A garden offers much more than beautiful decoration. It isn’t just a hobby or pastime for green-thumbed enthusiasts. It can give a gardener a feeling of peace. Especially if you are good at it, its effects are profound.
The handles of your tools can double as clever rulers. Large handled tools like rakes, hoes or shovels may be used like measuring sticks. Measure the handles with a tape measure laid out in the floor. Then, transfer the measurements to the handle using a permanent marker. When you decide to work in the garden again, you will now have a ruler at your disposal.
You can make your flower beds brighter with biennials and annuals. The annuals and biennials are usually fast growing because they only last one season, and this will let you change the garden every season for a nice change of pace. They are very useful for filling in the gaps between perennials and shrubs in a sunny area. Notable collections include sunflower, marigold, hollyhock, rudbeckia, cosmos, and petunia.
Soak seeds overnight, preferably in a cool, dark place. Drop some seeds into a small glass or other container, and fill it with water. That way, the seeds will have sufficient hydration and will have the best start possible. The seeds will have a better chance of surviving and maturing.
If you are considering planting a garden take the time to plan it out. This will assist you in recognizing your tiny plants when they start to pop up. It can also keep you from planting any of your garden favorites too close to each other.
Be sure to split the irises. You can divide those overgrown clumps and increase the amount of irises you have. Try to life the bulbous irises when foliage begins to die. The bulbs often divide in your hand with no intervention on your part, and when you replant them, they will usually flower the following year. Split rhizomes with a knife. Get rid of the center and keep the new pieces you cut from the outside. Be sure to retain a sturdy offshoot on every piece that you intend to plant. Do this cutting beside your garden bed, so that you can place your new groupings into the ground immediately.
You may want to think about having evergreens that will produce berries planted in your yard. This gives your garden a bit of a “splash” of color, even in winter when everything is nearly colorless. The American Holly, American Cranberrybush, the Winterberry, and the Common Snowberry help provide color during the winter.
The water that is leftover from the steamed vegetables is great to pour over them. For gardenias and rhododendrons, try putting your used coffee grounds or tea bags in the soil so they may acquire the acid they need for proper growth. Chamomile tea applied to plants can be an effective remedy for fungus problems.
If you’re growing plants indoors, keep your thermostat around 65 or 75 degrees daily. Warm temperatures encourage plant growth. If you think it would not be comfortable to keep your residence that warm in the winter, consider purchasing a heat lamp to use on the plants.
Work efficiently in your garden. Don’t waste thirty minutes looking around for a tool. Set up the tools you will need for your day prior to hitting the garden, then put them away neatly at the end of your horticulture session. You can use a tool belt for this purpose, or choose pants that contain several large pockets.
Tuck away some plastic grocery bags and use them to slip over your muddy boots. This lets you be able to return to the garden without interrupting your work.
Coffee Grounds
Add coffee grounds to your garden’s soil. Coffee grounds contain many of the essential nitrogenous nutrients that plants are able to use. Your plants will really bloom if they get the nitrogen they need from coffee grounds or compost or diluted urea.
Ensure your soil is health by adding mulch. Mulch will protect and nourish the soil. It helps keep your soil cooler on warmer days, which protects the roots underneath. Evaporation will be reduced and the soil will remain moist for longer when you water. It also keeps the weeds under control.
Organic foods don’t contain any chemical pesticides. Although this is great for your health, you need to make sure that you check all the produce careful for any bugs or pests before consuming.
Every year, you should plant different things and in different places. When you continuously plant some plants from the same family in the same area every year, disease and fungus is encouraged in these areas. The fungus and bacteria will stay in the ground a whole year and attack your plants when the time is right. If you mix things up, by planting in different spots, you will have enlisted a natural method of keeping fungus and diseases at bay.
Use a soaker hose to water your garden. This type of hose allows you to water roots directly without wetting the plants’ leaves. These are more efficient than sprinklers, which use more water, and can save you the trouble of hand watering.
Use these tips to create the ideal garden. When you see your plants and flowers alive and flourishing, you will feel a sense of happiness that you helped to make that happen. Garden can completely change your life if you allow it to, so start today.