Growing A Green Garden, Even If You Were Not Born With A Green Thumb

Posted on December 11, 2012 in gardening

Gardening has been an enjoyable past-time for centuries. You can do this for enjoyment or to feed your family. The following article will give advice for making horticulture more fun.

TIP! Having bees in your garden can really help it to thrive because they will pollinate your fruits and vegetables for you. However, certain bee varieties, such as carpenter bees, can be harmful because they create their hives by burrowing into wood structures.

Boiling away unwanted weeds is an odd, but productive method used in many gardens. Considering that boiling water is rather safe, you don’t have to worry about toxins in your soil or at your dinner table. Douse boiling water on the weeds and avoid nearby plants carefully. Boiling water damages the weed roots and will inhibit future growth.

A great tip for gardeners is mulching. Mulch layers also discourage evaporation, which keeps the soil from drying out quickly. It can help cut down on weed growth, too.

TIP! If your soil has a problem with high alkaline levels, mixing in some coffee grounds that have been used is a great solution. This is an easy and inexpensive solution to increase the acid content back into the soil.

Let your new seeds soak in a dark spot overnight. Simply place a handful of seeds in a container, cover the seeds up with water, and stash it away. This way, your seeds are well-hydrated and can start growing with a head start. This will also give your seeds a much better chance to survive and mature.

Fall edibles are a wonderful addition to your garden. If you want to find an interesting container for your lettuce or kale, try a pumpkin! You simply need to cut off the top, scoop out the guts, and spray your pumpkin with Wilt-Pruf. Once you’ve done that, you can plant!

TIP! Your garden can really benefit from evergreens featuring berries. These year-round berries will give the rest of your yard a much-needed pop of color, especially in the winter.

Avoid damage from the sun by dressing correctly when you garden. Sunglasses, a nice shady hat, and sunscreen are very helpful. Protecting yourself from harmful UV rays means you are less likely to get sunburned or suffer skin cancer later in life.

Healthy Plants

TIP! Amazing colors appear in the fall so use them to your advantage. Many of the deciduos shrubs, vines and trees don’t start peaking until the fall when they turn the garden into bright reds, glowing yellows and fiery oranges.

Having healthy soil in your garden will help your plants avoid insect pests. Healthy plants can better ward off pests and diseases. Begin with a high-quality soil with less chemicals to avoid salt accumulation, and you give your garden an excellent chance of growing healthy plants.

So you don’t shock the plants, you should gradually get them use to a change in the temperature and conditions. On the first day, put them out in sunlight for about an hour or so. After a week, leave your plants outside for twice as long. By the week’s end, your plants should then be ready for the big move!

TIP! When you are mowing your lawn do not cut it too closely to the dirt. Higher grass sends roots further down, increasing lawn strength and viability.

Make a plan for your garden. This helps you remember where each plant was planted before they begin to sprout. It can also aid in identifying the less prominent fledgling plants that lie withing a larger landscaped garden.

Remember to always keep your horticulture tools stored in a secure, safe place. Do not leave your belongings in sight, and get a lock for the garage or shed where you keep your tools; you do not want your valuables to go missing.

TIP! Use both biennials and annuals to add color to your flower bed. These types of flowers grow at high speed, which gives you more flexibility in changing the look of your flower beds as the seasons change.

Spread a little bit of organic mulch, around two inches worth, in and about each vegetable plant. When you place mulch around your plants, it keeps the ground more moist. Mulch will help a lot in preventing weeds from growing. You will save time by not pulling weeds.

Before you start any horticulture, make sure that you do not have any open wounds on your hands. If you do, you need to wear protection from dirt and chemicals so that they do not get into your cut. A cut will likely become infected if it is exposed to dirt when gardening. The key is to use bandages capable of covering cuts in their entirety.

TIP! Make sure to be weary of stink bugs whenever you garden, particularly during the fall months. Stink bugs like to eat beans, peppers, tomatoes, and all sorts of fruit.

Get more value out of your property. Landscaping has one of the highest returns you can get from home improvement. Adding certain plants to your yard can raise the resale value to as high as 20% or more. Different plants thrive in different environments, so be sure to invest in plants that are low in moisture, and will flourish in your garden.

Fertilizing your garden is essential. Manure helps your plants grow. Make sure you use a product that is commercially composted so you don’t risk adding pathogens to your garden. Of all the fertilizing options available, it doesn’t really matter which one you choose as long as you use something.

TIP! There are several annuals that thrive during the cooler months. In order to make these plants presentable, be sure to prune them if they become too leggy.

As discussed earlier, horticulture is a pleasurable activity people have engaged in for centuries. At first, it was a necessary means of survival. Nowadays, it may be for pleasure, profit, or need. No matter what reason you wish to garden, you now have some useful advice. Have fun gardening today!