idea of using the pot saucer as a lid is great. Now why didn’t I think of that!? Anyway, thank you!
What a great idea to water veggies - so clever! :-)
Love this!
I save and use medicine pill containers for seeds. Also small coin envelopes.
Great idea!
Your hack videos and the Millennial gardener's hack videos are some of the best hack garden videos!! I've learned so much from your channel.
Thank you for all the lovely information over the years!
My garden thanks you too! 🌱
That's wonderful to hear - thanks so much!
We're coming up on Christmas. Last year I went around to surprised but gratified townies and dragged their trees into my garden. There, I removed the branches and kept them for use on top of beds for winter protection, but also in the bottom of raised beds as bottom filler and to keep my grow bags nice and dry. The stem of the tree is used as sides for beds or support for climbing plants. It's a free resource and most folks are happy to have you get it off their hands.
Great idea! I’ve definitely nabbed brush from people’s yards in the past but never considered Christmas trees. Of course by the time we see trees on the curb it’s sub zero temps and I’m definitely in hermit mode 😂 It’s always a mental battle to get excited to start my seedlings too. Once I get going I’m good though.
Cheers and thanks for the tip!
Always great to make use of such an abundance like that. :-)
For the pots, I use scraps of garden barrier fabric, since there’s always some leftover, since I use it everywhere ( including the veggie garden). Just cut to fit.
Also when planting in a large pot (like for annuals) that I don’t want or need to FILL with expensive potting soil, I put a bunch of crushed pop cans on bottom and finish filling with the soil. Good drainage too.
One more thought; I have used a water/rain barrel in the past also, but do our furry friends a favor and put a long stick in it that goes to the top. Have found too many drowned chipmunks in the past.
Really great tips and advice there - thanks so much for sharing. :-) I always make sure to keep my rain barrel covered (it was removed for the video).
Your tips & the graden planner have been Incredibly helpful! Thank you!
Delighted to hear this Jessica. :-)
I grow my carrots and parsnips in barrels and use a fine mesh drawstring waterbarrel net ( the kind used to stop leaves or small animals falling in) to stop carrot fly, used this for some years and never had any problems with carrot fly damage. Another thing that can be used for smaller pots is a mosquito head net 😊🥕
What a very smart idea - love it!
Thank U Ben. I'm commenting from MN. Our fall is shortly ending. You are a big influence to me gardening in the backyard. I love that you are honest. I love that you are truthful and advocate by showing real life gardening. I love your dog too. Science will always win.
Thanks so much, really appreciate that. Happy gardening!
I colect water in my rain buckets when they are getting low by filling with my garden hose.. but I also sometimes put weeds in the bucket to add some nutrition for the plants... sometimes I add spent coffee grounds too.. and maybe a pinch of fertiliser too .. maybe a bit of vinegar in a big bucket too.. the vinegar seems to help the roots grow.. ? the plants love it.. I'm from Saskatchewan, Canada btw.. I have been using the coffee filter trick for years now.. If I save my grounds for the garden... I often have used dry filters to use
What a great idea - love the thought of giving water a boost from what's around like that.
The foam pipe can also be used to wrap over the metal edge of a greenhouse door ! These are easy to miss and trip over. I used a colloured "Pool noodle" pipe, as the colour also alerts the eye to a potential hazard
What a fab idea. :-)
When my family rakes leaves in the fall we use them to make thick layers of mulch over our garden beds in the winter keeping our bulbs and overwintering plants snug. Then, when spring time arrives we gently move the leaves away from our newly sprouting plants and into the walkways to help suppress the weeds!
Love it! Multiple uses from them. :-)
Great tips as usual. Idea for another tips video is can you do a top tips for stolen hairbands? 😂
Haha - brilliant! I think you might be onto something there!
Good morning Ben, so nice to share your gardening ideas and your enthusiasm is really contagious! Never knew I could use expired milk in the garden, makes sense really. We do not often have milk but when it happens again, better in the soil than down the outside drain. Thank you for sharing your garden tips, much appreciated. Have a peaceful Sunday today, kind regards.
I use the milk spray against mould, but add a teaspoon of baking soda too. Worked wonders, and so much better than some nasty (and expensive) commercial spray.
Will have to try adding some baking soda too - thanks for this.
