Owning and maintaining a successful garden is about more than just having a “green thumb” or knowing when to plant your tomatoes. There is plenty that can be learned through everyday knowledge and tips that experienced gardeners are often willing to share with any listening ears. All you have to do is be interested in learning the right way.
Combining different selections of plants in a garden area holds the interest and adds to the enjoyment of the viewer. Merge contrasting plants to craft interesting combinations. Add big leaf plants with fine leaf plants and combine them with plants different in texture and color to create the most eye catching and interesting landscape garden.
Make use of rain buckets and barrels around your home. You can later use this collected rainwater on your garden to grow healthier plants, while saving the planet. This method also reduces your water bill, as you can’t be charged for using the water that runs off your roof!
Run your fingernails across a bar of soap before you go out to weed or plant in your garden. The soap that collected under your nails will prevent the collection of dirt while you work. Afterward, a simple scrub with a nail brush will remove the soap and leave your hands clean, with much less effort.
If you have enough space pick one row in your garden to contain an assortment of different vegetables. Try uncommon or unusual crops that you wouldn’t want in abundance, but that can liven up a meal that you prepare using your usual crops. Plant crops in this row over time so that you’ll always have a selection of vegetables to try.
Get rid of any garden pests immediately. Garden pests, such as red spider mites, ants, whitefly, and aphids, can infect your plants with various diseases, so if you notice any of the plants in your garden dying or failing to thrive, check for pests first. To get rid of garden pests, invest in a good pesticide.
Pay attention to the time of year that your plants bloom before you start pruning them. If you prune your flowering shrubs and trees while they have buds on them, that plant won’t flower that year. The best time to prune is just after the last season’s blooms have faded.
Instead of leaving clumps of irises intact, divide them so that your flowers can grow in a more healthy manner. You can create additional irises by splitting up irises that are growing into each other’s space. If you find any dead irises in your garden, immediately pull up the bulbs. 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. Divide up the rhizomes with a knife. Cut the center out of each rhizome but save the pieces. There needs to be a minimum of one healthy offshoot on each of the new sprout sections. Replant the new shoots right away.
Plan your garden for best results. Before you put one spade into the dirt, you need to decide what you will plant, and where. You want to plot your garden’s size, and then decide what plants use according to their individual needs. Consider lighting, drainage, and spacing for each plant.
To give your plants all the iron they need, bury old, rusty pieces of steel in your garden. Damaged steel should break down quickly, allowing the soil to absorb iron from it and feed it back to your plants. This is also a useful way to get rid of junk that might be clogging up your garage.
Start a journal for your garden. This is an excellent way to keep track of the progress you are making as a gardener. Write down which seeds were successful and what methods you used to encourage growth. You can also take pictures of your plants to include in your book.
If you have a problem with your dog disturbing your garden, you can repel him by spraying perfume or other scents on the grass near the edge. Doing so shields the scents that your dog might pick up on and be drawn to, causing their potential interest in your garden to drop dramatically.
A great way to deal with weeds in a safe and nontoxic way, is to use a spray bottle of diluted dish soap to treat areas with overgrowth in your garden. Use a ratio of one tablespoon of mild dish soap per 16 ounces of water. Spray the weeds once a day and with in a week they should shrivel up and be easier to pull out.
When growing plants indoors it is important to make sure that the pots have good drainage holes. If the pots do not drain it could cause your plants to drown when you are watering them. It is possible to find pots with great drainage holes for affordable prices if you take the time to do some comparison shopping at the end of summer.
As soon as your seeds start sprouting make sure they have enough light. Move your plants next to a sunny window or put them inside a greenhouse. If you cannot do this, use fluorescent lights. Remember that your plants need up to sixteen hours of light every day.
Location is very important to organic gardening. Your garden should be in an area that will get at least ten hours of sunlight during the summer. Prior to starting your garden, make sure that your location does not have any large obstructions that will cast shadows and block the sun. Plants need an adequate amount of sunlight to live.
Through the article, you should have picked up on a few tips that will help you plant and raise your garden with a little better results. As you can see, it takes a combination of time, care, and planning to make it reach the full potential. Of course, having a “green thumb” doesn’t hurt.