There are so many tools and methods to grow an all-natural, vibrant and healthy garden. Just learn some techniques, and put the ones that resonate with you into practice.
Clay Soil
Clay soil can be a real pain to work with as it often sticks to the end of the shovel. Rub a thin layer of floor or car wax over the surface of the shovel, and then buff the surface using a clean cloth. This will make shoveling in clay soil easier. This will both make the clay fall off of the surface, and prevent the surface from rusting.
Use biennials and annuals to add color to your flower beds. Biennials and annuals that grow quickly can add color to a flower bed, plus they permit you to modify the way the flower bed looks each season and each year. In addition, they work well as gap fillers between other areas, as long as those areas receive plenty of sunlight. Notable biennials and annuals include marigold, sunflowers, hollyhock, petunia, and cosmos.
Garden vegetables should be planted in areas of the ground that receive a minimum of six hours of daily sunlight. This allows the vegetables to grow quickly and healthily. This also rings true for some of the flowers.
It is best to aerate and dry your plants daily. Moisture on your plants is a sure way to attract parasites and disease. Fungi is the most common parasite for plants. Although fungi can be treated with sprays, it is possible to preempt the problem and very important to plant health that you do so.
The best gardens start with seeds, as opposed to plants. This is a more sustainable way to start a garden. The plastics used in nurseries are rarely recycled and ends up in landfills, so it is best to start with the seeds or buy from nurseries who use organic materials in packaging their plants.
When gardening, try not to use broad-spectrum pesticides. If your pesticide has too wide a range of targets, it can kill off useful insects that fight off other pests. The beneficial insects, which kill the pests, are much more sensitive to pesticides than the pests. Using them will reduce your population of good bugs, and increase the bad. If this happens, you just fuel an expanding cycle of needing even more pesticides.
Horticulture should be a relaxing activity. There are a wide variety of things you can do to release stress and relax. One of the greatest such methods is the art of gardening. The returns are huge for a very minute up front investment cost. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect is the sense of peace and calm that comes from nurturing your plants.
You can keep your dog away from your garden by spraying perfume or aftershave in the grass. This will mask the garden smell that is attracting your dog, and it will make it a less appealing place for your dog to visit.
If you have a cut on your hand, take the time to make sure it is either healed or completely covered before you put your hands in the soil. A cut that has come into contact with extraneous materials like dirt can become seriously infected. Get a bandage that seals the cut properly.
It is easy to quickly prepare your perennial garden ground. Use your spade to slice chunks of turf up, then flip each piece over, and spread wood chips on top to a depth of four inches. Give this area at least a few weeks, then you can dig into the area and plant the new perennials.
Have your gardening tools near you to minimize the time spent searching for them. Keep the tools in a big bucket, or store them in strong pockets in your pants. Make sure your trowel, pruning shears, gloves and other important tools are always handy. This will allow you to make easy work of your gardening up-keep!
When your seeds sprout, they will not be in need of the warmth they needed to germinate. Move your plants further away from your heat source as they grow. Take any plastic film off of your containers because they hold in heat and humidity. Watching your plants as they grow will give you the insight on when to employ these tactics.
Organic Garden
You should always take spacing into account when placing plants in your organic garden. As plants grow and spread out, you will not always know how much space will be required. The plants will inevitably need to unfurl and spread, but they also need the circulation of air from open spaces. Plan your organic garden while keeping this in mind, and space your seeds accordingly, when planting.
Anyone may plant gardens, but only those who are knowledgeable can get more out of their planted crops. Implement these important concepts in building a truly organic garden.