I just wanted to say how much I LOVE your channel! I've been keeping indoor plants for a few years, but I have little experience with growing vegetables. It's intimidating for beginners. There is so much to learn about soil, pests, etc. Your videos are so inspiring and helpful! I will be attempting my first vegetable garden this spring ❤
I am thrilled to hear you've found this channel so useful. It makes producing the videos all the more rewarding. I hope you have a very successful first year. I'm sure you'll do fantastically! :-)
Knowledgeable enthusiastic and humble. Ben, the perfect presenter. 😊👍❤️
Thank you!
GREAT ideas Ben!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I always look for ways to recycle ♻️ plastic especially. I love the ideas for the tic-tack seed storage. Thank you so much for your happy, positive and genuine energy. You’re like our garden cheerleader 😂. We love your videos.
Thanks so much! Always good to recycle where possible, and gardening makes that a lot easier!
These videos are a real treat,thankyou for generously sharing your knowledge Ben.My little tip is about cats,we have many here in an urban estate ,they litter not at home in a tray but in a patch of newly accessible soil.😢Ive tried all usual deterrents,they all failed and accidentally putting your hands in an unwanted deposit is horrible 😅 I keep thin twigs ,cuttings from shrubs ,straw like waste and build a type 'mesh' network around a newly planted treasure❤The cats dont bother to scratch there and for a double whammy,a few small pots like a barricade also puts them off !It gives the plant a better chance of survival Thanks to everyone giving their tips,its helpful and interesting.
Brilliant tip! Thank you for sharing this. :-)
You pull some hilarious faces, Ben!
You should go in for a Gurning competition!
🤣✌️❤
Haha - I hadn't thought of that! Maybe a nettle-eating competition too - those guys pull some unique faces!
Great tips Ben especially for organic gardeners about flour. I don’t like adding manure or chemicals to my beds so more of these natural ideas would be great to boost the soil & plant health 👍🏻 many thanks
You're welcome - definitely prefer to look for organic options where possible.
The coffee filter hack stopped us and jaws dropped! Thank for sharing these great ideas!! Much appreciated ☺️👍🏻👍🏻
You're most welcome! :-)
I made a video this summer about watering more quickly using the exact same method as you did, but I used a very large wheelbarrow to store the water. You wouldn't believe how many people didn't understand this. 😅
Just watched it now - great move, love it!
Your enthusiasm is infectious Ben 😊
Thanks so much! :-)
I love the coffee filter idea!
Great ideas! Especially the hedge trimmer guard as I just moved ours after organizing the potting shed. I don’t use it much anymore, but do remember cutting myself on it.
About the rain barrel. We use them and stock tanks. Do cover them with screen. I use flexible screen and clip tight to sides. It keeps out mosquitoes, reptiles and animals. We had an empty tank this spring (drought) and I kept hearing a thump and peered over to look and a poor tree frog was trying to hop to get out. Needless to say he would have dried up without help and quickly put him in the bird bath to recoup. I also had a squirrel die in stock tank because I didn’t flip it soon enough before it froze. And we had a snake once. Birds love to bath and drink even in watering cans and pails so please cover those as well. Another reason to cover is open water invites deer to the yard as it saves them a trip to the river. They have been plentiful again as winter is coming and they are so destructive.
I can’t tell you how much a tool storage rack has been such a relief. I finally got planks for shelving and workbench and spent more money on that and the metal tool rack then we spent to build the whole shed and lean to greenhouse 😂😂(we used reclaimed materials😉). I couldn’t make this wonderful tool rack though and the great snap on variety of hooks and holders. I no longer worry about a shovel falling off the wall or getting stuck by my favorite pitchfork. It has also lifted the heaviness of being disorganized as it zaps my energy. No more digging or untangling to get the tool I need. And I have only the best and lightest weight tools that I use the most, the others were banished.😊
I use photo sheets in large 3 ring binder for seeds and keep in safe with rechargeable dehumidifier. It’s so easy to flip through to see what I have. Bulky seeds get a zip lock bag.
