Tool time

Thanks to those of you who emailed me with your musings on weeds - if I haven't replied to you I'll do so soon. In the meantime, I've been thinking about tools. It has struck me that I don't write an awful lot here about the stuff I use on the plot: forks, spades, rakes and so forth - even though they're central to what I do.

Monty Don says he has one special spade that he won't let anyone else use. My favourite tool is my bronze spade. But I'd never leave it on the allotment for fear of theft. So I am wondering if allotmenteers try not to get too attached to their equipment because there is the constant risk of theft or vandalism? Your comments welcome.

I'm also after your top "bodge" tricks: in other words, what commonly used household objects do you put to a completely different use on the allotment? I am trying to gather as many uses for plastic bottles as I can, but also any unusual ways you've found of recycling things that would otherwise go in the bin.

Here's a couple of mine to whet your appetite: an old wooden spoon makes a great dibber for planting seedlings. If you have two, twist a length of string around one, tie the end to the other and, hey presto, you have a way of making a straight line for seed sowing.