Gardening : Hand Tools : Gardening Gizmos : Home & Garden Television

Figure A

Master gardener Paul James is always on the lookout for great new garden gizmos that make life in the garden a little easier. Here are some that caught his eye:

Clean your hands in a jiffy with a strap-on hand cleaner (figure A). The hand cleaner straps to your thigh with Velcro. As you rub your hands over it, its tiny rubber bristles scrape the dirt off your hands. The cleaner washes easily.

Figure B

Figure C

Giant hand scoops (figure B) are oversized versions of human hands. These one-size-fits-all garden gizmos make picking up leaves and other garden debris much easier--especially if the debris is full of pine needles or stickers.

This handy little hose holder (figure C) saves you the trouble of having to babysit your spray nozzle. All you have to do is slip the hose into the holder, stab the holder in the ground and turn the nozzle on.

Figure D

A motion-sensitive sprinkler (figure D) is used to deter pests like rabbits, squirrels and even deer. All you have to do is hook it up to a hose and position it wherever critters are a problem. The infrared sensor detects pests up to 35 feet away, and the sprinkler blasts them with a three-second burst of water--roughly equivalent to two cups. The head adjusts to cover one small area or your entire garden, and it shoots water up to 45 feet. It sells for about $100, the two 9-volt batteries not included.

Figure E

Figure F

The shrake (part shovel and part rake) (figure E) is great for sifting rock out of the soil, scooping debris and leaf litter out of ponds and removing trash from sand--either on the beach or in the sandbox.

A miniature version of the shovel (figure F) is great for serious digging in tight spots in the garden. It functions like an oversized trowel and is also useful as an emergency tool or camp shovel.

Figure G

Turning the compost pile is hard work, but it's essential if you want the pile to decompose properly because the pile needs plenty of oxygen to do that. With the compost aerator (figure G), all you do is stick the corkscrew into the pile, turn it a few times and lift it. It creates little conduits in the pile for oxygen to flow through to reach the pile's center.

There are many ways to grow tomatoes: You can let them sprawl on the ground the way nature intended, you can stake and tie them or you can grow them in cages. With the tomato spiral, all you do is stick one in the ground and plant a tomato close up to it and let it grow. The tomato plant will grow up the spiral without any help and without any tying.

Resources
mini shovel, spiral stakes
Gardener's Supply Company
Website: www.gardeners.com

wipe mat, garden scoops, lazy hose, sprayer
Brookstone Mail Order Processing Center
1655 Bassford Dr.
Mexico, MO 65265
Toll-free: 800-926-7000
Website: www.brookstone.com
Also in this Episode

Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-412
•	Spring Planting
•	Gardening Gizmos
•	All About Ferns
•	Plant Collectors

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