Tip: clean your house and you may find a box of seeds you ordered on sale earlier this year😂😂I was so excited as I forgot about them. As I will start seedlings out in GH late next spring instead of inside because it’s too messy and crowded, I’m gathering all the stuff to go to newly organized shed🎉👏🏼👏🏼
I need to get out there now and finish scrubbing seedling pots/flats, dig bulbs, finish seed collecting and dig holes for posts for garden gate. We have frost tonight and can’t forget to cover broccoli and so hoping it will crown now as it’s getting close to not making it with weather.
🍁🍁Thanks Ben!🍁🍁
Thanks!
Thanks so much for your comments and for that tip on covering rain barrels - a great idea! Usually I do keep the lid on the barrels, so nothing gets in. Love the idea of a rechargeable dehumidifier. :-)
Toilet paper rolls - great for adding collars to transplants to deter cut worms or Blanching your leeks even more than just planting them deep!
Great ideas, thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for helping me garden!
You're so welcome - thanks for watching! :-)
So many great ideas! I love the veg cleaning hack as, like Ben's, my kitchen gets really mucky. Re: leaving discarded plants to rot on paths; I think this would create a slug habitat in some gardens.
So many terrific ideas, as well as in the comments. Thanks for your fun, entertaining, and educational videos Ben, I’m learning loads!
Awesome stuff. Happy gardening!
Thanks, Ben, great ideas. I've often used cut up old J cloths (washed!) for the bottom of pots to stop soil going through. And for seed storage I save the plastic tubs that held the fairy/muffin papers.
Fantastic ideas! :-)
Yep. All you had to say was "my daughter's hair bands" and I started laughing. 😁
Thank you for your beautiful videos, been watching for ages, I now live in Australia from England, I have a small unit but thanks to you I’m growing things in all sorts of things. God bless ❤
Oh wow, that's so lovely to hear Linda. Happy gardening!
So so good!! You’re videos are just terrific! Thanks!!
Thanks so much. :-)
I use cleaned pill containers to store seeds. Good size, easy to label, good screw-on lid. Anyone who has a health condition gets lots of these and in NZ they are unable to be recycled so just end up in landfill. I'm sure neighbours or relations (or even the local rest home) would be happy to help any gardener wanting some.
Great alternative for seed storing. :-)
Fantastic tips! Thanks Ben!
I live in a dry climate so ventilation of seeds and dessicants aren't a big requirement.... So I put labels on a post-it note and put that and the seeds in zip loc bags. I bought a lot of them in the size which the seed packets fit into since I never throw away seed packets. I find the information printed on them soooo valuable, especially for any which I have saved, so I will be able to refer back to that information.
I mix carrot seeds with moist sand and let them pre-germinate in a lidded jar for two days before sowing them outdoors. This way, they will sprout faster and I don’t need to thin them. 😉
What a fantastic tip! Thank you so much for sharing this. :-)
Ben - where was this video when I needed to hear this in the spring? Better late than never! LOVE your ideas about flour, milk etc! I dump my kitchen scraps directly onto my garden beds, then in the fall I cover with mulch for the following year's gardens.
Glad I got this video out now - better later than never as you say! Happy gardening! :-)
Thank you for the tips and tricks I did not know that about milk, and flower amazing much appreciated.
Glad you've found them useful. :-)
Thanks Ben for always sharing helpful and economical tips!
Delightfully done
Fantastic! Thank you.
Brilliant, as always, thank you
The tic tac container hack is my favorite.🥰
❤ the photo album for seed packets. 👍🏼
What a great list of hacks! Will use many of them! Thanks! 🌱🌱🌱🌱😀
Terrific idea
Always great value, thanks again. 😊
Thank you Ben 🎉🎉
Brilliant, thank you.
Wonderful tips! I am going to try some. 😊
This is my favorite episode ever! Thank you for all of the useful tips!
So pleased, thanks so much for watching. :-)
These are great hacks, some of them I have already been doing!!
Awesome tips I well definitely remember them
Awesome tips!
Thank you Ben l love you video,s and l love you book its a brilliant book to have with me l love gardeners and have an Allotment too 😊
That’s really lovely to hear. Very happy gardening to you! :-)
GREAT TIPS. MANY THANKS
Great video as always. Always love tips and tricks!
Cheers Samuel! :-)
Wow! As always, a wealth of fantastic advice! Thank you lovely ✌️❤️🤗
Thanks so much for watching. :-)
Very good growing new plant season
I've used empty medicine or vitamin bottles for seed storage. After washing them of course.
