Will your neighbor’s lawn always look better? You may imagine your neighbor has the key to a perfect garden. Truthfully, there is no super-secret formula for a gorgeous garden. All you need is the knowledge about how to care for your plants the right way. Start learning more about horticulture right here with these tips.
Seeds should be soaked in a dark area overnight. Simply place a handful of seeds in a container, cover the seeds up with water, and stash it away. This will keep seeds hydrated and help them to grow faster. This gives the seeds a better chance of flourishing.
Do you enjoy fresh mint leaves though hate how they grow so fast and take over your entire garden? Keep the growth under control by growing them in a large horticulture pot instead. Then, you can plant the container into the ground. However, the container walls will keep the roots held, and prevent the plant from consuming too much of your garden space.
Annual Plants
There are several kinds of annuals that do well in winter’s colder temperatures. When plants become too out of control, simply prune them back. Once a few weeks have passed, these annual plants will bloom again, and provide a nice variation in color compared to their brown surroundings. Annual plants that flourish in cold weather are snapdragons, petunias and dianthus.
Before you even place the first plant in your garden, you need to check the composition of your soil. You can get a soil analysis, and if you find your soil needs a supplement, do it! Ask about this service at a local university or the county Cooperative Extension office to improve the soil and insure fruitful crops.
Plant a little catnip or wheatgrass in the area surrounding the plants that your cat is devouring. You can also try to offend the cats sense of smell with orange rinds or mothballs.
If your garden is limited in size, consider planting fruit trees that come in dwarf varieties. Urban gardens are typically small in area, but there is plenty of room for dwarf fruit trees, even if only one. Don’t expect your trees to start bearing their full sized fruit until about 3 to 5 years from the time you plant them. Plant in the early spring, and make sure the tree is well-watered.
Salt Deposits
Vinegar mixed with rubbing alcohol is an effective way to clean clay pots of salt deposits. When you have plants in clay pots, ugly looking salt deposits may accumulate on the outside after a while. You should combine equal portions of water, white vinegar and rubbing alcohol onto the pot. Then scrub it with a plastic cleaning brush, and watch the salt melt away. When finished, rinse the pot off thoroughly and set to dry prior to planting your next plant in it.
During the hotter parts of the day, vegetables are softer, which means even picking them gently can cause them damage. For vegetables growing on vines, cut them carefully rather than twisting them off to avoid damage to the plant.
A great tip for gardeners is mulching. Mulching can also reduce the rate at which water in the garden soil evaporates and make weeds less likely to grow.
You must always take care of your knees when working in the garden. Most people can’t bend over while standing up for a long period of time. Kneeling can relieve pain in your back, but can instead be painful to your knees. You can pick up a knee pad for you to rest on so that your knees are at ease on the ground.
Coffee Grounds
If you learn that your soil has a high amount of alkaline, mix some used coffee grounds into it. Used coffee grounds will add acidity, helping to optimize the soil’s pH. After doing so, you will notice that your greenery and garden will be colorful and fresh.
You might want to think about fertilizing your potential garden area with a chicken tractor. A chicken tractor means a moveable chicken coop that has an open floor, as well as a sheltered area. This setup allows chickens to go about their business while fertilizing the ground below. After fertilizing one spot, the tractor is moved to another.
You can use the wooden handles of your tools as measurement sticks. Handles of things such as rakes, hoes or shovels make excellent measuring instruments. Lay your handles on the floor, and put measuring tape right next to them. Mark the measurements with a permanent marker. When you decide to work in the garden again, you will now have a ruler at your disposal.
Most of these ideas are quite simple and require little advance skill. You just need some basic education on gardening techniques, then you can put that education to good use. Monitor your plants carefully to assess whether you are getting the results you want from certain techniques or approaches. If one method does not deliver good results, try the next one. In time, you will begin to see the fruits of your labor and your garden will become the talk of the town.