measuring stick

[Nicos]

Just read on p31 of GYO about a measuring stick.
I have used one for years and find them great. What I use however is an old bamboo cane and mark it off every 2 ft( with a bit of bailing twine )as this seems to be one of the most frequently used planting distances quoted. It's very light so can easily be lifted when at arms length and it's easy to judge the one foot inbetween. If you have too many marks it can be a bit confusing. I used to mark off 4 and 6 ins in the first couple of feet, but it's easy to judge by eye (and hand width etc) eventually. Tend to make a new one each year as I never seem to find it again until the autumn!What do other people do?

[Peter]

Use me boots and the trowel as measures!

Also have a Wilkinson Sword Aluminum handled hoe which has measures on the handle.

[andrewo]

I just use my hand and trowel, I don't think my hand has shrunk over the years but my trowels have.

[Geordie]

Aaahhh Andrewo the curse of the male gardner.....shrinking trowels!

[JennieAtkinson]

Beat me to it Geordie !

Everytime I plant out I curse the fact that I haven't got a measure and my hands are quite small so things tend to get planted rather close together!

Bamboo cane is a great idea - so off to do that now - no excuses this year. Thanks for the tip Nicos.

[andrewo]

Trowels just keep shrinking on me, maybe I have trowel envy . I also used to use bamboo with permanent marker on it but I kept losing it and using it to support perennials.

[eskymo]

I just guess....never done me any harm!

[nick the grief]

I've got a peice of wood marked off, it came with the lottie shed I read in one magazine of some one who has a "bunch" of peices of wood that are different lengths 3", 6", 9", 12" and they are made from a bit of board 4" wide then there is a hole drilled in the corner & they are fastened on some stout string. I think they were painted bright yellow as well so they were easy to spot. Thought this was a good idea but still haven't done it yet

[sewer rat]

For my raised beds, I have grooves cut every 4" along the two ends, and I then have a long scaffolding board that spans the length of the beds and it's marked off for spacings of 4", 6" and 12" along its' length with different colours

[Nicos]

I like the idea of marking along the edges of the raised beds! Think I will do that this year too.

[Lesley Jay]

I just have a thin length of wood 3 foot long. One side is marked off in 4 inch measures and the other in 3 inch measures with the 1 foot and 2 foot measurements clearly marked.

[Jaxom]

I use my eye, hand span, finger length and my thumb. Seems to work every time.
As I only have small beds these days it is even easier as I have divided them up into a grid that is fixed and each square is 1'x1'. Each square foot then divides down into smaller squares of 16. 12. 9. 4. 8. and of course 1. Which all equate to the spacing needed in inches to sow and plant out.