Genius tips, as always, thanks Ben! I use mini jam pots for my seeds (the type you get in hotels) - put the word out to friends, or on freecycle, and see what you can collect!
That is a great idea!
Awesome, some cracking tips there Ben.
Thanks Mark. :)
Brilliant video one of your best. Thank you.
Oh wow - thanks so much! :-)
I love watching all your videos and this one is great.❤
So pleased you're enjoying the videos. :-)
At 62 years old, living in the U.S. of A. I remember only one time that water was an issue, & that was when we had little rain in 7 years, all water storage was low, so we were asked to conserve. Then it started to rain again; but rain barrels? Really? I must be in a different Country. ;-) Love your videos, Thank You, so very much, you are salt of the Earth... :-) I just caught the last of your rain barrel making sure folks keep an eye on the filling hose. IF, that is a Big IF... the barrel is not moving, then you can fit a toilet valve on it so it will always be filled, but no more than the set point. Hope this helps...
Definitely helps. Thank you so much for sharing. :-)
This is so very very helpful !!! Thank you so much !!
You're very welcome - thanks for watching! :-)
great tips!!
2:28 ingenious!!!
That is brilliant Ben, I never thought of using bales of straw like that ! Brilliant, Cheers.
Glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching. :-)
Brilliant once again! Ben, you have offered us another informative and enjoyable, spirited video. You’re the highlight of my daily RUclips visits.
By the way, I am the elderly fellow who went to the Duke of York‘s Royal military school on the white cliffs of Dover and you mentioned back in the day, you played sports against us. I just watched a wonderful British movie called “Summerland” shot on location near Margate starring Gemma Arterton. I thought you might be interested in watching it. There are a number of scenic locations in the movie showing the white cliffs peering across the channel. I wonder if those locations were near where you lived. Do you still live near Margate? It’s a beautiful part of the southern coastline.
Cheers as always, from one of your faithful back yard garden followers. 🍻😁
Thanks for your lovely comment. I haven't watched that movie, no - so will take a look. I was right near Margate, so know the town well. I now live inland in the Cotswolds, but do miss the Kent coast sometimes. Keep gardening! :-)
Lucky you! The Cotswolds is my most favorite part of the UK, followed closely by the Lake District. What a wonderful place to live. I’m jealous. I also enjoy visiting Northeast England, York, the Shambles and surrounding areas. These places transport me back in time and I can only imagine what it would have been like to have lived there centuries ago. But only if I were able to have our modern comforts, of course. 😂
Looking forward to your next series of videos.
Cheers once again, 🎉😊
Thank you, Ben. Much needed. :) I have a piece of cut fence and I slipped a pool noodle over the sharp end and as a bumper pad too.
Smart move!
This year I am using envelopes that come in bills and other types of mail for my seeds. I am seed saving and decided that these are free and they hold my seeds wonderfully! I also use the desiccants that come in pill bottles and such and throw those inside the envelopes and also in the plastic bin that I store them in. I then put that in my storage room that is insulated and nice and cool!
That sounds like a very smart seed-saving setup. :-)
@@GrowVeg thanks!
Thanks Ben, some we do already and some we can do…. Most definitely thinks to keep learning. 🙂
Gardeners are always learning. :-)
I enjoyed your video, lots of great tips!
Thank you so much for watching :-)
Great video I’m using some of these hacks , tik tacs cost a fortune now so using box is a great idea
At least it makes the cost of them stretch a bit further!
That's where my hair bands went😂
In our rural area of Scotland farmers give sheep and cattle supplements that come in large rectangular plastic containers. When they are empty they are no longer needed so to save the farmer having to recycle them we collect them, drill drainage holes in the bottom and use them to grow veg. Because they are rectangular they fit side by side and give us extra growing space. When they are not needed we empty the soil onto our pile of soil and stack them to store until we need them again. Then we use the soil plus manure to fill them again.
What a superb tip - love it! :-)
Thanks for sharing the video❤😊
Thanks for watching. :-)
Or if you have some old kitchen sponges, dont throw them away, using them in place of the coffee filter.
I do not even have a garden but hopefully one day!!!!!!!! Love your videos!
