Mixers, which are plastic drums with lids that have baffles inside for mixing, make it easy to add nutrients to your compost or mix the compost with vermiculite or perlite or sand to make your own potting soil. A handy little tree hanger can make hanging feeders in trees easier. It has a wide loop at one end for hanging on a tree branch and a small loop at the other end for hanging the feeder. You could also use it to hang birdhouses, wind chimes, and flower baskets. Ladybeetle houses can attract these helpful bugs that eat other bugs.
Ladybeetles prefer to overwinter in places like California, New Mexico, and Mexico.
But they're likely to return to your back yard in the spring, and to make sure they do, try a little ladybeetle attractant. Put a few drops on tree trunks, structures in your vegetable garden, and your ladybeetle house. A spray is now available that is said to prevent terra-cotta from cracking due to freezing temperatures. A handy invention for garden debris is called a tip bag. The bags stand up on their own because of their wide base and plastic hoop rim.