Easily Store Garden Seeds Or Fertilizer With A Smart Food Solution

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They are a fixture at roadside diners, right by the door. We're talking about those bubblegum machines that ask for a quarter in exchange for a tasty little bauble. And according to one TikTokker, @organizedandsimplified4u, they're good for more than just dispensing gumballs. They make a pretty mean dispenser of fertilizer and seeds, including for that DIY bird seed you just made. If you've decided to start plants from seeds instead of buying them, this is a fun way to keep them safe and dry until you're ready to plant them.

Classic dispensers like the Olde Midway 12" Gumball Machine with Glass Globe and Metal Base still exist. They'll set you back about 30 or 40 bucks, depending on the kind you get. However, the modern versions of these machines come in a variety of shapes and sizes (including footballs), so you have any number of them to choose from to create this garden hack. If you want an old-timey version, scout for one the next time you visit an auction or the neighborhood second-hand stores.

That said, there is a drawback to some of these machines; they require you to deposit money into them to get them to spit out the candy, or seeds for the purposes here. Fortunately, this feature can be fixed. Or if you'd like less hassle, you can go with something similar, like a food dispenser. It's the vending machine-like device that holds cold cereal on a breakfast buffet. These operate in a similar fashion as the gumball machine but without the payment requirements. The Honey-Can-Do Store sells food dispensers on Amazon for about $40.

Pulling this project together may not require much, depending on where you get your dispenser and what kind it is. If it's brand new, start by wiping it off inside and out to rid it of any packing debris. If you find the machine second-hand, you may have a bit more work ahead of you. It may be sticky from the leftover sugar from the candy and gum that was once inside it. That'll need to be addressed. It's additionally critical to test its knob to see if it turns easily. Otherwise, you won't be able to use it.

If you're planning on using a candy dispenser for this, you'll want to disable the dog arm, the for-profit mechanism that forces you to pay a quarter to use the gumball machine. The machine will have to be taken apart so that you can access this piece, which is a thin strip of metal that sits underneath one of the gum machine's gears. Remove that with a Phillips head screwdriver, and you'll be able to use the machine sans quarters.

Once this prep is done, you'll fill it with the seed or fertilizer you're going to use. You may want to test a small amount of it first to see how each type of seed or fertilizer will flow through the machine. Be careful not to pack these materials too tightly once you do fill it because this may stop the materials from flowing out of the machine easily.

Although many of these machines have a stand that makes them easier to access, not all of them do. You can mimic the effect of having one by placing the gumball machine on a similar object, such as the Kavlium Plant Stand, which you can find on Amazon. Or you can DIY your own plant stand if you have some leftover materials you want to use up.

Some of these machines have more than one dispenser head. From a gardening perspective, this is useful because you have the ability to stash several different kinds of seeds in one place. However, if that's the case, then a single plant stand won't be sufficient. You'll need to find something that holds more. A foldable hiLISS plant shelf will work better in this instance because it'll hold more than one dispenser, allowing you to keep and access all of your seeds in one convenient place.