This is a few methods for making quick, easy, and super CHEAP garden staples aka landscape staples.

Landscape staples are giant versions of the staples found in your common office stapler. They are used to hold down all manner of landscaping materials such as weed barrier plastic sheets, garden hose, and decorative items. I have also used special made ones for yard sale signs and keeping holiday decorations in place.

These are sold at most any store with landscaping materials. In price checked at my local Wal-Mart and found them to be $4 for an 8 pack of very thin flimsy quality. We will improve!

Step 1: Gather Materials

Tools needed are galvanized 12 guage wire, wire cutters, pliers (or pliers with built in cutter but dedicated side dike cutters will work much easier) and I used a wire bending jig but it can be done without the special tool or one can easily be homemade for our purpose.

Growing up on a farm we always had "bailing wire" for many creative practical purposes. I live in town now but wire still has many excellent uses.

It is sold at most hardware stores and farming supply places. Farm stores tend to be cheaper and sell rolls by weight where as hardware stores go by length.

There are also different gauges and finishes. For this project galvanized finish is ideal for rust prevention. In fact galvanized is best for most everything except welding IMHO. Gauges are how thick the wire is...Bigger number thinner wire...Smaller number thicker heavier wire. Many household uses 12 guage is bendable yet strong. If you really need strength #9 wire is really tough stuff but very hard to bend.

For this project I used galvanized 12 guage wire. I got a 10 pound roll for $12.00. I don't know how long it is but at least 30 feet or more.

$12.00 at the big box store here inn town would get you 3 packs of 8 low duty staples. My $12.00 roll of wire will do several hundred if needed and have a quality material left over for other building and repairing projects.

Step 2: Cut Wire

The length the wire is cut to will be a little less than double the length of the finished staples. Different lenght staples are useful for different things. The longer the stapes the more holding power it will have in the ground. I find it's better to go a little big than too small.

Step 3: Bend Wire

I use the pins on the black wire jig to make a nice curved bend in the wire. The wire goes in between the two pins, leaving one side a little longer, take that longer side and pull it around towards the shorter side forming a U shaped piece. This is the finished staple. It's a very simple bend to make. The pictures are probably easier to follow then the text lol.

The final two pictures show the wire in a channel in the bending jig that produces a more square shaped staple that us great for plastic sheets, tarps, landscape fabric or flat hoses.

Step 4: No Jig No Problem

With any common pliers you can make a horseshoe bend in the wire. Grab the wire tight with the pliers just below the half way lenght. Then pull the longer end around into the curved horseshoe bend. I promise its easy.

Step 5: Staple Stuff to the Ground

I used a bunch of these to hold soaker hoses and cardboard down in my garden. The soaker hoses nees to be very close to the plants to be efficient and nees to stay put. The cardboard is to reduce weeding between rows. After thr cardboard is staples down its covered with grass clippings so my garden doesn't look super trashy.

Thanks for checking out my staples.