There is no better time than right now. The insights here can help you get going and answer a lot of questions you may have. Read on for some helpful tips to get started in gardening.
Try planting your plants in flower pots first, then transferring them to your garden once they have had a bit of time to grow. Your plants will have a better chance of getting big and healthy! It also lets you have tighter control over the planting periods in your garden. You can plant the seedlings once you have removed the old plants.
A handy trick is to turn the handle on a tool that you use often into a makeshift ruler. Handles of things such as rakes, hoes or shovels make excellent measuring instruments. Lay the handles on the floor, then run the measuring tape down next to them. Label the distances with a permanent marker. You will never find yourself looking for a ruler thanks to this simple tip.
Healthy Soil
Healthy soil will also assist in your battle against pests. Healthy soil encourages vigorous plant growth and makes your garden more resistant to common diseases and insects. Start your garden off with a high-quality soil that you can enrich over time.
Climbing plants and vines are great for covering fences and wall structures. Climbing foliage is a great way to disguise unsightly features on your property, sometimes in the span of just one season. You may also be interested in training them over an arbor or trellis. You can also grow them among existing landscape trees and plants. Some climbers will attach themselves to a support using twining stems or tendrils, while other varieties need to be held up by tying them in place. Some of these plants include, wisteria, jasmine, climbing roses, clematis, honeysuckle!
Make sure to be weary of stink bugs whenever you garden, particularly during the fall months. They like to feast on all kinds of fruits, as well as peppers, tomatoes, and beans. Decrease their presence as much as possible to avoid them wreaking havoc in your garden.
Your vegetable garden should get at least six hours of sun daily. Most vegetables need at least that much sun exposure to grow properly. Some flowers also have the same needs.
Knee Pads
If your landscape includes low-growing plants, you should invest in a set of knee pads specifically designed for horticulture. You will spend a lot of time on your knees while gardening, which can result in knee pain. Pick up a good pair of gardening knee pads to help cushion your knees.
Interested in using Mother Nature to keep pests at bay the natural way? A border of marigolds or onions around your veggies can prevent slugs. You can also prevent insect pests by using wood ash like mulch around your trees and shrubs. Using methods like these eliminates the need for chemical pesticides, which can be harsh or even harmful.
Think about planting evergreen plants that will produce berries in the backyard. These evergreens will color your lawn, even when other flowers are not blooming. Some evergreens that will provide winter color are the American Holly, Common Snowberry, American Cranberrybush, and the Winterberry.
Add aspirin to your plants to help them fight sickness. Try dissolving around one and one half aspirins into around 2 gallons of water for your plants. Spray this mixture onto your plants. Try spraying your plants with this around every three weeks.
Store a few plastic bags near your garden to slip on over your dirty horticulture shoes. You'll be able to keep your momentum going without needing to take off your shoes, and stay on track with your horticulture project.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds work great mixed in with your soil. Coffee grounds are filled with nutritional elements plants need, such as nitrogen. Generally, nitrogen is the limiting nutrient with any plant and having a good nitrogen source either by coffee grounds, compost, or even diluted urea, will make your plants bloom faster and grow taller.
In order to construct your raised beds, make use of untreated brick, stone, wood and other materials. If you choose to use wood, see to it that it's untreated and that it can resist rotting. Excellent choices are cedar, locust and cypress. Do not use treated wood in your vegetable garden. If you have some space treated wood, you can still use it, however, be sure to line it with some type of barrier like plastic sheeting.
Now you are much more prepared when it comes to gardening. Even if you have some previous experience with horticulture, you now know more about this art. Hopefully the tips laid out here gave you pointers to improve your horticulture so you can start gardening with two green thumbs.