When you take time to apply proper organic gardening techniques and products, it really does show. It demonstrates that you are taking organic gardening seriously and that you are doing all you can to ensure that your plants thrive. People will admire you because of this, and you will get a lot of respect from the organic horticulture community. Like other skills, there is always room for improvement. The following advice will help you out.
Use climbing vines or plants to cover fences and walls. Climbing plants can cover a wall after one growing season only. You can direct them over certain branches or boards, or you can send them through plants you already have. Some varieties will climb and attach using their tendrils or branches, but some will need to be trained or supported with ties. Plants such as clematis, wisteria, climbing roses, or honeysuckle are always great choices.
When mowing the lawn, don’t mow the grass all the way down to the root. Cutting your grass at a taller height allows grass roots to grow deeper and stronger, which helps lessen the chance of your lawn drying out easily. If you keep your lawn too short, the roots will not go deep enough to survive in case of a heat wave.
Make sure that your deciduous shrubs are protected. If you have them in pots, you need to guard them from cold weather that will damage or kill them. Try to tie the tops all together and cover them with a sheet, large piece of cloth, or blanket. Covering your foliage in plastic will let the air in – and may lead to decay.
You should make sure to divide your irises. Increase your iris population when you divide up overgrown clumps. You can do this by simply picking up bulbous irises once the foliage has withered. You will be able to split the bulb easily and replant it to get more flowers next year. Use a knife to divide the rhizomes. Discard the center and cut pieces from the exterior. Each piece must have a minimum of one strong offshoot. Replant your new rhizome pieces as soon as you have finished the cuttings.
It is possible to use natural materials as well as other plants to help keep pests away from your garden. Onions and marigolds can get rid of pests in the garden. Wood ash around your tree will help you keep pests away as well. Doing these things can ensure that you do not need potentially harmful chemicals.
Consider planting evergreens in your garden that produce berries. This gives your garden a bit of a “splash” of color, even in winter when everything is nearly colorless. There is quite a variety of plants that will give your garden a splash of color during winter, including the American Cranberrybush, American Holly, Common Snowberry or Winterberry.
Plant with the colors of autumn in mind. That doesn’t have to be way it is though! When it comes to vibrant color, the bright foliage of fall beats all the other seasons. Fall trees sport a variety of colorful leaves that range from subtle yellows to rich crimsons. Shrubs such as barberry, cotoneaster and hydrangea all have gorgeous fall foliage.
A good tip to help your plants stay healthy and fight diseases is to use aspirin water. You will need 2 gallons of water and one and one half aspirin mixed together for a wonderful add-on to your plants. Spray the plants with the aspirin solution to help your plants fight disease. Use this method every three weeks.
If you have recently sustained a cut, you should allow it to heal entirely before toiling in your garden. If you simply cannot wait to get back to horticulture, you should at least cover the cut to protect it. A cut may become badly infected if it’s exposed to a lot of dirt or grime when you garden. However, there are bandages available that will seal the cut completely. Using these should protect the cut from any infection while gardening.
Before planting your favorite perennials, you must first prepare the ground. Using a garden spade, dig underneath the turf and flip it. Then, create a layer of wood chips at least three inches deep over the area you just flipped. Allow a few weeks to pass by before you dig down into the applied soil.
Your seeds, once they begin sprouting, don’t need the same amount of warmth as they did before. As they begin growing you can move them farther away from heat sources. You should also remove plastic films that you had on your containers to keep the humidity and warmth out. Keep a close watch on your seeds to know when to do this.
Don’t let all the little chores in your organic garden build up. Even if you’re to busy to focus on your garden’s needs each day, you could do small things that could prevent you from piling up work when you wish to work on your garden. For example, if your family is cooking out on the grill, you could clear a few bunches of weeds between checking on the burgers.
Do you prefer to eliminate weeds without the use of harmful chemicals? Put down old newspapers in several layers for controlling weeds. Without light, there can be no weeds. When you cover weeds with newspaper layers, they suffocate due to lack of light. The paper will break down quickly and cleanly, adding to your compost. To improve the appearance of newspaper, simply spread a bit of mulch over it.
You now have your garden tools, seeds and supplies needed to skillfully grow an organic garden, using the tips given here. You’ve come to the right place! As with most things, organic gardening requires that you never stop learning to improve your craft. Take the tips from above to boost your knowledge arsenal about organic horticulture. Hopefully, you have discovered something new that you can use in your organic garden.