\nby Elizabeth Flaherty, Familyhandyman\n
Worried about the new baby plants you just planted? Cut the bottoms out of gallon jugs and set them over new and fragile plants to protect them from bugs or a late frost. We love these fast-growing plants that maximize your curb appeal.\n
\n
When\u00a0trimming hedges, use a plastic kiddie pool to catch clippings, kicking it along as you clip. The clippings fall into the pool, making cleanup a snap. When you\u2019re done trimming, dump the clippings into your mulch pile. Check out these\u00a0creative tool hacks\u00a0that\u2019ll make your life easier.\n
\n
Here\u2019s an easy way to turn any hose into a\u00a0drip-watering hose. Drill 1\/8 in. holes every 2 in. and screw a cap the end. Weave the hose around your plants and turn on the spigot. To make watering even easier, you can add a programmable faucet timer to the hose. Want to add more color to your landscape this season?\n
\n
It seemed any time I\u2019d mix something in my garden sprayer, I\u2019d have some leftover, but I\u2019d always forget what was in the bottles. So, I bought a set of key labels and marked them GoMax, Aphid Spray, etc. Now, when I mix one of these chemicals in my garden sprayer, I clip on the appropriate key label. I\u00a0keep the rest on my pegboard, so I can easily switch them out when I mix something different. \u2014 David Watermeier\n
\n
\n
I lost my hedge trimmer blade sheath, so I had to get creative to\u00a0safely store the tool. A piece of foam pipe insulation was just right. I cut two 1\/2 in. foam tubes to the length of the hedge trimmer blade. The tubes are slit down their length, so they slide easily over the blades. Three 4 in. bungee cords hold them in place. \u2014 Thomas Curran\n
\n
\n
Keep bugs from swimming in your drinks by topping glasses with baking cup liners. Cut a small X into the center of each liner, poke a (reusable or paper) straw through the hole and enjoy your beverage pest-free.\n
\n
For\u00a0healthy plants, it\u2019s important to get water to the roots. Here\u2019s my method: I drill holes in water bottles and bury them alongside my plants, leaving just the cap above the ground. To water the plants, I unscrew the bottles\u2019 caps, fill the bottles and screw the caps back on. It requires some extra effort, but it conserves water, and my plants\u2014especially the tomatoes\u2014are thriving like never before.\u00a0 \u2014 Diane Newman\n
\n
To keep toilet paper dry and at the ready while camping, put the roll in a coffee can or CD\/DVD container. It makes a handy, weatherproof dispenser right next to the biffy.\n
\n
If you don\u2019t use up all of your seed packets, store them in an airtight container\u00a0with silica packets\u00a0to keep them fresh for next year. The silica packets prevent the seeds from germinating or getting moldy.\n
\n
To protect my fishing rods in the back of the truck, I\u00a0cover them with pool noodles. Cut the noodle and slip it over the rod. Depending on your rod style, use either one or two pieces of pool noodle.\n
\n
For an easy and green way to\u00a0start seeds, save your toilet paper and paper towel tubes. Cut the tubes into 2 in. lengths and set them in a waterproof tray. Fill the tubes with potting soil and plant your seeds. When the\u00a0seedlings are ready to move to the garden, plant them right in their cardboard tube. The cardboard will decompose. Be sure to keep the tube below the soil surface, so it doesn\u2019t wick moisture away from the roots.\n
\n
For deep planters, fill the bottom with old cans and plant pots. The cans and pots improve drainage and create air pockets for better aeration and healthier soil.\n
\n
Do you have a hard time starting seeds or cuttings? Try soda bottle greenhouses.\u00a0Cut the bottom off 2-liter soda bottles and remove the labels. Each seed gets its own micro greenhouse! Remove the greenhouses once the seeds have germinated and cuttings are rooted.\n
\n
I only own one watering can, so I need to refill it four or five times to water all of the plants on my patio. Instead of buying more overpriced\u00a0watering cans, I use old milk jugs. I drill a few holes in the caps, fill up the jugs with water and I\u2019m good to go. \u2014 Harrison Berg\n
\n
Do you have a noisy drip coming from the downspout that\u2019s driving you nuts? I discovered an easy way to stop the drip \u2014 just push a kitchen sponge into the bottom of the downspout. It\u2019ll muffle the dripping noise without blocking the water flow. \u2014 Susan Dahl\n
Need a way to haul branches over to your\u00a0fire pit? Carrying them in your arms is dirty work and trying to stuff them into a plastic bag is awkward. try using a sturdy plastic shopping bag with handles. Slit the sides, lay it flat, and fill it with branches and small logs. It loads easily and lets you carry wood without getting your clothes full of sap or mud.\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Elizabeth Flaherty, Familyhandyman Protect Your Plants with Milk Jugs\u00ad Worried about the new baby plants you just planted? Cut the bottoms out of gallon jugs and set them over new and fragile plants to protect them from bugs or a late frost. We love these fast-growing plants that maximize your curb appeal. Corral Your\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[100,30,46,6,134,120,31,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-7854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tie-life-style","8":"tag-diy","9":"tag-household-hacks","10":"tag-life-hacks","11":"tag-life-style","12":"tag-outdoor","13":"tag-save-money","14":"tag-tips","15":"tag-tricks"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Colorful-Photo-centric-Vlogging-Creative-Presentation-2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}