Thanks so much. Hope you get your garden one day. :-)
good work
Some good tips Ben, I’ve been holding off planting my garlic because it’s so wet, however inside my greenhouse in the raised bed I have Pakchoi spinach and carrots growing on nicely for hopefully and early crop of carrots and some tasty leaves to add to salads.
Lots in there growing nicely - top work! :-)
Wow, for once a gardening hack video that's actually useful!
Great ideas. You could also use a pool noodle as a blade guard.
That's a great suggestion! :-)
Thank you Ben, for all these hacks and your many encouraging and well paced videos--I will be using straw bales next March for a cold frame (and other purposes!) along with milk spray, photo albums (will start that tomorrow as I do final seed sorting and storage for the year) will be saving tic-tac boxes from now on as well, and I had to laugh @ the hair elastics--my daughter used to complain about finding them used in all kinds of situations. Ilook forward to what you come up with next...
Cheers so much for watching. Yes, those hairbands are incredibly useful aren't they!
i use empty 1 gallon planting pots to rinse root veg, eg put the pulled carrots in the pot, when full place the pot back on the garden bed and rinse with the hose, or, swirl the pot around in the rain barrel. Convenient and portable, esp. when harvesting a few veggies for dinner from a community garden plot.
Love it - so simple, yet so effective!
I used the clip things from new shirt collar or on bras to peg strawberry runners down, I have a lot of strawberries now 😂
What a fab idea! :-)
I save the cooking water for veg (no salt added) and use it to water plants
Superb - always good to make the most of every drop of water like that.
Interesting about the flour, but does it attract rodents to my garden? Brilliant hacks. Thank you Ben 😀
I haven't noticed this. I think in the small amounts added it's fine.
thank you@@GrowVeg
Thanks, Ben, some great ideas as ever! Instead of buying coffee filters to line plant pots, I reuse the plastic mesh bags that supermarket garlic can come in (not having enough space to grow my own). Also keeps out slugs - & I have read vine weevil but I'm not sure if that's true. I also line seedling and cuttings plant pots with the plastic 'string bags' citrus fruit comes in, which makes it easier to lift them out without damaging the roots when transplanting.
What great ideas! Love it. :-)
The fat in milk can clog soil pores, causing water to run off rather than soak in, according to my research. A little is probably okay, but avoid saturating a large area. (from a former US Department of Agriculture analyst)
Great advice, thank you. :-)
> CD cases
Truly dating yourself there, Ben 🤣
I leave all my knives and other bladed tools laying around all willy-nilly. I'm pretty sure that's in the US Constitution.
I really need to get some rain barrels. Fat lot of good they would have done us this summer though. It was the dryest summer I remember in years. When we finally did get some rain, it was WILD for several days in a row, and the sudden saturation caused lots of trees to fall where I live. A small tornado even cut through my yard one weekend when the wife and I were out of town. Tore down trees all around us.
Lol. That's probably the 42nd Amendment. 😊 I'm in Central California, normal rainfall under 11" annually. When it does rain it is often an inch at a time. If heavy winds whip up during or after a significant rain trees will come down around town and sometimes our yard. Last one didn't make a sound. Also didn't cause any damage so we were lucky.
Oh wow - having a tornado tear through your garden must have been quite shocking! Hope your garden has recovered.
Still using your daughters hair ties Ben? 😲😂😂 Bet she's none to happy about that! Lol Thank you for your smart tips, and all your videos! 🤗😊
Haha, indeed! She hasn't noticed yet so I may have got away with it...
@@GrowVeg Yes, maybe, keep your fingers crossed!
🤞🤞😉
In Australia, some of us use pieces of old flyscreen to cover pot holes.
That's a great idea.
Best hack video I've seen. Another tip for flour... if grasshoppers are a problem; dust the plants affected with flour, it gums up their mouths so they can't eat.
What a fab tip!
Rally ineresting, thanks. Just a warning though about uncovered water butts. They are a magnet for thirsty birds which can easily fall in and drown as there is no way for them to get out. They are death traps. They should ALWAYS have a cover. I have seen 3 birds drown like this and it is so sad and so preventable. They were just thirsty birds.
Definitely always keep them covered. Mine is as well - I just had the lid off for filming that clip. But I should make that more obvious next time as this is an important point you make.