If you have visions of a healthy, lush, green garden, there are things you should consider on your way to that goal. Gardening takes some effort, but it is also a pleasant and rewarding hobby. This article has some advice for having more fun and less work in your garden.
Shoveling clay soil is tiresome since clay is hard, and it can also stick to your shovel for twice the difficulty. To make working in clay easier, rub the shovel with floor or car wax and then buff it with a cloth. The wax prevents the clay from sticking to the shovel, and stops rust from forming.
Slug-proof your garden with smart perennial choices. Snails and slugs can destroy plants in just one night. These pests normally go after plants with thin little leaves and plants that have yet to fully mature. There are perennials that slugs do not want to eat, the ones that they hate have hairy leaves, or are unappealing to their taste. Good choices in this category are plants such as achillea, campanula, and euphorbia. Heuchera and helleborus also work well.
When you are mowing your lawn do not cut it too closely to the dirt. If your grass has more height, roots be able to grow more deeply in the soil, which will make for a stronger lawn and will have a higher resistance to drying out. If the grass is too short, it produces shallow roots and that leads to a lawn with brown spots and dried-out patches.
Be sure to split the irises. You can create additional irises by splitting up irises that are growing into each other’s space. When the foliage dies, take the bulbous irises and lift them. The iris bulbs should easily split apart in your hand. Once you replant them, they will have a good flower show the following year. Make use of a knife to split up rhizomes. Cut the center out of each rhizome but save the pieces. At the least, each piece will need to have one strong offshoot. The quicker you can replant your cuttings, the better chances they will reappear next season.
Carefully read and follow the instructions that come with your chemicals and tools, especially when you’re just starting to garden. Failure to follow instructions can be dangerous or painful. For example, some chemicals will irritate your skin if you don’t follow safety rules. Always follow packaging directions to ensure your body’s safety.
Pest control is one of the hardest things about growing a vegetable garden. Avoid spraying harsh chemicals on fruits and vegetables destined for your table. To safely keep your garden pest-free, keep a sharp eye out. When you are vigilant, you can simply remove the pests from your plants manually as soon as you notice them. Early detection is the best solution to ridding your garden of pests.
Plant things that will give you color for the fall. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be. Fall is the most colorful time of year for foliage. Maple, beech, and dogwood display colors ranging from dark crimson to light yellow. Also, when considering shrubs, try using cotoneaster, hydrangea, or barberry.
To create an attractive, quintessentially English garden, you need to use a mixture of different plants that all grow to varying heights in each bed. If you use plants that are all the same size your garden will look flat.
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. This is a great natural way to allow the insects and animals found in nature to assist with the growth of your garden.
Organic Garden
When you are cultivating an organic garden inside, you should think about the lighting situation. If your house or apartment doesn’t get a lot of natural light, one option is to grow something that only requires medium or low light. Using UV lamps is a great way to grow an organic garden anywhere.
Believe it or not, pine makes great mulch. Some plants do better in soil with high acidity as they are highly acidic themselves. Use pine needles to increase the acid level in your soil if you have plants that require higher acid. Cover the plots with pine needles. As the pine needles decay, they’ll raise the soil’s acidity.
Don’t let your organic horticulture tasks stack up for very long. Even if you end up being too busy to do garden chores every day, do small tasks that will help you avoid having to do large tasks when you finally do have time. For example, if you have a dog, pull a few weeds while you are outdoors with the dog. Over time, you keep your garden weed free without adding any additional time on to your day.
Laundry Basket
When it is time to gather your produce, you should use an older laundry basket. The laundry basket can be used as a colander for your produce. Rinse the produce while it sits in the basket, the extra water will go through the holes in the basket.
One of the benefits of organic produce over commercial produce is that it is not spayed with any toxic pesticides. This is great for your health, but you do want to check the produce for bugs prior to using it.
With these tips, you’re better equipped to grow the most beautiful garden you can imagine. In learning how to create your dream garden, you’ll also be growing as a person. That’s because learning how to nurture your plants will not only help you reach the goal of having a great garden, but it will help you learn to nurture yourself.