Enabling Tools and Techniques
| by N. Christopher Knowles, Douglas County Master
Gardener |
| Generally when we think of enabling tools, we think of people who are physically
challenged. Well, we are all physically challenged. How can you readily space mustard,
carrot or radish seeds? An enabling technique would be to encapsulate them in a very small
pieces of toilet paper. Moisten the pad on the tip of a finger, press it onto a seed, then
wrap it in a small piece of toilet paper. The toilet paper will dissolve in the ground.
Now you can both see it and put it exactly where it should be in your garden. At this
point an "enabling tool" would be a piece of PVC tubing cut between 3 to five
feet with a funnel on the top end. This will allow you to stand erect and put large seeds
exactly where they should be. To really be precise a knotted cord laid along your planting
line will both maintain appropriate spacing and keep your plants in a straight line.
For those of you who must get closer to the action, a kneeling pad can be made from foam rubber 8.5" wide by 16" long and 1.5" thick, sealed in a plastic bag with water resistant tape. A little more practical , but less convenient, to employ, would be to cut 5" by 5" pads from thick foam rubber. Sew a pocket of denim around it, like a pillow. Then attach Velcro to each pad and to an old pair of garden jeans or pants. Now you can attach pads to your knees when needed. Right angled triangles of 6, 12 or 15 inches could be a very handy particularly if planting in a wide raised bed. It would readily facilitate spacing. Seed tapes are an enabling technique most of us know about but don't practice. Wax paper, Elmers Glue, seeds, scissors, a ruler and magic marker are all you need to make it so it comes out right. Lay out one half the length of wax paper needed. Cut the wax paper in half, lengthwise. Tape wax paper end to end. Unroll toilet paper on top of wax paper. Use the ruler to correctly space small droplets of glue down the center of the toilet paper. Follow the directions on seed packet for correct spacing. Place one seed in each droplet. Then roll up and label each seed tape with magic marker with date and variety. Enabling garden hints:
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