Gardening 101: Helpful Tips

Gardening can be an extremely relaxing hobby, and one of the best things about it is that it can be easy on the wallet.

 

Gardening 101

  • There are home solutions available to combat the powdery mildew you may find on your plants. A great home remedy is to mix baking soda with water and a little bit of liquid soap. Spray this onto your plants about once per week or until it subsides. No damage will occur to your plants, and the baking soda is mild and efficient.
  • Make sure to pre-soak seeds, preferably in a dark location. Drop some seeds into a small glass or other container, and fill it with water. This lets water soak into the seeds, giving them an extra boost of hydration when they start growing. This gives the seeds a better chance of flourishing.
  • Plan your garden before you plant it. Use this to remind you where certain things were planted, later when they start sprouting. You might end up losing small plants in a large area, because you did not water them.
  • Plant things that will give you colour for the autumn. The brightest season of the year when it comes to foliage is autumn. Maple, beech, and dogwood display colors ranging from dark crimson to light yellow. As you select your shrubbery, consider hydrangea, barberry or other similar plantings.

Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds can be used to amend soils that are high in alkaline. Using coffee grounds is a low-cost way to increase the acidity of the soil. Balanced soil will produce more flavourful, crisp vegetables and greens.

Pests

  • Natural materials or some other plants can be used in your garden for keeping away pests. A border of marigolds or onions around your veggies can prevent slugs. Wood ash, when used as mulch, can help keep insects away from trees and shrubs.
  • Keeping pests out of a vegetable garden can be difficult. It’s likely you don’t want to spray pesticides around the vegetables you intend to eat. Research the methods available for eliminating garden pests organically. If you catch the pests early, the best removal technique is just to take them off your plants by hand.
  • Avoid using broad-spectrum pesticides in your garden. 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. This may then lead to using even more pesticides to eliminate this new problem.

More Tips

  • To attract the right kind of insects, plant heather. Heather is desirable to bees; when heather emerges in early spring, it can be a source of nectar. If your heather bed is undisturbed, as it would be in nature, many beneficial insects will make it their home. Because of this, you might want to invest in a good pair of gardening gloves for the times when you need to prune it.
  • Asprin will actually help your plants out by killing diseases. Dissolve one aspirin and a half for 2 gallons of water. You can simply spray them with the mixture to aid them in fighting off diseases. The spray ought to be applied approximately every three weeks.
  • It is essential to keep your knees protected as you garden. Bending over for extended periods can be harmful to your joints and muscles. Kneeling is a preferred way to get to your plants while minimizing back pain. You can pick up a knee pad for you to rest on, so that your knees are at ease on the ground.