I have an open, ground-level bed in my vegetable garden, where I rotate corn with other crops, and it needs protection from the sweeping and crushing effects of the watering hose. I had been using rebar scraps for that purpose–crude but effective. However, anything with low visibility, such as a short, rusty stake, is a magnet for me to smack and scrape my shins so I brainstormed something more visible, as well as more attractive.
I love it when I can make something useful out of scraps. My homemade hose guards/guides are created with left-over pieces of pvc pipe, a broken beaded belt, ping pong balls, wooden candle cups and old latex paint and latex primer. Yep, random stuff.
To make them, I cut the pvc to even lengths (18″) and sanded it so it would take the paint well. Then I primed & painted everything and glued the ping pong balls and/or candle cups to the top of the pipe using 100% silicone adhesive caulk. Then as an added bit of sparkle (and for added strength), I used more caulk to wrap strings of seed beads around where the top “finial” met the pipe. I finished it up with a glass gem on top. Then I slid them over the top of the sturdy but shorter rebar and sunk them in a few inches. And, voila!
So that they last a few seasons, in the fall when I store my hoses away, I’ll bring in the hose guides, too. Easy enough to put them out again in spring–the rebar stays in place.
