Handmade row markers ... ...

To go with our new veg beds, we decided to make some bespoke ;-) wooden row markers, after all you need to know what you planted and where, with a memory like mine I need all the help I can get :-)

Here they are (the ones we've done so far, there will be more)

Ta da ! 

Okay they are simple enough to make, these are made from scraps of wood, the one in the background was made from a scrap of wood left over from the pallets we used to make the raised beds.

Nothing special, built more for function than form I guess. The lettering was done using a pyrography tool which if I'm honest has been sitting around for more than a year, this is the first time I've used it (pyrography is basically burning designs into wood) as you can see it's not perfect, probably requires a steadier hand than mine, I used a letter stamp set as a template, stamping the letters on in ink first, then burning them into the wood.

The other three markers were made out of a couple of bits of tongue and groove, I marked a basic stake sort of shape out on the wood and then cut them out on my scroll saw, you could use a coping saw or a hack saw, then I gave them a quick sand, I haven't coated them in anything yet, I'm still wondering about what to coat them in, I'll probably use a varnish of some sort.

Some more pictures -

I should have drawn a line on them to get the letters level :-)

And another - 

Handy if vampires invade the garden ;-)

I got to thinking that this would make a nice project for older kids to do, I say older kids because of the tools involved, but there's no reason younger kids can't do it, you could do the cutting out and such like for them, then they can decorate them, they don't even have to be wood, you could make them out of clay, although it would need a varnish or some other coating, it might make a nice project for kids to do as well, why not set them the task of designing their own row markers ? they could research designs,materials and it doesn't matter if you don't grow veg or have a garden they could be presents for relatives who do.

This is the one I made from a piece of scrap left over from the veg beds - 

A slightly more decorative one.

They don't have to be plain stake like markers, which is why I thought about making it into a project, or why not just for fun ? you can find scrap bits of wood in the off cuts bin in most diy type shops, you could make them from branches that have fallen off trees, or as I mentioned clay, or some other material.

The stake like ones in the veg beds - 

Beans.

Peas.

And there you have it, it didn't take long to make them, I've since made a few more for the various other things we've planted, and I'll make more as we go along. Okay so we didn't need to bother, but why not add a little bit of a personal touch to the garden ? no harm in it, and as I've said it might keep the kids busy for a little while.

Thanks for reading.