Horticulture is a good way to make your yard a source of fresh fruits and vegetables. What could be better than making a salad from the vegetables in your garden? The following paragraphs contain a handful of helpful hints that will enable you to maximize your gardening endeavor.
Do not plant perennials that are prone to snail infestation. If slugs or snails find their favorite perennials in your garden, they'll snack all night. When you wake up in the morning, there will be very little left of your plants. Snails and slugs have a good time destroying perennials that are young and have tender and smooth thin leaves. There are perennials that slugs do not want to eat, the ones that they hate have hairy leaves, or are unappealing to their taste. Some of the best varieties of these include achillea, campanula, euphorbia, and heuchera.
Analyze the soil before you even get started with working in a garden. A soil analysis is inexpensive and can be used to figure out which nutrients should be added to provide a healthy garden environment. It can avoid ruined vegetables and flowers, so check with places, such as a cooperative extension department to see where you can obtain the analysis.
Co2 Levels
Plants need a sufficient amount of CO2 for proper maximum growth. The majority of plants grow much better when CO2 levels are at their highest. Growing plants in a greenhouse is the best way to contain CO2 for use by your plants. It's very important to keep the CO2 levels high so your plants have the best possible growing conditions.
Be sure to get rid of the weeds growing in your garden. Weeds can destroy a once promising garden and take away all its potential. White vinegar is one option you can use in your routine weed removal. Weeds can be killed by white vinegar! By placing a white vinegar solution in a spray bottle, you can spray the weeds away instead of having to pull them out manually.
There are grass varieties, such as wheat grass or catnip, that will give your feline something to nibble on besides your garden. Additionally, use your cat's keen sense of smell to your advantage. Citrus fruit peels and mothballs both smell horrible to cats, so put them on the soil near the plants your cat likes to eat.
Coffee Grounds
For areas with high alkaline, mix coffee grounds into the soil. The coffee grounds are a very inexpensive way to add acid back into the dirt. The plants will be healthier, leading to more delicious home-grown veggies.
Try placing evergreens that grow berries around your garden. This will keep your garden colorful, even during those months when other plants are not growing. A few examples that you could go with include the American Holly, the Winterberry, the American Cranberrybush, and the Common Snowberry.
You don't have to plant just for spring and summer. Consider what are often beautiful colors in the fall. That need not be the case though! Foliage never looks as colorful and vibrant as it does in the fall. Maple, beech trees or dogwood take on some amazing colors. When thinking about shrubs, consider barberry, hydrangea and cotoneaster.
Dress to protect your skin from sun damage when you garden. Pair sunglasses with wide-brimmed hats and a dab of sunblock. By protecting yourself from the sun's rays, you lower your risk of getting sunburns or skin cancer.
Think about planting everbearing strawberries in your garden, especially if you have small children. A lot of children not only love to pick out their own fruit but they also love to learn about it as well.
A mixture of aspirin and water can protect your plants from common diseases. One and a half aspirin, dissolved in two gallons of water, can be a great addition to your plants. All you have to do is spray the plants with this solution and you should see good results. Spray them once about every three weeks.
When growing indoor plants, the thermostat should be set between 65-75 degrees throughout the day. This is the optimum temperature to ensure strong growth. Another option is the use heat lamps that will protect your organic plants.
Be efficient when working in your garden. Don't waste your time by looking all over for your tools. Organize the tools you will need before you head to the garden, and put every item away when you finish your work. If you use lots of tools, consider using a tool belt or even just some pants that have lots of pockets.
When planting seeds in containers, plant the seed roughly three times deeper than the seed's size. However, some seeds do not need to be covered, they need the sunlight. Petunia and ageratum seeds need direct sunlight, for example. If you are unsure about your seed's requirements for sunlight, the resources are often provided along with the seeds, or you can find out online.
Gardening gives you instant access to all of your favorite fresh fruits and vegetables. You will enjoy the proud feeling you will have the first time you are able to use the plants that you have grown in preparing a meal. Apply the tips from this article to make the most of your horticulture experience.