My Science School

•  Prevent corrosion

It's not unusual for a car's battery terminals to become so corroded that you can't get a proper connection to jump-start the car. So take a little preventive action. Occasionally coat the terminals with a bit of petroleum jelly to keep them from corroding. Alternatively, tape a copper coin — if you have one — to the top of the battery so that the corrosion is drawn to the coin and not the battery terminals.

•  A cola loosener-upper

If you need to get at the engine of your car but the nuts and bolts under the bonnet refuse to budge, pour a little cola over the connections or loosen them with a few squirts of WD-40. Give either substance 2-3 minutes to penetrate, after which you should be able to loosen the hardware with a wrench. Most jammed metal fixings respond well to the cola trick; if you can soak the seized-up object, so much the better. Sponge off the cola once you've loosened the hardware.

•  Clean corrosion with bicarbonate of soda

If you don't keep your battery terminals clean, you will have to deal with corrosion. To clean the terminals, stir 1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda into 1 cup (250ml) water, then pour the solution over the terminals. Leave for 4-5 minutes, and then rinse with clear water.

•  A sporty shock protector

When you are working on your car and have to disconnect the negative battery cable, don't let the cable come into contact with the car's metal frame or you may suffer a shock. One safe way of handling the cable is to make a slit in a tennis ball and push the ball over the end of the cable.

•  Foot powder leak-spotter

If oil is leaking from your engine and you can't find the leak's source, clean the engine with an aerosol degreaser, such as a silicone spray like WD-40, and then spray its sides and bottom with spray-on foot powder. The leak will reveal itself by turning white.

•  Dislodge a stubborn oil filter

If you are quite happy to change the oil filter yourself but find that for once it won't budge, a screwdriver and hammer could do the trick. Hammer the screwdriver right through the filter about 5cm from the engine block. Then take the screwdriver and use it as a lever to turn the filter anticlockwise. Once you get it started, remove the screwdriver and spin the filter off, making sure that there is a tray underneath to catch the leaking oil that inevitably ensues.

•  Gum up the works

If the radiator hose in your car springs a leak while you are driving, chew a piece of gum and stick the wad over the leak. Secure it with a bit of strong adhesive tape. It will hold until you can have a proper repair made, but get the car booked in for repair as quickly as possible.

•  First aid for a fan belt

If the fan belt in your car becomes dry, lubricate it with a little petroleum jelly. With the engine off, dab the inside edges of the belt with the jelly, then start the engine and let it idle for a couple of minutes. Not only will the petroleum jelly lubricate the belt and keep it from cracking but it will eliminate squealing and slippage.

•  Extend a wrench handle with pipe

Some socket wrenches are so short that it takes a muscleman to turn them. If you prefer not to waste a lot of energy when you tighten a bolt under the bonnet, slip a short length of slender metal pipe over the wrench handle and you will get more than enough leverage to use the tool without straining.

•  Tape a noisy horn

If your car horn gets stuck and won't stop bleating, tap the horn button a few times. If that doesn't stop the din, a piece of tape is the solution. Open the bonnet, disconnect the wire to the horn and tape down the terminal screw. You should enjoy blessed silence until you have the horn repaired.

•  Gain traction with bleach

If your car has become stuck on an icy patch and can't get enough traction, pour a small amount of undiluted chlorine-based bleach over the tyres. The bleach will react chemically to soften both the ice and the rubber, thereby improving traction. Wait for a minute to let the chemical reaction take place and then try driving away. You can also get traction by spreading sand, salt or cat litter over snow in front of the tyres. (Because bleach accelerates the wear on tyre treads, you should only do this in emergency situations.)

•  Shovel snow with a hub cap

If your car gets stuck in snow, ice or mud and you don't have a shovel handy, take off a hubcap and use it to dig the car free.

• Use oil to prevent stuck doors

Prevent car and boot doors from freezing shut in winter by spraying or wiping the rubber gaskets with a light coating of WD-40 or vegetable oil. The oil will seal out any water that could later freeze, while causing no harm to the rubber gaskets.

•  Tape a door lock in a car wash

Put a strip of tape over your car's door lock before going through a car wash in cold weather. This will keep out water that could later freeze and make the lock inoperable. Once you're out of the car wash, remove the tape.

•  Thaw door locks with a straw

If the lock on your car door freezes and you can't insert the key, don't get left out in the cold. Try blowing your warm breath into the keyhole through a straw. The ice should quickly melt, after which you can unlock the door.

