Forum home› The potting shed
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Loose objects in garden. (A level Design engineering)

wkynastongvq_d5rVxwkynastongvq_d5rVx Posts: 9
in The potting shed
Hi all, I am currently working on my A level DT project and am thinking about doing something to do with gardening, I am going to input 4 questions and if you could answer them then this would be valuable information that I can use to guide my project.
Will

Questions:

1-Are there any problems that you come across whilst gardening?

2-Do you have a piece of land that is ever littered with leaves, grass clippings, twigs, etc ?

3-Do you come across any items that you cant pick up with your bare hands? If so what ?

4-Are there any loose objects that are too abundant to be picked up by hand?

 

«1

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Can't pick up things with thorns,nettles or slimy things like slugs so I use gloves. Leaves,I use a brush or a rake. I have been known to use chopsticks to pick up snails.
    Fox or cat poo are things I really don't want and to get on my gloves or anything else.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited May 2022
    1. Nothing that's a show-stopper.  The usual problems are finding correctly-sized tools, gloves etc but other similar threads have covered those in huge detail.
    2. Yes, at some times of year but it's not generally a problem. Stuff on the borders generally gets left except for a few small plants that I clear around, and I gather up fallen leaves around the crowns of thing like dahlias that benefit from a bit of insulation for the winter. Leaves etc on the grass gets picked up by the mower, hard surfaces are easy to sweep and I don't have any gravel areas.
    3. Cat poo, the occasional dead mouse, very prickly stuff, and next door's kids' footballs etc (not taking chances with things that people have had their germ-ridden hands on). I have gloves, and old trowel that's kept outside for picking up nasty things.
    4. Not that isn't dealt with as described against 2.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960

    1-Are there any problems that you come across whilst gardening?

    There are pests which attack and destroy my plants- slugs, snails, mice, birds, my dog and my children.


    2-Do you have a piece of land that is ever littered with leaves, grass clippings, twigs, etc ?

    Oh yes, I have several deciduous trees. I don't rake it up very often. My dog enjoys playing in the leaves and it all disintegrates quite quickly that way.

    3-Do you come across any items that you cant pick up with your bare hands? If so what ?

    Animal dung, squashed snails, dead rats, nettles and brambles (painful to the touch).


    4-Are there any loose objects that are too abundant to be picked up by hand?

    Hedge clippings... so I sweep them up.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited May 2022
    Autumn leaves on a gravel or shingle driveway. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    1, old age
    2, no
    3, gloves help
    4,no
    Devon.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Dovefromabove said:
    Autumn leaves on a gravel or shingle driveway. 
    get a blower and move them onto a surface where they can be picked up. tarmac, grass etc
    Devon.
  • HeartinthedirtHeartinthedirt Posts: 300
    1 - being a novice and not having a clue. Or enough time to do everything!
    2 - being surrounded by deciduous trees, always loads of leaves in autumn, but worth the effort of collecting for mulch
    3 - snails; dead baby birds; poo; anything spikey or stingy
    4 - ugly old stones put down by previous owner
    It's knowing what to do with things that counts - Robert Frost
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hostafan1 said:
    Dovefromabove said:
    Autumn leaves on a gravel or shingle driveway. 
    get a blower and move them onto a surface where they can be picked up. tarmac, grass etc
    Not my problem I hasten to add … it’s just one we were asked that stuck in my mind from last autumn … or maybe the autumn before … apparently blowing them didn’t work for some reason … 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    wkynastongvq_d5rVx said:
    Hi all, I am currently working on my A level DT project and am thinking about doing something to do with gardening, I am going to input 4 questions and if you could answer them then this would be valuable information that I can use to guide my project.
    Will

    Questions:

    1-Are there any problems that you come across whilst gardening?

    2-Do you have a piece of land that is ever littered with leaves, grass clippings, twigs, etc ?

    3-Do you come across any items that you cant pick up with your bare hands? If so what ?

    4-Are there any loose objects that are too abundant to be picked up by hand?

     

    1. Weeds that take over if I don't get rid quick - geum, bindweed, etc. 

    2. Yes. I'll clip flowerheads, twigs, leaves and let them drop. I'll only clear big leaves or tree shedding off the lawn.

    3. Bird and hedgehog poo.

    4. No.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I use the dog’s (biodegradable of course 😇) poo bags to pick up any other animal sh*t. Otherwise sturdy gloves or a rake do most jobs, except for the occasional fallen tree!

    Its quite a challenge to invent some revolutionary new garden tool. Whoever invented the leaf blower should be shot! Maybe keep it manual so as not to add to the consumption of fossil fuels or mining of precious metals for batteries?
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Sign In or Register to comment.