Why not learn something new about becoming a better gardener? With just a little research, you can make a horticulture plan that will get you exactly the results you’re looking for without wasting your time or your money.
It is important that you give your plants the chance to gradually adjust to the change in temperature and conditions, or you risk shocking them. Put them outdoors in the sun for no more than two hours the first day. Over the course of a week, slowly increase the amount of time that you leave them outside. When the week is done, your plants will be ready for the big move without any problems.
Check your soil before you begin planting your garden. You can get a soil analysis, and if you find your soil needs a supplement, do it! A lot of Cooperative Extension locations offer this service, and you can prevent ruining a few crops by identifying the specific steps to take.
When fall is here, you need to plant autumn edibles. A hollowed out pumpkin can become a festive container for kale and lettuce. Scoop the insides out of the pumpkin, and don’t forget to spray the inside with Wilt-Pruf. This will prevent your pumpkin from rotting. Once you have finished, you can begin planting.
As you cut your grass, do not trim it too low to the ground. 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.
Irises can benefit from being separated. You can increase the number of irises you have by splitting clumps that are overgrown. Try to life the bulbous irises when foliage begins to die. The bulbs will split up naturally in your hand, and when replanted, will often flower the next year. You can divide rhizomes with a knife. Get rid of the center and keep the new pieces you cut from the outside. Divide your pieces carefully; they should each have one good quality offshoot apiece. Replant right away.
Start a new garden from seeds. When you grow a new garden, start the environmental way, from seeds. Many nurseries use plastic growing pots that are very seldom recycled. Try buying from organic nurseries and farms so your garden is not using anti-environmental products.
All of your vegetable plants should have approximately two inches, just outside the stem, of organic mulch placed around them. The soil around plants can stay damper through the use of mulch. It will also prevent weeds from sprouting. Time and effort will be saved pulling out all the weeds.
To help them out, try poring leftover water from steamed vegetables on them. Tea and coffee grounds can be used to add acidity to your soil for plants like gardenias and rhododendrons. Herbal chamomile tea is an effective, affordable treatment for fighting fungi.
When gardening, avoid the use of strong broad-spectrum pesticides. These pesticides will kill every type of pest in your garden, including beneficial bugs that eat garden pests. Useful insects are more sensitive to these pesticides than the pests, so by killing them, you could be growing your pest population. This will cause a cycle to start where you will need to keep increasing the amount of pesticide you are using.
Heather is a magnet for friendly insects. Bees love heather, and when the heather blooms in early spring, it provides a good nectar source for them. Plant a heather bed, it will house many bugs that are good for a garden such as spiders and ground beetles. Always remember this, and wear your horticulture gloves if you prune your heather!
You must always take care of your knees when working in the garden. Many people find it difficult to bend over for extended periods of time when standing up. If you have trouble with this, kneel instead of bending while horticulture. Use a knee pad so that your knees don’t get sore.
If you’re thinking about growing your own organic garden, then you might want to consider keeping a bit of your property undeveloped; this way wildlife can flourish. One side effect of this is that where animals thrive, so do birds and insects that help nurture and pollinate plants, which will increase the quality of your garden.
Make sure you work in your garden every day. One of the biggest time wasters is not keeping track of your tools and having to look for them every time you need them. Before you make a trip to your garden, you should gather all tools and items in advance. Afterwards, be sure to return them to their original storage place. If you need to use a tool belt, try using some pants with pockets in them.
It just requires doing research, working a lot outside, and having a lot of patience. Once you see the garden you’ve created, you’ll know all your efforts were worthwhile.