•  Flame frozen locks

If the lock on your car door is frozen, hold the key in your (ideally gloved) hand and heat it with a match or cigarette lighter. Press the key into the lock and turn it gently without forcing.

After a few seconds, the hot metal key will melt the ice and you will be able to open the door. Better still, if you have electrical power handy, use a hair dryer to direct hot air into the lock to melt the ice and free it up.

•  Keep ice off wipers

To keep ice from forming on the blades of your car's windscreen wipers and from stopping them working in cold weather, wipe each blade with a soft cloth soaked in full-strength surgical spirit.

•  Raw onion windscreen rubs

To avoid the tedious job of scraping ice off your windscreen on a chilly morning, slice an onion in half and rub the cut sides against your windscreen and car windows the night before to stop frost from forming.

•  Shield a windscreen with rubber bath mats

To keep your windscreen from frosting over-night, position inexpensive rubber bath mats over the glass. Hold them in place with the windscreen wipers.

•  Yogurt-tub scraper and scooper

Scrape ice from windows and the windscreen using an empty yogurt tub. When you scrape with the edge of the rim, the pot will scoop up the ice. As you scrape, empty the ice onto the ground with a quick flick of the wrist.

•  Bag your side mirrors

On cold nights, slip plastic bags over the car's side mirrors and hold them in place with clothes pegs. In the morning, remove the bags and your mirrors will be ice-free.

• Don't get steamed up

Winter driving can be dangerous when the inside of a windscreen keeps steaming up. Here are three ways to deal with foggy glass:

1.  Use a clean whiteboard eraser to wipe the inside of the windscreen clean.


2.   Squirt a little shampoo onto a cloth and wipe the glass with it.


3. Use 'outside air' instead of 'recirculated air' and run the de-froster.

•  Pop goes the dent

If the body of your car has a dent, but the surface is otherwise unblemished, you may be able to pull out the dent with a little suction. Look around your house and find anything that has a large suction cup attached — a sink plunger, for example. Place the cup directly over the dent and push it in straight so that the suction engages the metal. Then pull gently but firmly outwards. If you are lucky, you should hear the popping sound that is a signal that the dent is gone.

•  White-out scratches

If you have a white car and it gets scratched, use correction fluid such as Liquid Paper for a quick touch-up. If your car is another colour, try to find a correction fluid or nail polish colour to match and apply it as a temporary fix.

•  Brush out scratches

You can often polish out small scratches in a car's finish with a bit of non-gel toothpaste. Squeeze a dollop onto a clean soft cloth and work the paste into the scratch. Buff the area with a clean cloth.

•  Brighten old paint with scouring powder

If your car is old and painted with oxidized paint that's looking dull, try washing it with a low-grit bathroom cleanser such as Jif. Apply the cleanser, wet it with a light spray and then rub gently with a car-washing mitt. (Test this first on a small area of the duco that isn't prominent, to check that it doesn't remove the paint.) When you have finished, wash the car well and wax it.

•  Rid chrome of wax

It's easy to get so excited about waxing your car that you go too far: wax can spoil a shiny chrome bumper with smudges that harden and won't come off. Use a bit of WD-40 to fix the problem. Spray a little of the lubricant over the dried wax, then wipe it off with a clean soft cloth. The wax will dissolve like magic.

•  De-wax metal trim with ammonia

Car wax mistakenly applied to metal trim can spoil the effect that a keen car cleaner strives for. To rid the trim of wax, wipe it with a rag dampened with household ammonia. The trim will soon sparkle like new.

•  Oil the trim

When the metal trim on your car is still not shiny enough, squirt a little baby oil onto a paper towel and polish the metal for a shine worthy of a sterling silver trophy.

•  Get wax off rubber with peanut butter

If you are waxing your car and accidentally get white wax on black rubber trim or mouldings, wipe the area with a bit of peanut butter. The rubber will revert to its original blackness.

•  Make chrome glisten

Brighten chrome trim on your car by wiping it with a small amount of nail varnish remover. (Just be sure to keep it away from the paint.)

•  Bicarbonate-of-soda car cleaner

Prepare in advance for your next few car washes by making your own condensed cleaner base. Pour ¼ cup (45g) bicarbonate of soda into a 4-litre bottle, then add ¼ cup (60ml) washing-up liquid and enough water to fill the bottle almost to the top. Screw on the cap, shake well and store the concentrate for later use. When it is time to wash the car, shake the bottle vigorously and then pour 1 cup (250ml) of the cleaner base into an 8-litre bucket. Fill the bucket with warm water, stir to mix and your homemade cleaning solution is ready to use.

