July 25, 2018 – The mysterious picture frame
I
have one gardening friend who “gets it” when I do strange things, or
experiments or funky color combinations.
She is my biggest fan and I enjoy her coming to visit my garden. She,
like me, loves to get her hands in the dirt,
with one exception, she actually has the education and background in
biology, botany and the sciences, etc. I
love it that she is so knowledgeable and we can actually carry on a serious gardener's
conversation.
As
many of you already know, my gardens are my passion and like an artist, I paint
with flower colors, plant textures, cobblestones and rocks. It is a challenge because the garden goes
through a metamorphous every day, every season, every year. It is often like chasing my tail or shooting
at a moving target, but I think that is why I enjoy the challenge.
We
have had ample rain this last week and I went for a garden stroll and noticed a
garden tool set aside that I made because I was too cheap to buy one. I didn’t think anything of this ‘clever’ idea
until my good friend happened to notice it and quickly took out her smart phone
and snapped a picture of it. I think she
said something like ‘brilliant and delightful’.
It gave her great pleasure to share with her other gardening
friends. The moment gave me a big head
for about 2 minutes – thinking I was so darn clever or smart – then I shrugged
it off thinking – doesn’t everyone do this type of stuff?
We
have a convenience center that has a “Swap it” shed so that you can place items
that are usable for someone else to take, thereby less items go into the
landfill. I usually only peruse this
Swap shed when I am dropping something off. One day I happened on a picture
frame that looked interesting. It is 16
x 19 inches and made of some sort of plastic foam or wood composite with a
thick scrolled frame. The frame sported tired gold paint with nicks and
scratches.
I
picked it up thinking a splash of fresh gold paint and I would have a frame for
an item that was on my to-do list and lingering around waiting for me to “do-it”. But, I discovered when I brought it home, it
didn’t exactly fit the project and since I hadn’t spent any money on it, I tossed
it in the shed for future framing projects.
I
already had a homemade compost screen with ½ inch openings of galvanized mesh,
but I wanted finer sifted compost to top dress the seeds I was planting.
Necessity is the mother of invention. I needed ¼ inch opening of galvanized mesh,
and a frame sized to put over the top of a 3 gallon or 5 gallon pot so I could
re-sift the ½ inch compost into a finer compost for my immediate needs.
I
wandered into my shed looking for suitable scraps of wood to make a frame and spotted
the picture frame waiting on me. TA DA!
Frame already made, it was an easy matter of cutting the wire mesh and nailing
it onto the back of the frame. Trust me – simple. The hardest part was finding the right type
if nails – wide heads that were short enough to not come through the front of
the frame.
It
took less than an hour to put together and it has served me well for at least 8
to 10 years. The gold is even more faded
now, but still, you can see by the snapshot – it is still in working order.
Since
I made that sieve, my ½ inch compost sieve had crumbled and could not be
repaired. Recently I noticed a nice one
[link below] and I ordered it. During my
convalescence with this hamstring, I had plenty of time for sit down work and brushed the new, untreated poplar wood sieve with linseed oil to improve its
durability.
If
you don’t have either a ½ inch mesh screen or a 1/4th inch mesh
screen for your gardening work . . . above are ideas and suggestions.
BONUS
TIP: You can also use the ½ inch mesh screen to rub dry leaves through it in
the fall to crumbled leaves to use as mulch in your gardens, or turn into the
garden soil like leaf mold
Where I purchased the Wheel barrow sifter.
https://www.amleo.com/wheelbarrow-sifter-for-compost-and-soil/p/S22/
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