Forum home Tools and techniques
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Simplify Gardening - Close to perfect tools?

135

Posts

  • Lou12Lou12 Posts: 1,149

    I'd like a full time gardner.

     

  • @ ExtremeGardener: Ahaha, a very good point - unfortunately we don't have a choice in this matter; the university has links with companies and they decided, in their all mighty wisdom, to pick Bosch and have us design (and make) something for their Garden range.

    I assume since it's something most students know nothing about, it helps us develop as product designers with all the research and being out of our comfort zone, etc. but hey, I just want to make something that works well, looks awesome and gets me a good mark, ahaha.

  • hi AK I think it would have to be a senser maybe fitted into a band of some sort that wraps or ties around the handle of whatever tool you are using.

    Most garden hand tools either have a hole in the handle or groves around the handle to secure some string or tie for hanging up in the shed.

    oooh it's not going to be easy is it?

     

     

  • I never take my mobile into the garden as it would either get wet, muddy or lost, quite possibly all three!

  • How about a fork that you put into a drill and it turns round slowly for tilling the soil in small raised beds.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,140
    AKdaBAOUS wrote (see)

    @ KT53: From what I've seen and heard so far, cats are really the demons of the gardening community - it would be quite an interesting concept to design but I'd have to double check if I'd be allowed to proceed down that route, ahaha.

    I do have an idea for it though but I'm not sure if it currently exists - you can get PIR sensors that effectively take an 'image' of the surround environment (well whatever it fits into its viewing angle) and then if something changes, they send out a signal.

    So theoretically speaking, you could connect several of these sensors so that the entire garden is mapped and then if a cat (which would be a suitably large change in the environment) comes along, you play a sound at a frequency that only the cat can hear (like a cat whistle or something, ahaha) which would probably send it packing. And of course, this would only work when a change occurs so the system itself would be quite 'intelligent'.

     

     

    I worry that something like that would also deter the hedgehogs that visit this garden ... perhaps if you go down that route you could investigate whether that would happen?

     

     

     

     

     

     


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





  • How about a motorised tool for turning and mixing compost - maybe something along the lines of a concrete mixer but rather more attractive and lighter? Light enough to be moved around easily and attractive so that those without a shed would be able to live with looking at it.

    Failing that - a pair of gloves that are equally warm and easy to work in!

  • @ Passionate: That sounds pretty straightforward, I'll add it to the list of design ideas, ahaha.
    Yeah it's going to be a challenge but I guess that's not so bad.

    @ Mistertiler: Thanks for the information - I'll add it to the ever growing list, ahaha.

    @ Dovefromabove: I had a quick look around and according to the data on this page (http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/HearingRange.html) cats can hear between 45-64,000 Hz whilst the hedgehog has a range of 250-45,000 Hz. Since the average human is about 64-23,000 Hz we're already out of the picture but you'd probably want something above 50,000 just to make sure dogs can't pick up on it. I think theoretically speaking, it could probably work, ahaha.

    @ tepee the troll: That's an interesting idea - it could be some sort of spherical container (on a stand of sorts) that you put your raw materials into and it spills/rolls about on the spot - kinda like a ball joint.

    ---

    On a different note, I was chatting with an acquaintance of mine who has a thing for styling her garden and I had an idea for an adjustable shrub trimmer. I was wondering if anyone here would find that a useful at all (assuming you have shrubs and such to trim, ahahah)?

    It works like this - the angle of the blade can be changed from 0 degrees (horizontally flat) to 90 degrees (vertically flat) so if you have an unruly bush or shrub and you'd like to make a nice design with edges tapered at, let's say 60 degrees, you can just set the blade to the necessary angle and go about trimming.

    It'd have electronics in it to ensure it'd keep the set angle regardless of how you hold the tool so say it's at 60 when you hold it straight but your arm gets tired and falls by 15, it'd adjust for the 15 so it says at 60. I hope I haven't lost anyone, ahaha.

    But yes, it was just a thought I had - any feedback would be appreciated and as always, thank you for the information and please keep posting anything you find interesting. image

  • AK - such a drum type composter is already on the market - but the only one I have seen is manual and when full of compost is far to heavy to move. All best wishes with your project though....I hope you come up with something useful that we would all want to buy.

  • hi ak  don't know about any new tool but best thing I think and they have been out awhile is my 6foot spade and same fork save a lot of strain on back  and you don't loose them easy to see

Sign In or Register to comment.