Thinking About Gardening? Check Out This Simple Homemade Planter

January 15, 2019

girl holds her garden planter

Last year my eighth grade science teacher asked our class to invent something that would solve a problem. My grandpa likes to garden but has trouble bending over, so I came up with an invention that makes it easier for him to plant. It consists of a waist-high tube with a plastic funnel on top and an attached ruler at the bottom to aid in seed spacing. A hoe is first used to make a furrow. Then you drop seed down through the tube. You go from one seed to the next, using the ruler to determine how far apart to drop the seed. Afterward you go back with the hoe and close up the row.

    I got an "A" on my invention and also entered it in a Pennsylvania Inventors' Association contest. It took first place at the eighth grade level and was also the overall winner in grades K-12. I also received a total of $400 in savings bonds for both awards. I gave my invention to grandpa and he's very proud of it. (Sarah Sherick, Middletown, Pa.)