Many resources are available that can help you to grow a lovely garden. With so much information available out there, however, you might spend the entire day browsing around websites while seeking out accurate info. Luckily, everything you need to help you in your garden is right in this article. Continue reading!
If mildew is forming on your plants, you should not purchase an expensive chemical. The best solution is mixing baking soda, a drop of liquid dish detergent and water together in a spray bottle. You just need to spray your plants with this solution once every five days until the mildew is no longer visible. Baking soda treats the mildew effectively and gently and it won't damage your plants.
Check your soil before you begin planting your garden. Consider getting a soil analysis and working on enrichment techniques for giving your garden a vibrant and healthy environment. Save yourself the trouble of a failed crop by contacting your local Cooperative Extension to preform the soil test.
Mix the grounds of coffee in soil that has a lot of alkaline. Using coffee grounds is a less expensive way to make your soil more acidic than trying to replace your topsoil. By amending your soils, you will help your plants grow and flourish.
The best gardens will evolve from original seeds rather than transplanted items. When starting a new garden, the most environmentally friendly way is to start from seed. The plastics used in nurseries are rarely recycled and ends up in landfills, so it is best to start with the seeds or buy from nurseries who use organic materials in packaging their plants.
Surround your vegetable plants with organic mulch, a few inches worth. When you place mulch around your plants, it keeps the ground more moist. An added benefit is that it also inhibits weed growth. This will save you a ton of time and work.
Learn the proper way to handle chemicals, and the right way to use garden tools. It may seem simple enough, but not following it could lead to chemical burns and skin irritations. Be careful when it comes to your body, and always follow directions.
To defend your garden from errant dogs, spray something with a strong scent, including aftershave or old perfume around the perimeter of the garden. This covers up the smells that bring dogs to gardens in the first place, which means dogs are less likely to enter the garden.
To attract insects that will benefit your garden, plant heather. Bees like it because it gives them nectar in the springtime. Because heather beds require very little maintenance, they often become the home of spiders, ground beetles, and other insects that can benefit your garden. Always remember this, and wear your gardening gloves if you prune your heather!
If little ones live in your home, consider including everbearing strawberries in the garden plot. Children are thrilled to harvest fruit from their own garden, and doing so often makes them more enthusiastic about helping out with the more hum-drum aspects of tending a garden.
When a seed actually sprouts, it doesn't need to be in as warm an environment. Locate your plants further from your heat source as they mature. Also take any plastic films off of your containers, so you can keep the warmth and humidity out. Check on your seeds periodically to make sure you know when to remove the films.
Coffee Grounds
Use coffee grounds on your soil. Coffee beans are loaded with nitrogen, which offers nourishment for plants. Plants need nitrogen in order to thrive, so give it a natural source with coffee grounds, then watch everything come to life much more quickly.
When you want to harvest the produce in your organic garden, always have an old laundry basket to hand. A benefit of using something like a laundry basket is that it can strain for you, as well as hold a large amount of produce. The produce can be rinsed off as it sits in the laundry basket, and extra water will drain out through the sides.
Do you want to kill weeds without using commercial chemicals? You will need many layers of newspapers. Weeds must have sunlight in order to grow. When you place layers of newspapers on top of them, the weeds will suffocate from the lack of light. You can use newspapers because of how nicely they break down, they can be added into compost. If you want it to look better, just add a layer or two of much over top of the newspapers.
A good general rule when planting your seeds into containers is that the depth of the planting should be about three times the size of the seed. There are exceptions to this rule, however. Some seeds should remain uncovered because they thrive in direct sunlight. Some common examples include ageratum and petunias. If you're not sure if your seeds need sunlight, you can find out online or through the seeds' package.
Gardening is a very relaxing and rewarding hobby. The rewards increase as you develop your skills and your garden flourishes. Use all of the information you can gather to improve and enhance your experience. Start by using the tips you learned in this article and you can have a better garden than you ever dreamed possible.