•  A no-wax wash for the chassis

Get rid of tar and road debris that sticks to the underside of a car by washing with a kerosene solution. Add 1 cup (250ml) kerosene to a 12-litre bucket filled with water and then sponge the solution onto the chassis. You won't have to rinse or wax it once you're done. And the next time it rains, you'll find that water beads up and rolls off, decreasing the likelihood of rusting, which can be a problem on the chassis because it's not easily visible. Caution: kerosene is a highly flammable liquid, so make sure that you use it away from a direct source of heat, and don't smoke while washing your car.

•  Hair conditioner for shine

Next time you wash your car, think about using a cheap hair conditioner containing lanolin. You'll be amazed by the freshly waxed look and how well the surface repels rain. And it costs a lot less than commercial car cleaners.

•  You can see clearly now

Add ¼ cup (60ml) household ammonia to 1 litre water, pour it into a plastic bottle with a watertight cap and keep it in your car for washing the windscreen and windows. As soon as your windscreen starts to look dirty, take out the solution and apply it with a sponge; then dry the windscreen with a soft cloth or paper towels.

•  A one-step window cleaner

Clean your windscreen and car windows by rubbing them with baby wipes stored in your glove compartment. What could be easier?

•  Clean your blades

 If your windscreen wiper blades get dirty, they'll streak the glass instead of keeping it clean and clear, which can be dangerous if your visibility is compromised while driving. Make a solution of ¼ cup (60ml) household ammonia to 1 litre cold water. Gently lift the blades and wipe both sides with a soft cloth or paper towel soaked in the solution. Then wipe the blades with a dry cloth before lowering them into place.

•  Fizz windscreens clean with cola

When there's a storm after a long dry spell, car windscreens often end up being completely filthy, attracting dirt and leaf debris. An easy way to get rid of the streaks and blotches left behind after a storm is by pouring cola over the glass. (Stretch a towel along the bottom of the windscreen to protect the paint on the bonnet.) The bubbles in cola will fizz away the grime. Just make sure that you rinse the sticky cola off thoroughly or your cleaning efforts will end up attracting more dust and dirt. A quick hose down should finish the job properly.

•  Shine your headlights

Keep your car headlights polished (and yourself safe at night) by spraying on some window cleaner, then rubbing vigorously with an old pair of pantihose.

•  Vodka on the job

When the windscreen-washer reservoir needs filling, raid the drinks cabinet to make your own washing fluid. In a screw-top 4-litre bottle, mix 3 cups (750ml) vodka with 1 litre water and 2 teaspoons washing-up liquid. Screw on the cap and shake well, then pour as much fluid as needed into the reservoir.

•  Counterattack on insect splats

If you're constantly at battle with insects getting splattered on the front of your car, try a preventative strategy instead and spray the front of your car with non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil, or wipe it down with baby oil. Most insects won't stick around and the ones that do can be hosed or wiped off more easily.

•  Mesh away insect mess

Get rid of the dead insects on your car by squirting a little washing-up liquid over the spot and scrubbing with a mesh bag — the kind that onions are sold in. The mesh is sufficiently rough that it will remove insects, but not so rough that it will scratch the finish or windscreen. Once you have scrubbed away the bugs, wipe the surface with a clean cloth.

•  An easy debugger

To get rid of dead insects on your windscreen or bumper, use an old, balled-up pair of pantihose dipped in washing suds. Remove the insects by rubbing gently, then wash off the mess with a cloth soaked in soapy water.

•  Keep a radio antenna clean

 If grime is clogging your radio antenna and it becomes stuck in an up or down position, try to extend the antenna to its full height and rub along its length with waxed paper. It will be so smooth that it should glide up and down as cleanly as the arm on a trombone.

•  Rub Christmas tree sap off the car roof

If you've had a fresh Christmas tree strapped to the roof of your car, you'll probably end up with sap stuck to the surface — and soap and water won't do the job. Pour a few drops of surgical spirit over the sap and rub it with your fingertips. Then wipe it off with an alcohol-dampened rag and let the area air-dry.

•  Freeze the sticky stuff

Another way of getting rid of sap is to press an ice cube over it for a minute or so. When the sap hardens, simply peel it off your car, bicycle or other surface.

