This Grilling Tool Also Works Wonders For Organizing A Garden

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Not everyone remembers the plants in their food or herb garden by heart. To keep track of what you're growing and where, you need garden markers. If you want to make your own markers for cheap, look no further than your last barbecue. Barbecue skewers, whether used or new, can serve as rods for garden markers. Before you get started, notice that the circle at the top of most metal skewers isn't really conducive to hanging things. To fix this, use pliers to bend them backwards at a 90-degree angle.

Metal skewers aren't the only kind out there, though. Wooden barbecue skewers can work well, too. However, there are a couple of things you need to do differently: They work better for an indoor herb garden than outdoors (where they're exposed to the elements), and, since you can't bend these skewers with pliers (unless you want to snap them in half), you need a different method to hang the labels. Unfortunately, barbecue skewers aren't a universal food labeling solution. If you're growing your own fruit salad tree, for example, you might want to use string to tie to the branches instead. Even still, you can repurpose an item from your last cookout — just use barbecue twine.

Before you start planting the fruits and vegetables you bought from the best online shops, make sure you have proper labels. There are several ways to go about making them. First off is a tin can lid. Did you prepare baked beans at your barbecue? Save the cans for later and write the name of the fruit or veggie on the lid with a marker. Next, drill a hole at the top of the lid. This is where it hangs off the skewer.

If you want an upgrade from the tin can lids, you can try your hand at ceramic labels made with oven-bake clay, such as the CiaraQ 51-color oven-bake clay set. This gives you more creative freedom and, since clay doesn't rust, can be more durable. Since you need to bake them onto the skewers, you can only use metal for these labels. As for wooden barbecue skewers, buying ones that come with doneness labels, such as Thyle assorted bamboo steak markers, might be your best bet. You could write the name of your plant on the back of the label, or tape over it and write the name with marker. These are better than run-of-the-mill skewers since they have the necessary space. It's not as crafty, but it works just fine.