I first heard about Planet Whizbang while interviewing market gardeners for an SFC article. Inthe equipment shed at Bantry Bay Co-op, I noticed three garden carts—different sizes of the same design. The farmers had made them from Planet Whizbang plans. A few months later at a seedsaving meeting, someone was folding scrap paper into seed envelopes. Again, I was told the pattern came from Planet Whizbang. After I saw a wheel hoe made from Whizbang plans, it seemed like there was an underground movement—do-it-yourself gardening plans from this mysterious source.
Planet Whizbang is the creation (and home?) of Herrick Kimball. A self-described “idea guy,” his first claim to fame was a home-made chicken plucker. There was so much interest in the plucker that he developed the publishing company. After that, he released developed plans to build a garden cart, cider press and wheel hoe. Ideas kept coming to him and so he decided to create a book of ideas ranging from gardening tips (such as “how to grow strawberries of the largest and finest quality”) to construction plans. To round out the book, Kimball added short items with simple and/or quirky advice from old farmers’ almanacs and gardening books dating back to the 1800s.
Kimball is a tinkerer and recycler. He finds many uses for old tires and the hubcaps too. He even explains how to make a slug barrier from copper wire removed from old electrical cords. In addition to the subjects I have already mentioned, he also covers advice on how to make T-bar trellises, solar pyramids, cloches, wood stove biochar, garden totes, siphon tube rain barrels, and a shoulder yoke for carrying buckets of water or produce. (Note the design for the chicken plucker is not included in the book.)
The plans are clear although some are simple and others are complicated. Kimball’s opinions are voiced throughout the book and it is clear that he wants to help others grow their own food. As Kimball writes in the foreword, he hopes readers will find the book “down-to-earth and out-of-this-world at the same time.” The book is a fun read. Even if you don’t follow Kimball’s plans, the book inspires readers to think outside the box and create their own garden tools.
The book can be ordered or an electronic version can be downloaded at http://whizbangbooks.blogspot.ca/.
- Janet Wallace