If you daydream about have a thriving garden filled with luscious green plants, colorful flowers and bustling wildlife, you need to consider what is required in order to turn your dream into reality. Even though horticulture takes effort, it is also loads of fun! Some basic tips will help make your work more efficient, making both the process and result more fun.
Clay soil can be a real pain to work with as it often sticks to the end of the shovel. Coat the shovel with floor or car wax, and buff it with a clean rag to make the job a lot easier. This will both make the clay fall off of the surface, and prevent the surface from rusting.
Save some plants in the winter by bringing them indoors. Your best bet would be try to save the best or most hearty plants. When you dig up the plant, carefully avoid the roots then place it in a container.
Try growing some cat grass or wheat grass in the vicinity of the plants that your cat likes to eat. Another option is to place offensively smelling objects on the topsoil near and around the plants you want to protect. Citrus peels or mothballs are a couple of examples.
Do not mow your lawn close to the bottom. By leaving your grass a little taller, you are allowing it to become stronger, as the roots grow stronger and deeper. Short grass means short roots and dead grass.
Knee Pads
A set of comfortable knee pads makes a great investment if your garden is full of plant material that stays low to the ground. Weeding, watering and picking through your vegetation can cause a lot of damage to your knees if left unprotected. Cushion your knees with a pair of horticulture knee pads.
If you want an organic way to weed your garden, try “boiling” them. Boiling water can be considered as an herbicide, and it is a safe one. Pour boiling water over the weeds to kill them, but make sure not to pour the water over any plants you don’t want to kill. The boiling water will damage the roots of the weeds and will usually prevent further growth.
Split up your irises. The more you divide clusters of irises, the more your irises will multiply. Pick up bulbous irises after the foliage dies. If you split the bulbs that you pull up, and replant them, they will bloom the following year. Use a knife to carefully divide rhizomes. Get rid of the center and keep the new pieces you cut from the outside. If done properly, each piece that remains for planting should have a minimum of one viable offshoot. The quicker you can replant your cuttings, the better chances they will reappear next season.
Good green gardens begin from seeds, not plants. When planting a garden, the best way is to initially start with seeds. Most nurseries use plastic containers to grow seedling. This plastic is seldom recycled, so most is dumped in landfills. Be kind to the environment and start your garden with seeds or purchase young plants from nurseries that use organic packaging materials.
Fertilize your garden regularly. Choose commercial compost instead of homegrown manure to keep toxins out of your plants. The options for fertilizing are vast and include environmentally sound choices, so no matter which you choose, just be sure to use one.
Take a look at planting berry-producing evergreens in your yard. These plants will look good year-round, even during the winter, when your other plants have lost their bloom. Some plants that will provide color in the winter include the American Cranberrybush, the American Holly, the Common Snowberry, and the Winterberry.
Every good gardener knows when the best time is to begin harvesting one vegetable or the other. Each type of produce has unique time frames for harvesting at the peak of flavor. Harvesting zucchini is best done when they are small and baby peas should be harvested when they are young. At the opposite end of the spectrum, tomatoes are at their best when mature. So, be aware of the best harvest time to pick your veggies.
Efficiently water your garden. Take advantage of a soaker hose so that you don’t need to water every single plant individually, or have to keep filling up your watering can. Be sure to keep the pressure of the water on low so that the hose does not damage the tender plants. Watering your garden for a couple hours while you are working on other tasks is an efficient use of your time.
With these tips, you’re better equipped to grow the most beautiful garden you can imagine. In learning how to create your dream garden, you’ll also be growing as a person. That’s because learning how to nurture your plants will not only help you reach the goal of having a great garden, but it will help you learn to nurture yourself.