Many people think gardening takes a lot of time and work. This is not always the case! There are types of gardens to suit all climates and lifestyles. In many places, native plant gardens require little water and will attract beautiful butterflies. Even if you have only a small yard, or no yard at all, you can grow herbs and vegetables in pots. This article provides some helpful tips for home gardeners.
Design your garden so that your harvest is staggered over as long a season as possible. Use cold-tolerant root crops and greens in the fall, for example, and plan to pick and preserve early strawberries in June. This way, you will have the space and time in your life to store everything you grow.
Always grow what works in the right area. If cabbage does not work in one climate, but carrots do, then it is a robust carrot crop that needs to be planted and the cabbage crop should be small. Talk to the neighbors and see what is working for them to maximize the output of your own garden.
When horticulture, be watchful of stink bugs, particularly in the fall. Stink bugs enjoy gardens, and are especially fond of fruit, tomatoes, beans and peppers. If left unattended, your garden could be ravaged by these bugs, so you need to proactively keep their population under control.
Use your leftover pasta water in your garden! Plants are big starch fans and thrive with water that contains higher levels of starch, like the water left over after you boil pasta or potatoes. Make sure, though, that you let the water sit until it reaches room temperature prior to watering your plants with it!
Plant a new and different edible each week. Eating tomatoes or corn every day can get old real quick, but if a variety is planted, this problem will never happen. The garden can offer a wide variety of different edible plants and if they come to maturity at the same time the variety will make the garden more enjoyable and more fun.
Turn a quiet corner of your garden into a romantic arbor. By using a store bought arbor or simply constructing one yourself out of a few rustic poles, you can create an arbor. Use a selection of old fashioned, heavily scented flowers to create an intimate atmosphere. Honeysuckle, climbing roses, jasmine and sweet peas are ideal. By adding seating, you can sit and enjoy the scent on a summer evening.
Be sure to test your soil before you plant your garden, if you want to be successful without the need for chemicals. A home testing kit can tell you the pH of your soil, which indicates the likelihood of plant survival. A vegetable garden requires a pH of about 6.5; if your soil is off, you can supplement before your plants start to die.
Sometimes you will need to re-pot your plants. One good way to check if your plants need re-potted is to turn them over and look at the bottom. If you see many roots, it is time to get it into a new pot. If you see few roots, you may not need to disturb the plant.
Did you know that watering your outdoor garden plants with garlic water can help to chase away pests? Just peel the leaves off several cloves of garlic and place them in a large container like a clean gallon size plastic milk jug. Fill the container with water and let the garlic steep for a day or two before watering your plants.
If you are gardening in containers, be sure each container has a drainage system to prevent water from pooling. Lining the bottom of a container with small rocks or pebbles can also help with water drainage for container horticulture. Allowing water to sit for extended periods can rot the root system of your plants.
Plan out where you will plant certain vegetables in your garden before planting them. You need to know how tall and how wide certain plants get, so that you can avoid overcrowding your plants. Knowing ahead of time what you can expect from your plants will also help you place them far enough apart so that you can walk between them easily if necessary.
You must water your plants correctly, to achieve success with your garden. When watering your garden, always try to do it early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun has gone down. This gives the soil a chance to actually soak up the water without it evaporating. Also, if you have pots, try to hand water them with a can, rather than using a hose. This way you can make sure that each pot gets enough water, since potted plants can dry out completely in a matter of hours, if they haven't had a deep watering.
Take care of your containers. You do not have to spend a lot of money on containers: you can reuse common items as pots. Make sure you clean your containers thoroughly and disinfect them to avoid diseases. Drill a few holes in the bottom so that the extra water can be drained.
When you are ready to mulch, choose http://www.sailblogs.com/member/amenagermamaison/?xjMsgID=387141 an organic mulch. Cocoa hulls or weed-free straw are great examples. The mulch will eventually decompose and add rich, organic nutrients to your soil. Just add a couple of inches to your garden each year and you will http://www.teamhomemissions.com/tips-on-decorating-a-terrace.html see the long-term benefits.
When you are ready to mulch, choose an organic mulch. Cocoa hulls or weed-free straw are great examples. The mulch will eventually decompose and add rich, organic nutrients to your soil. Just add a couple of inches to your garden each year and you will see the long-term benefits.
When running your organic garden, you should use the "shovel method" to eliminate weeds. This method does not eliminate all of the weeds at one time because doing this is ineffective. This method uses a sharp spade to turn the weeds over and bury the leaves. When the leaves rot, the weeds will actually provide nourishment to the soil.
With all of the knowledge you just learned about gardening, you want to start forming plans and implementing those plans to the best of your ability. When it comes to horticulture, you have to go outside and get yourself dirty, while you try out the strategies you have formed, when you do that you're going to see what does and doesn't work and from there, you can form new strategies.
