Stop Buying Plastic Junk: 5 DIY Garden Gifts Under $10
I hate the mall in December.
The parking lot is a war zone. The music is too loud. And the “gifts”? Overpriced plastic garbage that will end up in a landfill by February.
If you have a gardener in your life, do not buy them another ceramic gnome. We don’t want it. We don’t need it.
What we need is stuff that actually helps us in the dirt. And the best part? You can make the best stuff right now, in your kitchen, for less than ten bucks.
Here are the only 5 DIY gifts I’d actually be happy to unwrap.
1. The “Working Hands” Scrub
Gardeners have lizard skin. It’s a fact. Between the dirt, the cold, and the constant washing, our hands are a disaster zone. Fancy store-bought scrubs cost $25 and smell like fake perfume.
Make this instead. It works better and costs pennies.
The Recipe:
- 1 cup white sugar (for the grit).
- 1/2 cup olive oil or coconut oil (for the moisture).
- 1 tablespoon dish soap (to cut the grease).
- A few drops of lemon juice or essential oil (so we don’t smell like mulch).
Mix it up until it looks like slush. Shove it in a small mason jar. Tie a piece of twine around it. Done. It rips the dirt off but leaves the skin soft. I use it every single day.
2. The “Lazy” Seed Tape
Planting carrots is a nightmare. The seeds are the size of dust specs. You drop them, the wind blows them away, or you plant them too thick and have to spend hours thinning them later.
Store-bought seed tape is a rip-off. You are paying for paper.
Do this instead:
- Get a roll of cheap toilet paper.
- Mix some flour and water to make a paste.
- Unroll the TP. Put a dab of paste every two inches.
- Stick one seed on each dab. Let it dry. Roll it back up.
Put it in a nice envelope. You just saved your friend three hours of back-breaking labor in the spring. That is love.
3. The Tool-Cleaning Bucket
This is an old-timer trick. Every gardener I know wants this, but nobody takes the time to make it.
Get a small galvanized bucket or even a sturdy flower pot. Fill it with sand. Pour in a cup of motor oil or vegetable oil. Mix it until the sand feels damp.
How it works: When we finish gardening, we stab our dirty shovel or trowel into the oily sand a few times. The sand scrapes off the dirt, and the oil coats the metal to stop rust. It keeps tools sharp and shiny for decades.
It’s ugly, but it’s the most useful thing on this list.
4. Spoon Plant Markers
I plant seeds. I forget what I planted. I wait three months and get a weed instead of a petunia. It happens to the best of us.
Plastic markers snap in the sun. Wood markers rot.
Go to a thrift store. Buy a handful of old metal spoons. Flatten the bowl of the spoon with a hammer (it’s good stress relief). Paint the name of the veggie on the flat part.
They are indestructible. They look cool. And they cost about fifty cents each.
5. The “Winter Blues” Jar
January and February are miserable for gardeners. We are stuck inside staring at frozen mud.
Give us a little hope.
Grab a quart-sized mason jar. Fill it with:
- Five packets of weird seeds (purple carrots, striped tomatoes).
- A pair of cheap cotton gloves.
- A handful of wooden plant labels.
It’s a “Spring Starter Kit.” It reminds us that the sun will come back eventually.
Also Read: That “Mud” on Your Christmas Tree Is a Nightmare Waiting to Hatch
Bottom Line
You don’t need to spend a fortune to show someone you care. You just need to know what makes their life easier.
Skip the mall. Stay home. Make something useful. Your wallet—and your gardener friends—will thank you.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some spoons to hammer.
For more honest reviews and tips, check out Fit For Yard. And keep up with the latest garden alerts in our News section.