•  Oil away a sticker

To remove a sticker from your windscreen, spray it with vegetable oil or WD-40 and let he spray soak in for a while. Then scrape the sticker off using the edge of a credit card. If bits of it stick fast, heat the area gently with a blast from a hair dryer and then try again.

•  Removing tar

Tar can be difficult to remove from your car, but you'll win the battle over black goo fast when you try one of these removal methods, rinsing and drying after each one.

1.  Try spraying the tar with a laundry prewash stain remover. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then wipe it off thoroughly.


2.  Wet a cloth with linseed oil and apply it to the spots of tar. Let the oil soak in for about 10 minutes. Once the tar softens, douse another cloth with linseed oil and wipe the tar away.


3.  Rub the tar with a bit of peanut butter, leave it on for 10 minutes and then wipe it away with a soft cloth.


4.  Spray the spots with a squirt of WD-40 and let it soak in for 5 minutes. Then wipe the tar away with a soft cloth.


5.  Pour a cup of cola on a clean cloth and rub the tar off the car surface.


6.  Mix 1 cup (250ml) kerosene with 5 litres water and scrub the tar away with a rag soaked in the potent solution.

•  Poison rose black spot with tomatoes

It's long been known that roses grown next to tomatoes are less likely to fall victim to black spot. Make a fungicide by snipping tomato leaves from a plant and processing them in a blender with a little water; use enough leaves to make 2 cups (500ml) slurry. Combine with 1.5 litres water and 2 tablespoons cornflour and mix well. Store the solution in the fridge, marking it clearly with a warning label. Spray your rosebushes once a week with the fungicide.

•  Repel caterpillars with onion juice

Spray cabbage and other vegetables that are targeted by caterpillars with onion juice and watch them take a detour. To make a spray, peel 2 medium-sized onions, grate them into a large bowl and add 4 litres water. Let the mixture sit overnight, then strain it into a spray bottle. To make the plants smelly enough to repel the pests, you may need to spray the leaves twice.

• Soup-can stockades

To keep cutworms and other crawling pests from reaching newly planted seedlings, use soup cans as barriers. Cut the top and bottom out of a can, wash it well, then place it over a seedling. Twist it until the bottom is 5cm underground and your tender seedlings will gain protection from all directions. Paper cups with the base cut off can be used in the same way.

• Fight fungus with bicarbonate of soda

Keep powdery mildew, black spot and other fungal diseases from infecting your fruit trees, vegetables, gardenias, roses, etc., with a bicarbonate of soda solution. In a large spray bottle, combine 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon washing-up liquid and 1 litre warm water. Shake well and spray plant leaves and stems on both sides to discourage fungal diseases from taking hold.

•  Bleach out pots

When repotting patio plants, sterilize flowerpots and planters to keep your precious newly purchased plants from succumbing to fusarium wilt or leaf curl. First plug the drainage holes with clay or putty. Then scrub off any caked debris with a scrubbing brush or toothbrush. Rinse the pots and fill with a solution of 1 part household bleach to 4 parts water. Let it stand for 2-3 hours. Discard the bleach in the laundry sink (not the garden), rinse the pots with fresh water and let them air-dry.

• A bubble wrap warmer for camellias

Camellias grown in containers are particularly sensitive to the cold because of their shallow roots. When winter comes, wrap the camellia pot with thick plastic bubble wrap or several sheets of newspaper and secure the wrap with gaffer tape. Turn the pot so that the tape is out of the sight line of visitors.

•  Polystyrene pellets as a drainage aid

Instead of putting rocks or pot shards in the bottom of a patio planter, fill the bottom quarter with the polystyrene pellets used for packing. What do they have over rocks? They make the planters lighter and allow you to use less potting soil.

•  Plastic raincoats for exposed furniture

When heavy rain is forecast and you don't have enough indoor space to bring your patio or garden tables and chairs inside, cover them with plastic dry-cleaning bags.

•  Bubble away rust with vinegar and bicarb

If you have a concrete patio and metal furniture is leaving rust stains, try pouring full-strength white vinegar on the stains, top the puddle with a little bicarbonate of soda and leave it for about 10 minutes before wiping it off with an absorbent cloth. Older rust stains may need two or three more applications before they disappear.

•  Wicker basket to hanging plant

Finally, here is a use for the wicker basket you have had stuck in the back of the cupboard for years. First use varnish to weatherproof the basket, then line the inside with a plastic garbage bag with a few drainage holes poked in it. Dig up four or five of the plants in your flowerbed, transfer them to the basket and you've made a hanging planter for the patio.

