Modify

I have been doing a bit of tweaking to my irrigation system.  It needs to be working perfectly so Hubby the Un-Gardener won’t kill my plants while I am away in America.  I still fear for the wellbeing my plants, but I have to trust him.  There will be lists.  Extensive lists, and possible regular checks ups from across the seas.

The irrigation trolley was doing a great job around my garden and has been such a blessing as I have found myself away from the garden more than usual lately as I prepare for the big trip.  However there was room for improvement.  After much thought I added a small platform to the part of the trolley that holds the wee computer because the twisty tie wasn’t cutting it and let’s face it – it was never a permanent solution.  The computer is much more stable now.

I had to cut out a notch from the platform to accommodate the hose and while it was easy enough to cut into the wood to make the notch I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to cut across the end of the notch as it was kind of land locked so to speak. So after bit of creative thinking, I cut several more slots into the wood, then laid a block of wood across where I wanted the notch to be and I bashed at the slots with a hammer.  I ended up with an ever so slightly wobbly edge, but job done. I had my notch for the hose.

Then I turned my attention to the wheels.  As cool as the beer top washers were – they just weren’t up to the job and since the trolley had been in use, they had jiggled the wheels loose.  The wheels are now firmly held in place with real washers.

The other conundrum I encountered with use, was that it was hard enough to manoeuvre with wonky wheels, but to be dragging metres of hoses was a bit of a struggle.  They would all get caught up as we went around corners and there was no going forwards.  The whole thing had to be wheeled backwards and if I over shot where I wanted the trolley to be to reach all the beds, then I had to do another circuit of the garden to get it in position.  I just had to do something.

Now my lovely friend who left me her hose when she when she went overseas to live, may not have entrusted me with it if she knew I would chop it all up, but to be honest I think she would have been stoked that it had all became part of a creative process.   Because it wasn’t just the hose that came in handy.  When I was pondering my problem, the empty hose reel caught my eye.  Hmmm… maybe I could use that.

So I attached some posts to the end of the trolley and then rummaged through Hubby the Un-Gardeners shed and found some strange looking drill bits that made big holes, so I selected the one that would accommodate the hose real best.  I did have to get Hubby the Un-Gardener to drill the large holes as I found it needed ‘man strength.’  Now he has claimed bragging rights – “look at the trolley WE made.”

Then I cut the tops out of the holes and slotted the hose reel in.  It fit perfectly.  So I started to wind up the hoses, but they all kept popping out and getting tangled.  It was like herding kittens.  So I had a bit of a rethink.  Now being on a bit of a budget I needed to be resourceful.  Over the years I have always bought the cheap hose connector packs that came with two connectors, a hose end and a thing for the tap.  So I had loads of these tap end things hanging about in my shed with no real purpose as my tap has a fancy two way fitting.

I got the big drill back out and made six  holes into the centre of the reel and screwed in place six of these tap ends.  But the opposite side of the centre reel was proving to be a problem and interfered with the ease of use of the tap ends.  So I hacked it away without destroying the structural integrity of the reel.

So now all I have to do to move my trolley is to connect each end of hose to a tap fitting in the centre of the reel and then wind it all up.  Job done.

Come again soon – see what Hubby the Un-Gardener has to do in my garden while I’m away.

Sarah the Gardener  : o )

Check out this weeks video tour, it’s just a short one as I’ve got just a bit on…