15 homemade landscaping and land maintenance hacks to try on your farm

Looking to get some summer trimming and around-the-home maintenance done? Look no further than these hacks submitted by Successful Farming and Living the Country Life readers.

Country drive

If you are fortunate enough to have a country driveway, plant a seed mixture of alsike clover and rye along the shoulders. The local wildlife will love this treat, and you won’t have to mow as often. For additional beauty, add some native wildflower seeds to the mix. 

– M.W., Wisconsin

Mower deck blower

Instead of using a water hose to clean your mower deck after use, fire up the leaf blower. It will blow every speck of debris off the mower and undercarriage without rusting parts or rotting belts.

– J.W., Georgia

Pasture gate kickstand

Bend one end of solid round stock 90°. Weld a piece of pipe to the gate. The bent rod slides in the pipe. Weld an electric conduit strap to the gate to hold the rod up when opening and closing the gate.

– J.B., Ohio

Tree protection

My husband cut 9-inch lengths of discarded PVC pipe and slit sections down the side to pry open and place around new fruit trees. This stymied the rabbits and other chewing animals.

– J.L., Washington

Moving split wood

We’ve found a new way to cut down on time and handling when splitting wood. We load the split wood onto collapsible pallets (which  easily stack when empty) and move the pallets with a skid loader!

– H.F., Minnesota

Leaf cart

My dad has a substantial lawn and many maple trees. Last year, Dad fashioned a “leaf cart” with a plastic truck bed liner and a pull rope. Now we rake the leaves into the liner and tow it to the compost pile.

- G.S., New York

Shop-Vac debris can

When the motor gave out on my husband’s Shop-Vac, he saved the tub and rollers. It comes in handy when I’m doing yard work. The tub is just the right size for a trash bag, and I can easily roll it along with me.

– M.D., Colorado

Water the roots

I slide 2- or 3-inch PVC pipe with ½-inch weep holes into the ground 6 to 8 inches below the bottom roots of my young trees. Plants do much better during dry spells. Be sure to fill in the holes after removing the pipes to keep varmints out.

– C.F., Georgia

Trim mower

I removed the back wheels from a 22-inch mower and replaced them with smaller wheels raised as high as they’d go. Then I mounted a large caster wheel on a piece of truck spring and attached it to the center of the deck. The back wheels are left on for stability in low spots.

– B.T., Kentucky

All-terrain creeper

We put our standard-size shop creeper in a special frame when we need to work in the grass or on gravel. I made it from 1¼-inch tubing, and it has pneumatic tires on 8-inch casters. 

– R.T., North Dakota

Branch cutting

To keep a limb from tearing a strip of bark when cutting, first cut from the underside a short distance out on the limb. Next, cut from the top a bit farther out. The cuts should intersect causing the limb to snap. Finally, cut just outside the branch collar.

– E.F., New Hampshire

Tree-watering system

I built a watering system using regular garden hose and soaker hose. Hose menders can be used to connect the soaker hose to the garden hose. The hose doesn’t need to be pulled up in the winter because the soaker hose lets the water out.

–J.H., Michigan

Super soaker

When we watered our new trees last summer, it was disappoint-ing how little soaked in. So I cut 5-inch-high rings from an old 20-gallon metal barrel and easily pushed them into the ground. Now the water completely soaks into the ground.

–B.E., South Dakota

Water-gap solution

My wife and I live on a 120-acre cattle ranch in Oklahoma. Spring rains followed by dry summers result in gullies that are a problem in keep-ing cattle confined to the pastures where they belong. Spring rains wash down the gullies, carrying tree branches and debris. Barbed wire fences across the gullies become choked with debris.

I link plastic 55-gallon barrels together like beads on a necklace and string them across the gullies. The barrels have two threaded bung holes on one end. I secure the caps by using a dab of silicone sealant on the threads.

Next, I drill a hole in the center of each end that is just large enough to fit a piece of ¾-inch PVC pipe. I buy 10-foot lengths of PVC pipe and cut them into three equal lengths of 3 feet, 4 inches.

I slide the segment of pipe through the holes in the barrel so that 2 inches protrude on each end. I secure a PVC coupler on each end of the pipe and add a bead of silicone around each hole where the pipe comes through.

I string the barrels end to end on a long piece of cable secured to a tree or anchored fence post. I string enough barrels to lie completely across the gap to be blocked and then I secure the other end to another tree or post on the far side. 

I have used this system for three years. When the water rises, the barrels float and debris slides under. When it’s dry, the cows walk up to the blue barrels and raise their ears, but they don’t attempt to step over or nudge them out of the way.

- G.A., Oklahoma