•  Discourage mosquitoes

To stop mosquitoes and other insect larvae from breeding in birdbaths or water features, put a few drops of vegetable oil on top of the water. The oil spreads to form a film over the surface, ensuring that mosquito larvae won't be able to breathe through the water's surface. Renew the oil every week throughout summer.

•  Herbal mosquito repellents

Steep a few pennyroyal or fleabane leaves in hot water and let them sit for 4-6 minutes. Strain the solution into a spray bottle and spray onto patio plants to repel mosquitoes. Or do the same with some garlic cloves. Simmer about 8-10 peeled garlic cloves in 2 cups (500ml) cooking oil for about an hour. Cool, strain into a spray bottle, then you're right to spray away.

•  Fool codling moths with fake apples

The larvae of these moths attack fruit such as apples and pears, but you can make sure that codling moths never lay eggs by luring them with fake apples — red Christmas tree balls hung in fruit trees. Start by threading a 30-cm loop of string through the ball holder, and then knot it two or three times. Spray the 'apples' on all sides with an adhesive insect spray and hang three or four on fruit-tree branches. The codling moths will home in on the red targets and get stuck.

•  Bottle up wasps

Wasps follow their noses to sugar, so set them a sweet trap. Slice 7cm off the top of a large plastic soft-drink bottle and set it aside. Create a hanger by poking holes on either side of the bottom of the bottle, near the top. Thread 45-60cm string through the holes and triple-knot the ends. Place the cut-off piece with the neck attached into the bottle upside down to form a funnel and tape it tightly.

Pour sugar water into the bottle (use 4 parts water to 1 part sugar, dissolved) and hang your contraption on the branch of a tree that is frequented by wasps. Wasps trying to reach the liquid will be unable to escape from the bottle and then drown.

•  Repellents in your herb rack

We love herbs and spices, but most garden pests find them unpalatable or even lethal. Sprinkle any of the following around your plants and watch leaf-hungry pests go elsewhere to dine.

1.  Ground cinnamon


2.  Ground cloves


3.  Cayenne pepper


4.   Black pepper


5.  Chilli powder


6.  Hot curry powder


7.  Garlic powder


8.  Dried lemon thyme


9.  Dried bay leaves, crumbled.

•  Repel aphids with aspirin

The active ingredient in aspirin, salicylic acid, is produced by plants as a natural protection — and that works to the gardener's advantage. Experiments have shown that plants watered with a weak aspirin-and-water solution not only repel aphids and other sucking insects, but also promote strong plant growth.

To make a systemic solution, fill a bucket with 20 litres water and drop in 3 aspirin tablets. Stir until the tablets dissolve. Water plants as usual with the solution or pour it into a spray bottle to spray the plants' leaves and stems on all sides. Thereafter, apply the aspirin water every two weeks.

•  Send insects to a mothball chamber

If whiteflies, mealy bugs or other insect pests are attacking houseplants, then consider instituting death-by-mothball. Put an affected plant (pot, saucer and all) into a clear plastic dry-cleaning bag. Water the plant and drop 5-6 mothballs into the plastic bag.

Next, tie the bag closed with a twist tie, then move the bagged plant to a bright, though not directly sunlit, spot. Let it sit for a week before taking the plant from the bag and returning it to its usual place. If necessary, repeat the treatment until all of the pests have given up the ghost.

•  Attract pests with warm colours

Paint milk cartons red, orange or yellow, coat with petroleum jelly or an adhesive insect spray, then put them at 4-m intervals in the garden. Flying insects will fly into them and get stuck. To kill aphids in particular, forgo the petroleum jelly and simply fill yellow container three-quarters full of water. The little green insects will zip straight to the container and end up in a watery grave.

•  Let toads do it

Toads are among the most insect-hungry garden visitors. Attract them by placing a broken flowerpot or two in a shady spot, and then sink a dish filled with water and rocks into the soil so that any visiting toads will stick around.

•  Get rid of squash vine borers with kerosene

You can prevent squash vine borers from attacking zucchini and pumpkins even before you seed these plants. Soak the seeds in kerosene overnight. The seedlings and mature plants will be able to repel borers — but the kerosene won't infiltrate or affect the fruits.

