My Secret Vegetable Gardening Tool…

Gardening Tool

I didn’t set out to find a ‘secret’ gardening tool for my vegetable garden.  But, I often find myself finding other uses for tools that I often use for other things.

This ‘secret’ tool is one that I purchased to help me with my sewing, years ago.  I have had it for over 10 years and keep it in my hall closet.


So what is this ‘secret’ tool?

It is my yardstick….

Gardening Tool

Gardening Tool

My yardstick, which I no longer use for sewing by the way, is the perfect tool for not only measuring, but it also creates small furrows for seedlings.

Gardening Tool

Gardening Tool

I am sure that the creator of the yardstick never imagined people using it for creating furrows, do you?

Gardening Tool

It also makes spacing very easy for planting vegetable seeds and cloves of garlic.

I must admit that I am not the only one that finds my yardstick useful….

Gardening Tool

Years ago, my daughter, Gracie, found out that my yardstick also made a great ‘walking’ stick when she was 2 years old.

Later, she shared the benefits of the yardstick with her new little brother, Kai, shortly after we adopted him….

Kai's second day

This is Kai’s second day at home after we returned from China from adopting him.  You can see that his feet are turned inwards.  He had surgery later, which repaired his feet.

She didn’t feel like sharing her yardstick, but she gave Kai a wooden spoon to play with.

So do you have a yardstick?

What do you use yours for?

Game Night, Indoor Gardening, and Recommended Garden Products

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
5 replies
  1. Andrea
    Andrea says:

    Hahaha, i had to laugh when Gracie gave Kai a spoon instead! I have followed their story from the start, and i am glad they are now teenagers, very blessed kids for having a mother like you. Now the yardstick. Ours has been stored somewhere for many years, now i dont know how to find it from the stored lots of things from previous lifetimes!

  2. Curbstone Valley Farm
    Curbstone Valley Farm says:

    I don't have a yard stick, but I do understand how helpful it is in the garden. I had a leftover piece of pvc water pipe about 4 feet long. It's just wide enough to go across one of our raised vegetable garden beds. I have marks across it for 4" and 6" spacing, the most common spacing for our transplants. Like your stick, it helps to make a straight furrow too, so I can sow the carrots in a straight line! 😉

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