Gardening can seem like too much to learn, but if you do a little research, it doesn’t end up seeming so hard. Now you know what you need to do, you can hopefully be more knowledgeable about horticulture, so you can get more from it.
When it comes to planning a vegetable garden, don’t forget to do your homework! Create a detailed list of each plant you intend to grow, as well as the layout of your garden. Be sure to keep in mind the size that the plants are going to reach and how much moisture and sunlight they are going to need to thrive.
Laying mulch is a wonderful way to keep your garden vibrant. Mulching also helps lessen water evaporation in your soil and it keeps the weeds away.
You must be sure to remove all of the weeds that grow in your garden. Weeds can take a promising garden and turn it into a shell of its potential. White vinegar can be a good solution. White vinegar kills weeds. If you are too busy to pull weeds by hand, make a white vinegar solution and keep it handy for a quick spray when needed.
During the day, when the weather is hot, vegetables tend to be softer, which causes them to be damaged even if you gently pick them. Twisting off vegetables causes damage to the plant; always snip them at the base of the vine.
Some houseplants occasionally need to be re-potted, and others will react poorly if their roots are disturbed. To see whether a plant needs more growing room, first remove it from its pot by turning it upside down and gently sliding it loose. If you see roots crowding the dirt the plant grows in, you will need to put the plant in a larger pot. If you can only see a few roots, it means your plant is growing well in the pot, and doesn’t need to be transplanted.
Turn the handles of your garden tools into measuring rulers. Tools that have long handles such as rakes, hoes and shovels can be used in place of a measuring stick. Just run some measuring tape right on the floor next to the handles. Then, with a permanent marker, you want to label distances. Now when you go to work in the garden, you will have a ruler that is large at your fingertips!
Carefully read and follow the instructions that come with your chemicals and tools, especially when you’re just starting to garden. Garden chemicals can cause skin irritation and eye injury. Directions, especially safety rules, are there for your own good, so make sure you follow instructions on your tools and chemicals to the letter.
Don’t cut your grass too short! Higher grass has deeper roots, meaning a healthier lawn that will be less likely to dry out. Short grass is more prone to getting dried out and turning brown.
Plant items with fall color. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be. The fall season is probably the most colorful of the year in terms of foliage. You can find beautiful maple and beech trees in many different fall colors. Add even more color to your garden by planting shrubs such as hydrangea, barberry or cotoneaster.
Use natural pest control when possible. A good way to keep slugs away is to create a border with onions around a garden with vegetables. Marigolds would do this trick as well. You can also prevent insect pests by using wood ash like mulch around your trees and shrubs. You can avoid using pesticides that contain harsh chemicals if you employ these techniques.
Before you begin to plant your garden you will need to check the soil. Soil analysis costs a little money, but the report can inform you how to enrich your soil and open the door to a lush garden. Several Cooperative Extension locations offer this service, and it’s advantageous for you to know what type of soil you have, in order to avoid growing faulty crops.
Plant slug-proof perennials. It is alarming to see how quickly slugs, and their cousin snails, can annihilate a plant. These pests gravitate to young perennials with smooth, tender, thin leaves. You can discourage snails and slugs from eating your perennials by choosing plants with tougher or distasteful foliage. Some of these plants include achillea, campanula, euphorbia, hellaborus, and heuchera.
When you plan your garden, pick the vegetables your family uses the most and plant those. That way, you’ll be the most excited about using the plants you grow, and save some money on groceries. Especially if you have little space, it’s pointless to grow anything that your family won’t eat.
Clay soil can be a real pain to work with as it often sticks to the end of the shovel. To make your digging project easier, apply a coat of automobile wax to your shovel first and then buff it lightly. The clay won’t stick to it, and the end will not rust as an added bonus.
A great tip to consider when horticulture is to make sure that you are not over or under watering your plants. This is important, because your plants can develop root rot and die if they receive too much water, and if they receive too little water, they can dry out. Therefore you want to check often to make sure plants are getting the right amount of water.
As is evident by the article you just read, horticulture is not as difficult as it may have seemed at first glance. Like most topics, horticulture has a great deal of information to be learned and the advice is readily available from a number of sources. It is easy to become overwhelmed. Sometimes, it helps to have a place to start! Hopefully, you got this from the tips above.