•  Eradicate earwig with vegetable oil

Earwigs are extremely partial to clematis, chrysanthemums, dahlias and gladiolus — so how do you give the hungry little creatures the brush-off? Not with a broom but with oil, an earwig favourite. Pour a pool of vegetable oil onto a saucer, leave it on the ground among your flowers and the earwigs will crawl into the saucer and drown.

• Protective fabric-softener sheets

Keep mosquitoes from dive-bombing you as you work in the garden by tucking a few fabric-softener sheets into your clothing, or wipe the sheet directly onto your skin. Another great idea is to dab a little vanilla extract onto your pulse points and around your neck — it might be attractive to humans, but it will drive away the mosquitoes! Or, if you're eating outdoors, put small bowls of water, with a squirt of lemon-scented detergent in them, nearby.

•  Help birds to build nests

To attract birds to your garden in spring (they will happily feast on leaf-eating insects when not eyeing up your vegetables or fruit in summer), hang some nest-building materials in a tree. Fill a large, mesh onion bag with lint from a tumble-drier, hair from a hairbrush, fabric scraps and short pieces of string or wool. Then watch your feathered visitors fashion a new home.

•  A real flap

If you're in a windy spot and are trying to discourage birds from landing on garden plants, cut plastic rubbish bags into 'flags' or long strips and staple them to tall wooden stakes using a staple gun. When the plastic whips around in the wind, birds will be scared away by both the movement and the noise. Hanging up old CDs also frightens them off.

•  Scarecrow stuffers

If you decide to put a traditional stand-up, hatted scarecrow in your vegetable plot (as much for nostalgia as anything else), be aware that the stuffing materials for his shirt and pants are probably already in your home somewhere.

Anything soft and pliable will do as long as you seal it into a plastic garbage bag to keep it dry: old pillows, rags, wadded-up newspaper, bubble wrap, polystyrene packing chips, shower curtains or dust cloths. And don't forget old-fashioned hay, straw and dead leaves.

•  Guard garden plants with garlic

Encircling a flowerbed or vegetable plot with garlic plants will discourage many furry pests —including bush rats and field mice — from making a meal of your plants. Space the garlic about 15cm apart to ward off hungry intruders.

•  Possum chasers

Possums are a major problem for gardeners in some areas, and are particularly destructive to roses. Make a tea with 1 litre hot water poured over either 2 tablespoons crushed garlic or crushed hot chilli. Allow to stand overnight, then filter and decant into a spray bottle. Spray onto foliage and repeat after any rain. Other repellents to try include:

1.  Fish fertilizer sprayed at recommended strength.


2.  Blood and bone sprinkled around bushes and trees.


3.  A paste made of Vaseline and a crumbled block of camphor (used as a moth repellent in household cupboards) applied to stems.

•  Rabbit rebuffers

Plenty of repellents will turn rabbits away from your plants. Among those to try are:

1.  Hair from humans, dogs or cats.


2.  Talcum powder, dried chilli flakes or garlic powder, dusted around plants.


3. Bars of strongly fragranced soap placed in vegetable garden rows.


4.  Lemon peel scattered among plants.

•  Flag down deer

Deer have become a nuisance in parts of New Zealand and Australia. However, white 'flags' made from white plastic shopping bags, rags or strips torn from old T-shirts could help to keep them out of vegetable gardens. The movement of something white mimics the deer's warning signal — flashing the white underside of its tail — that predators or other dangers are imminent.

Hammer 60-90cm-tall stakes around your plot at 2-m intervals. Tack plastic shopping bags to the stakes so that they billow in the wind or attach white fabric strips that are long enough to flutter in the breeze. If you're lucky, deer will run the other way when the white flags fly.

•  Coat-hanger cold frame

To protect seedlings in heavy planters that you are unable to bring indoors when it's cold, straighten out two wire coat hangers and then bend them into arcs. Cross them and insert the ends into a planter just inside the rim, leaving headroom for the seedlings. Cover this wire frame with a plastic dry-cleaning bag, securing the plastic to the planter by wrapping it with loosely tied string. Temporarily remove the plastic whenever the seedlings need watering.

•  Extra insulation

If you are keeping seedlings or hardening off young plants in a cold frame and a hard frost is forecast, line the inside of the frame with sheets of newspaper; it's a first-rate insulator, as is bubble wrap, if you have any handy.

•  A newspaper blanket

When a frosty night has been forecast, make tents from thinnish sections of newspaper and place them over seedlings, weighting them down at the edges with stones. They will keep your plants nicely insulated from the cold until the temperature climbs the next day.

