Let me get this straight — I have to remember to turn the compost AND sift it, too? I thought GG reader JudyBusy was talking crazy, but riddles are no joking matter. They actually make a lot of sense — especially for someone like me who forgets to remove twist ties and rubber bands.

DIY Danika works 60 hours a week and still found time to assemble her very own riddle:
I took the frame from a broken tray, a bit of hardware mesh, and a staple gun to make me a riddle! It took about 15 minutes

Are you into riddles? Or is it like the gardener’s form of flossing, you know, something you mean to do but never seem to find the time to do it?

When it comes to gardening, it seems like the UK is way ahead of us yanks. Planters, tools, boots and gloves, I can’t help but envy some of their solutions from everything from weeding to patio gardening.

GG reader Patty stumbled across this marvy potato barrel (right) from UK gardening institution, Suttons Seeds :

Hi Greengirls!

I’ve been trying to locate someplace here in MN (or at least the US!) that carries the potato barrel and/or strawberry tubs shown below. I love these, but refuse to pay to have them shipped from the UK! Any chance you or the rest of the gardening crew have any hints for me where to find these (or something similar)?

Thanks!
Patty

Truth be told, these pots make potato planting and harvesting look like a grab-and-go counter. (See how easily the cleaned-handed gardener fills her basket?) Seriously crush worthy. I’d like 3 or 4 of these on my patio, but I haven’t seen them in any TC garden center. Have you?

A few weeks ago, my favorite garden tool was easy to pick. It was once a hoe, but the hoe blade fell off, leaving just a little hook on the end of a long pole. I took one look at that and decided it was perfect for making rows when planting peas, beans, whatever. And I’ve used it ever since.

But now that things are planted, I might have to say my favorite tool is something called the Hula-Ho, a scuffle hoe or an “action” hoe. You can push it and pull it and it doesn’t take much muscle to turn my garden into something I could actually proudly show a visitor.

I’ve noticed, though, there are starting to be an awfully lot of options in the garden tool department. There are dozens of designs of hoes alone. The winged hoe, for instance, looks like it could be lethal to weeds. But maybe to my shins, too. Has anyone tried it?

How about some of the other options for de-weeding our world? Have you been tempted by the flamers, the infra-red weeders, the organic weedkillers? What’s your favorite garden tool — and why?

When it comes to gardening gloves, leather and cotton are sooo 20th century. This season, cyborg inspired styles and synthetics are all the rage. But are hi-tech materials worth the high price?

Amy Stewart of Garden Rant reviewed the latest and greatest in garden gloves. She’s hard on her hands, and her gloves rarely last longer than a year. (What do they grow out there in Zone 9, anyway?)

I’m a flake and often loose a pair (or two) of West County gloves during the growing season. At $30 a pop, it’s heartbreaking to loose a hand. Often I’m weeding with mismatched gloves, or running around the yard wearing only one.

What gloves do you love? What ones have brought you nothing but disappointment? With season clearance sales right around the corner, now is a good time to share your garden glove reviews and score an expensive pair on the cheap.

I have a friend who laughs at my projects. She says I don’t do anything small. Now, I have to admit that she’s right.

This hot summer has really gotten me thinking about rain barrels. It’s the smartest thing in the world to catch otherwise wasted water and save it for watering the garden. It reduces run-off and conserves water. So smart.

In Texas, there are a dozen firms that specialize in rain catchment systems. I couldn’t find any in Minnesota, so I started talking to my neighbor, who is an excavator (and rain barrel enthusiast) about creating one for me.

Of course, I had a challenge. Normally rain barrels sit under downspouts. But our architect didn’t spec any down spouts for our house when we remodeled it this spring, preferring instead to have wide galvanized metal gutters without downspouts. They look great, but heavy rain drills holes in my lawn.

With the help of my neighbor and his crew, we installed a cool new system last week. The water falls into in-ground 12″ x 12″ basins placed under the end of each gutter. From there, it runs through underground tubing and collects in a 1300-gallon concrete underground holding tank! Now, that’s one big rain barrel!

It hasn’t rained here since they installed it, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get that storm later today. For so many reasons, both small — and big!