No time is better than the present. You may have concerns about logistics, but do not fear! The following article will outline the straight facts you need to start a beautiful garden. Below are some expert tips to get you moving with the aspirations you have to become a green thumb.
Use pots to start your plants, then transfer them to a garden when they become seedlings. Your plants will be more likely to survive if you do this. This also enables you to close gaps between planting cycles. As soon as the mature plants are removed, you can replace them with fresh seedlings.
Create useful rulers from your tool handles. You can use shovels or rakes as measuring sticks. Lay your handles on the floor, and put measuring tape right next to them. Use a permanent marker to label distances. Now, the next time you do work in the garden, you’ll actually have a ruler at your fingertips.
Cover fences and walls with lots of climbers. Plants that climb are extraordinarily versatile, and can help hide an unsightly wall or fence, usually within one season. They also have been known to grow through existing trees or shrubs, or can be easily taught to cover any size arbor. Some varieties of these plants will have to be tethered to some sort of support, but other varieties will be able to attach to the medium they are climbing. Wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle, clematis and some rose varieties are good choices for climbers.
If you want your garden to sport flowers in the spring as well as summer, plant bulbs. Since bulbs are easy to grow and resistant to poor weather conditions, they will grow without fail year after year. Bulbs bloom during different seasons, if you pick them carefully you will have flowers almost all year.
Use natural pest control when possible. A border of marigolds or onions around your veggies can prevent slugs. Insects also avoid shrubs and trees that are mulched with wood ash. You will be able to stay away from harsh chemical based pesticides by incorporating these techniques into your gardening.
Don’t use broad-spectrum pesticides in the garden. These kinds of pesticides kill the helpful insects that destroy the pests. Many times good bugs will be more sensitive to harmful pesticides than the ones you are trying to get rid of. If your good bug population goes down, your problem will only get worse. This can cause you to actually use more pesticides than you originally needed to combat the problem.
Protect Yourself
Protect yourself from sun overexposure while horticulture by wearing the proper clothing. Wear sunglasses and hats with wide brims, and apply sunscreen. When you protect yourself against the sun’s rays, you are more likely to avoid both skin cancer and sunburn.
Heather can bring you beneficial insects. Bees love heather, and it’s one of the earliest sources of nectar for the bees when they emerge during springtime. Because heather beds require very little maintenance, they often become the home of spiders, ground beetles, and other insects that can benefit your garden. Because of this, you might want to invest in a good pair of horticulture gloves for the times when you need to prune it.
It’s simple to quickly prepare your soil for the planting of a perennial garden. Simple slice into the soil with a spade, flip the turf, and mulch the area with 3 to 4 inches of wood chips. Allow a few weeks to pass by before you dig down into the applied soil.
A beer trap is an effective way of of dealing with any slugs that invade your organic garden. Dig a hole just deep enough for a glass jar to be placed in it while the jar still has its rim in line with the surface of the ground. Now, fill the jar with beer to approximately an inch below the lip. The beer will attract the slugs and they will be trapped in the jar.
Keep the soil healthy by adding mulch. A layer of mulch can protect the soil beneath. The roots of your garden are less likely to become overheated on hot days. It also keeps soil moist longer by preventing water evaporation. It also doubles as weed control.
To become a great organic gardener, you need to look under the surface! Look out for green starts that are lush that might have bad root systems when you start purchasing tomato seedlings to help your organic garden prosper. Reason being, these kinds of starts stay attached to the seedlings for many weeks, which causes the seedlings to not grow until the starts are gone.
Botanical Insecticides
You may be able to find botanical insecticides locally, which are often very helpful for preventing pest infestations. These are frequently more effective than their chemically engineered counterparts. Keep in mind, however, that the biological composition of botanical insecticides can cause them to quickly decay and disappear.
For perennials, you can quickly get a plot developed in a short amount of time. Cut under the dirt with a spade and turn it over. Next, cover the area with three to four inches of organic wood chips. After the new bed has settled, you can start planting your perennials.
After reading this article, you should feel better about starting your gardening journey. Even if you thought you were all ready to go before, look at what you know now! The ideas within this article have hopefully gotten your enthusiasm up for some wonderful gardening adventures of your own!