•  Baskets of warmth

In cool climates, old-fashioned woven baskets make excellent plant protectors, keeping cold winds out while letting in some light - look around for old broken baskets you can leave outside in the wet. At night, drape them with black plastic for extra protection.

•  Improvised cloches

 The French came up with the idea for the glass cloche, or bell jar, to protect seedlings from frost. Elegant glass and practical plastic cloches line the shelves at garden centres, but a simple household substitute will do the job just as well. Some ideas for plant protectors include:

1.  A tall flower vase, placed upside down over the plant.


2.  A large-glass fruit jar.


3.  A 2-litre soft-drink bottle. Slice the bottom off with a sharp knife and place the bottle over the seedling.


4.  A 4-litre juice bottle, used in the same way as the soft-drink bottle.

•  A warm cosy glow

If frost threatens to damage a large container plant sitting on your patio or verandah, or perhaps a tree that's bearing young fruit, string Christmas lights through the branches. Cover the plant with an old sheet and switch on the lights. Your plant will stay warm and frost-free throughout the night.

•  Pinpoint weeds with salt

Salt will kill many weeds that can't be pulled up from the roots. Use a garden fork to scrape the soil away from the base of the weed and then cut the stem as close to the ground as possible. Pour salt onto the wound, trying your best not to spill any into the soil.

•  Drive weeds from cracks using salt and vinegar

If weeds or grass sprout from cracks in your driveway, path, patio or any other outdoor paved surface, squirt them with a salt and vinegar solution. To make it, combine 2 cups (500ml) vinegar, 2½ tablespoons salt and 2 drops washing-up liquid in a jar, screw the cap on tightly and shake well. A simpler alternative is to pour boiling salted water into the cracks. When applying either weed killer, make sure that no run-off reaches your plants.

•  Newspaper and plastic smotherers

If one part of your garden seems a little too weed-friendly, try one of these mulches to keep undesirable plants from sprouting:

1. Newspapers Wet several sheets of newspaper so that they cling together and then lay the mat over a patch of weeds. Camouflage the mat by topping it with wood chips or other mulch. Remove it once the weeds have died.


2. Garbage bags Split the seams of black plastic bags to double their size and use them to blanket the problem spot. Cover the plastic up with wood chips or a similar camouflage and leave it in place for 10 to 14 days — by which time the weeds should be dead.

•  Free mulch quest

Mulch is usually there for the taking if you know where to look for it. Besides the dead leaves and grass clippings you can collect from your own garden, check with agricultural businesses and local governments to see if they have any waste material that they would like to be taken away. In particular, ask for items such as chipped bark and wheat straw.

•  Strawberries love sawdust

Sawdust mulch benefits strawberries in two ways: it gives them the acidity they crave and keeps snails and slugs at bay. Raise the foliage of each plant and mound sawdust 5-7cm high around the stem. But be aware of what you're using: sawdust from certain species, such as cedar or chemically treated wood, may contain toxins that are not suitable for garden plants.

•  Recycle the tops of root crops

What can you do with the leafy tops of the carrots, beetroots, radishes and other root vegetables that you grow? Once you have harvested the roots, lay the tops between rows of your vegetable garden to mulch the crops that remain.

•  Black plastic for a small space

If you have a tiny garden — say a 1.5 sq m patch of soil in a paved courtyard — don't bother to buy the black plastic mulch sold at garden centres. (Black plastic is the standard weed-eliminating underlay for bark-chip mulches.) Plain, black plastic garbage bags will do the job equally well. Just spread out the bags side to side — and when it comes time to restyle your small garden months or years later, you can use the bags for their original purpose — to hold rubbish — so you'll be saving money and recycling, too.

•  Foil and paper heat-beaters

Single-layer mulch made from aluminium foil or brown paper (the latter coated with clear varnish) will help to decrease soil temperature because both materials reflect the sun's rays. On very hot days, keep the roots of a favourite plant cool by laying foil or paper around the base of the plant, taking care to keep it away from the base of the stem.

• A matchbook fertilizer

This is for when you want to add sulphur to the soil to lower the pH for acid-loving plants. Tear out the matches from several matchbooks and throw them into the bottom of planting holes for such plants as hydrangeas, azaleas and gardenias. Add onion skins for extra effect.

•  A freebie from the fireplace

Hardwood ashes from a fireplace will supply potassium and phosphorous to the garden. But don't use wood that has been treated with preservatives (or anything else). To fertilize plants, spread a 1-cm layer of ashes a few centimetres from the stem and dig into the soil. Caution: If you store ashes outside, protect them from the rain or their nutrients will be depleted; and don't use ashes around potatoes, as ash can promote potato scab.

