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Calling all MacGyvers

improvised stuff

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#1 waterboy

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Posted 27 May 2012 - 10:04 AM

Everyone does it at some stage gerry rigs, improvise, bush mechanic and ghetto tek stuff for their gardens.

I am interested to see what crafty stuff some of you get up too, and may prove useful for others.

To kick it off, my reusable tree guard, got sick of kangaroos smashing tree guards to bits in random acts of vandalism....

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Basically a trye with a few holes drilled in the sidewall to tie a round on wire onto it. Just ringlock with cheap chicken wire wrapped around, the background is only high quality chicken wire. The weight of the tyre keeps in place.All materials salvaged.

Last for years, can be moved around and if you are extra crafty can be electrified in series for additional stock protection :wink:

Never using stakes and tree bags again.

Show us what a crafty bunch you are....

WB

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#2 Halcyon Daze

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Posted 27 May 2012 - 11:26 AM

You seriously deserve a medal for that one!

Here's a diagram of a watering system that I rigged up a long time ago for natives in dry areas.

The drum is buried about 10-15 cm into the ground. Basically you pour water into the drum and it slowly feeds out to the plant over a week or two. Pouring water into the drum will also top-up the shallow reservoir at the bottom which a few roots may access and crucially the whole thing provides shade to the root zone from the hot afternoon sun.

Also, it is topped-up by even a light drizzle thanks to the corrugated iron.

A plant with this set-up will battle along for a lot longer in a drought while the others die. Of course the more you actually water it the better, but it's an added layer of safety.

I used a medium sized barrel but you could even use a 44 gallon drum, except a 44 would be a lot more work to fill with dirt. I had a big plastic tray in the bottom filled with gravel as a reservoir. It was an experiment more than anything but it worked really well and I'll use them again if I head back into dry country.

I also use very thick mulch. The more you put in the more you get out.

Attached File  waterer.JPG   36.11K   9 downloads

Edited by Halcyon Daze, 27 May 2012 - 09:35 PM.

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#3 space cadet swami

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Posted 27 May 2012 - 12:16 PM

I hope u came up with something better then this for ur thesis.... :P

Seriously though, very inventive my friend... :wink:
"We are spirits, in the material world" - Sting.

#4 Goldtop

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Posted 27 May 2012 - 03:08 PM

This is my ghetto light stand and reflector lol, its about as low tek as ive gotten so far. But more inventions are sure to come haha :) http://s1079.photobu...nt=IMG_236.jpg

Edited by Goldtop, 17 June 2012 - 06:08 PM.


#5 myco

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Posted 27 May 2012 - 07:03 PM

Haha that's definately a ghetto light setup there light Taped onto a piece of wood with weights taped to it to hold it down hahaha
That's fuckin classic mate love it :)

#6 waterboy

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Posted 27 May 2012 - 07:22 PM

Lol...I love it too GT, that is definitely ghetto tek :lol: You are a Macgyver....
A sheet of plywood painted white will give you more reflective light with a better spread than the foil if you scratch up the bits.

Keep em coming folks, will throw up a few more when I take some photos.

"We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character." - Albert Einstein


"An alkaloid never occurs alone....."


#7 kadakuda

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Posted 31 May 2012 - 04:31 PM

Kangaroos....that is such a cool problem to have (probably not for you guys i bet)