DIY Plant Spacer

Here’s a simple and effective tool to space your transplants evenly in your raised bed

Launch Gallery

I have to confess that I am more or less of a perfectionist when it comes to the layout and seem of my provoke seam garden . There is this compelling drive in my brain to have all of my plants and rowing space as utterly as they possibly can be .

One side of me ( the one in the managing director ’s chair speaking an annoying French accent ) says , “ Greg , lots of masses are going to see the garden this year . Ithasto be perfect ! No plants can be out of place . ” The other side of me ( the one outwear the Jimmy Buffet parrot lid hold a cocktail ) says , “ you’renottrying to win an award , buddy . Besides , the works could care less if they ’re misaligned . ”

All joke away , this cool tool , originally call the “ planting board ” , is based on one that I find in my pet gardening rule book , The New Victory Gardenby Bob Thomson . I ’ve adapt it for smaller raised bed use , as well as putting the spacing notches on both sides rather than one .

The leaning of thing you ’ll need :

• Piece of 1″ x 4″ x 6′ plyboard ( you probably had one of these dwell around from my other projects)• see ( an galvanic jigsaw would be best)• Pencil , calculator and tape measure

Construction :

1 . appraise the inner distance of the raise bed and subtract 4 in from that mensuration . This is the length your works spacer needs to be . Why 4 inch ? I ’ll get to that .

2 . Determine where you need your “ allowance ” to be . In other quarrel , decide how close-fitting to the edge of the raise bed your outmost plants are to be planted . I would n’t recommend less than 6 inches myself , but this is determined by what you ’re planting . Mark this measurement from each edge of the planting spacer .

3 . Measure the distance between these two mark . separate that space in such a agency as to get as near to 6 - in incision as you could along the planting spacer . Six inches represents a common spacing aloofness for many veggie transplants . punctuate these locations on one side of the planting spacer .

4 . Repeat these step for the other side of the board , only this sentence we ’re make one foot sections alternatively of 6 - in sections for larger works .

5 . track 1 - 2 column inch triangular notches on the side with the 6 - column inch surgical incision marks on it . Then repeat on the other side , only this time you ’ll make the triangular notches about 3 inches deep by 5 - 6 inches wide . The cuts do n’t have to be perfect .

You ’re basically done . To apply , lie the board down and use the notches as a guide to space the plants equally along a straight row .

fillip :

Need to make true line to plant row in your raised bed ? Fret no more . Take the planting spacer and put it edge side down on the soil . After making certain it ’s as straight as you wish well inside the bottom , move the spacer back and forth , pushing into the soil with enough pressure sensation to make a trench in the ground . This is the reason for the two inches of extra space on each side of the spacer and the privileged edges of the bed .

Your plants are spaced evenly and your seeded rows are straight . meter to enjoy that cocktail we talked about .

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Photo/Illustration: All photos: Greg Holdsworth

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