•  Limit your plants' coffee consumption

It isn't the caffeine in coffee grounds that garden plants like azaleas, rosebushes and evergreens love, but rather the acidity and aeration that the grounds provide — not to mention nitrogen, phosphorous and trace minerals. Just be sure to dig the grounds well into the soil to keep them from becoming mouldy.

Dig about 100g coffee grounds into the soil near the roots, repeating once a month. And don't overdo it: fertilizing even acid-loving plants with coffee grounds too frequently could increase soil acidity to undesirable levels.

•  A tree-feeding drill

To make sure that fertilizer reaches a tree's feeder roots, put a power drill to work on something besides wood: the soil. Use a bit at least 30cm long and 20mm in diameter and bore holes in the soil around the drip line — the imaginary circle beneath the outermost tips of the tree canopy. Space the holes about 60cm apart, then bore a second ring of holes about 75cm from the tree trunk. Funnel a slow-release fertilizer into all of the holes. Plug them with soil and water well.

•  Add sawdust and leaves to ageing manure

Fresh or raw, manure must be aged so that it doesn't burn your plants' roots — and only the most committed home gardeners will be prepared to wait the six months it takes. If you're one of those gardeners, water a fresh manure pile, cover it with a tarpaulin so that the nutrients won't leach out during rain, and turn the pile with a pitchfork every 10 days or so. To control the odour (especially in summer) and create an excellent texture, add untreated sawdust, dead leaves or wood chips.

•  Use a toothpick to test when it's time to water

Just as you can test a baking cake for readiness by sticking in a wooden toothpick, you can do the same to see whether a flowerbed is in need of watering. Stick the toothpick into the soil as far as it will go, then examine it. If it comes out clean, it's time to water. If any soil clings to the pick, you don't need to water just yet — test the soil again the next day.

• Saving splashes...

Flat smooth stones collected on a trip to the beach can be used as a splashguard in a window box. Watering plants in window boxes often splashes mud onto windowpanes, as does driving rain. To solve the problem, simply spread some water-smoothed pebbles over the surface of the soil. They look great and also help to retain moisture.

•  Recycle unsalted cooking water

Boiled foods release nutrients, so why pour their cooking water down the drain? Let the water cool and then use it to give a garden plant a healthy drink. Caution: when cooking any of the following, do not add salt to the water as it is harmful to many plants. Try these foods:

1. Eggs Boiled eggs leave several minerals in the cooking water, so use the cooled liquid to water calcium-loving solanaceous plants such as tomatoes, potatoes and all peppers.


2. Spinach Plants need iron too — and spinach water gives them not only iron but also a good dose of potassium.

•  Milk-bottle trickle irrigation

Tomatoes aren't the only garden plants that like lots of water. Other thirsty plants include zucchini and rosebushes. How can you keep their thirst quenched? Bury plastic milk-bottle reservoirs alongside each plant. Start by perforating a bottle in several places. Dig a planting hole large enough to accommodate both plant and bottle and bury the bottle so that its opening is at soil level. After refilling the hole and tamping down the soil, fill the bottle with water. Then top it to overflowing at least once a week and your plant's roots will stay moist.

•  Water ferns with weak tea

When planting a fern, put a used tea bag into the bottom of the planting hole to act as a reservoir while the fern adapts to its new spot; the roots will draw up a bit more nitrogen. Another drink ferns like is a very weak solution of household ammonia and water (1 tablespoon ammonia to 1 litre water), which will also feed them a little nitrogen.

•  Cocktail time for plants

After serving summer drinks, save any stale club soda to give to your plants. It adds minerals to houseplants when watered into the soil.

•  While you vacation...

Houseplants will survive well while you take a short holiday if they are placed in the bathtub or in the kitchen sink (if it's big enough to fit). Add water to the tub or sink, but no more than one-third of the pot's height. Too much water will cause sodden soil. Plants need oxygen for their roots and will die if pots remain saturated. If you have a collection of pots to keep moist while you're gone, the one-third rule applies to the shortest pot.

•  Hose punctured?

If water is leaking from a tiny hole in your garden hose, stick a wooden toothpick into the hole and then break it off at surface level. Wrap electrical tape or gaffer tape around the hose to secure the toothpick. The wet wood should swell up and form a tight seal.