Doing thing differently

I've been doing a lot of gardening lately. Took this picture after realizing that perhaps I use slightly different tools for the job. The basket of seeds is pretty self explanatory. The paper to the right is a garden plan drawn on grid paper so I know where everything should go. The L square is handy when measuring out square foot increments. I'm using biointensive gardening methods since I have such a small garden plot (8 x 8 feet, plus the smaller raised beds by the house). Planting involved tracing out each square foot, then filling each with whatever each block was supposed to have in it. I did a good bit of reading on companion planting so there's a stab at having plant "friends" close together (corn and pole beans, lettuce in the shade of cucumbers, etc.). I'm also trying to entice as many bees and beneficial insects as possible, so there are a goodly number of flowers, onions and garlic planted in and around the edges of the plot.

The hippity hop? Well, it makes a really nice seat, much better than a step stool or chair. Comfy, easy to lug around, and the rounded bottom doesn't poke holes in the ground.

I'm sure these aren't standard gardening tools, but I like them!