This article will give you a lot of tips that will help your garden be more of a success for your business, your family or for you. If you ascertain beforehand exactly what you need, you will not be throwing away money on unnecessary items, or plants that are not suited to your environment.
Clay is naturally hard, and can can stick to a shovel making it frustrating to work with. To ease the digging, apply some car wax or floor wax to the head of the shovel and buff. The clay easily slides off the surface while keeping the end from getting rusty.
Healthy Soil
Starting off your garden with healthy soil can be the best defense against those pesky garden bugs. Healthier plants are stronger, which in turn can help the plants you grow to become more resistant to disease and bugs that can harm them. For healthy plants, start with healthy soil that is properly amended and free of chemicals in order to avoid salt accumulation.
When winter arrives, you could save some plants by placing them inside your house. Maybe you could pick out the most expensive plants or the most hardy ones. Carefully dig around the rootball and replant in an appropriate pot.
The best gardens start with seeds, as opposed to plants. It’s better for the environment to begin from seed. Plastic used in nurseries normally end up in landfills. For an garden that helps the environment, plant seeds directly in the garden’s soil or purchase plants grown in organic packaging.
Fertilizer is important when you garden. Manure is probably the best fertilizer. Choose a commercial product to reduce the risks of pathogen exposure. There are many fertilization methods out there; the type is not quite as important as actually using something.
A touch of organic mulch will boost the potential of the vegetable plants in your garden. The mulch will help keep the soil moist for longer periods of time. It also helps prevent weeds from growing. This will save you a ton of time and work.
If you have an organic garden and children, plant some everbearing strawberries for them. Kids are quite eager to pick fruit from a garden, and will help with the planting if they get a nice snack out of it at the end.
Ward off certain diseases that plague plants with the use of aspirin. An aspirin and a half, combined with a couple of gallons of water, will do amazing things for your plants. All you have to do is spray the plants with this solution and you should see good results. You should spray your plants about once every three weeks.
If you’re really serious about environmentally-friendly gardening practices, refrain from developing some of your land and use it as an animal habitat. This is a great natural way to allow the insects and animals found in nature to assist with the growth of your garden.
Prepare the ground for a perennial garden quickly and easily. Slice under the grass with a spade, flip the layer you have lifted over, and spread three inches of wood chips on top. Give this area at least a few weeks, then you can dig into the area and plant the new perennials.
Pine Needles
Pine can be a wonderful mulch. Some plants are more acidic, and prefer soil that contains higher acidic levels. If that’s the case, the easiest thing to do is use pine needles for beds. Simply add a layer of pine needles a couple of inches deep to the plant beds. The needles will decompose over time and provide the soil with acidity.
Regular maintenance prevents your horticulture tasks from becoming overwhelming and unappealing. Not everyone has time to tend their gardens every day, but by doing little things whenever you have a chance, you can avoid having things pile up. Try pulling a few weeds from the garden while your dogs are out doing their business.
When it is time to gather your produce, you should use an older laundry basket. An old basket will act like a strainer does. When you put your produce in a basket, you can then rinse it off and let it strain any excess water through the laundry basket holes.
In an organic garden, ruffle any seedlings with a piece of cardboard, or even your hand, a couple times each day. While this appears strange, research shows it can help plants grow larger, versus not petting them at all.
Treated Wood
A diversity of materials can be used to construct raised beds. These include brick, stone, and wood. Make sure the wood you use is untreated and rot resistant. Some good woods are locust, cedar and cypress. If you use treated wood in your vegetable garden, the chemicals in the wood can make their way into the soil, and in turn, to your crops. If you must use treated wood, create a barrier, such as with plastic sheet.
Add mulch to your garden to improve the vitality of the soil. The right amount of mulch in a garden also works to protect the soil underneath. It helps keep your soil cooler on warmer days, which protects the roots underneath. Mulch acts like a barrier that ultimately decreases the rate of evaporation. It can also help alleviate any weed issues.
All it takes is a little knowledge, a bit of work, and a whole lot of patience. The effort will pay off, and you will see a good reward for your hard work.