Gardening is one of the many joys of the summer days. Many people spend a lot of time in their garden in order to work miracles. However, gardening is a subtle art and science, fun yet challenging. Whether you’re a beginner or you have a green thumb, these 20 gardening tips and tricks will help you build a garden that makes all your neighbors jealous.
If you don’t have enough time to water your plants daily, just fill an old plastic or glass bottle with water and then put it in a pot upside down. The water will slowly release into the soil over time, and your plants will never run out of water. This method also reduces leaf problems in plants.
Want a quick and cheap way to make yourself a bunch of seeds? Just use some eggshells that are full of calcium to boost your seedlings. They are cheap (free really), and easy to plant in the garden when ready just with the shell staying on. Toilet paper rolls are another good choice for helping with those seedlings.
Cold cracks and night frosts can damage your delicate plants in the blink of an eye. Luckily, a milk jug or a plastic bottle can serve beautifully as a mini greenhouse for your growing seedlings. All you need to do is cut the bottom of the bottle and cover your little pot.
Have you ever seen fruits or vegetables in different shapes, such as heart-shaped watermelons or a star-shaped cucumber? Actually, you can also grow your garden stuff into desired shapes too! Just buy mold kits that will form your fruits and veggies into neat shapes! Creative gardening!
If you want to grow your own basil, you don’t have to buy it already potted. One simple and cheap way is to buy fresh basil and dip the stems into glasses of water. After a few weeks, their thin translucent roots will develop to be strong enough to be planted in your garden.
Believe it or not, you can grow a rose bush just from the trimmings of another bush? Simply put the bottom ends of your rose trimmings into a small potato which can retain moisture as it develops its roots, and then finally plant the potato. A few months later, you’ll have another rose bush.
Weeds are a big problem in gardening. Although chemical herbicides can kill weeds, it’s also harmful to the other plants in your garden. Fortunately, we have a super simple solution – putting salt on your weeds. Salt can kill weeds quickly without damaging your beautiful garden.
The salt deposits formed on clay pots can break them. To remove the salt deposits, there is a simple solution – combine equal parts vinegar, alcohol, and water in a spray bottle, then apply the mixture on the pots and scrub with a plastic brush. Your pots will be easily cleaned. Make sure to let the pot dry before planting.
Gardening requires you to work in the dirt. As a result, dirt tends to constantly accumulate beneath your fingernails. To prevent this ordeal, just draw your fingernails across a bar of soap before gardening. Therefore, you’ll effectively seal the undersides of your nails. After gardening, remove the soap with a nail brush and wash your hand, your nails will be sparkling clean.
For beginners, gardening from scratch can be confusing as sometimes you may forget what you planted and where you planted it. So, making garden markers can be a lifesaver. First, create perfectly natural markers using stones in various sizes and place them near the base of your plants. After you’ve finished your seedlings will be labeled in style.
Tools are essential in gardening. But do you know how to keep your tools clean all the times? One little trick is to keep your gardening tools in an abrasive sandbox. Thanks to the natural oils of the sand, your tools will always be clean and rust-free. It’s simple and effective!
Many of you probably still don’t know that coffee beans can prevent pests from infesting your garden. Simply sprinkle them on the ground, and the aphids will never destroy your plants again. They also fertilize the soil, so it’s a win-win solution.
Animals (especially cats) like to consider your garden as a huge litter box, and as a result, they can cause damage to plants. To keep them from pooping on your seedlings, strategically stick some plastic forks around your plants. Do this and your fresh herbs, fruits, and veggies will be well protected from pets.
Don’t you hate when you move a planter in a pot or when you water it the dirt leaks out of the bottom, making a mess? One way to avoid this trouble without affecting the drainage of your plants is to apply a coffee filter to the bottom of each pot. They allow the water to drain still, but keep the soil contained at the same time.
Diapers aren’t just designed for doo doo. They can also retain moisture in your planter. Place a diaper in the bottom of your potted plant, and it’ll prevent the water from dripping, thus maintaining moisture for longer. This is especially helpful for hanging plants that require daily watering.
It’s backbreaking to relocate heavy huge outdoor plant pots once they’re full. One easy way to lighten the load in large plant pots is to fill the bottom part with foam peanuts, before adding the dirt on top. This reduces the weight a great deal, and at the same time improves drainage.
Homegrown tomatoes are usually much juicier and sweeter than those at the supermarket. How can you grow even sweeter and more delicious tomatoes? Try sprinkling some baking soda on the soil. It’ll counteract the acidity in the tomatoes. As a result, the tomatoes turned sweeter.
Next time you make a couple of deviled eggs, don’t throw the shells away in the trash! Eggshells can nourish and protect your plants in the garden. All you need to do is to spread them around the bases of your plants. They can fertilize the soil with calcium. On top of that, the eggshells also repel certain insects, which helps to protect your plants.
Invasive plants tend to grow too large and take over your garden. One simple way to limit the growth of the root system is to cut the bottom of a plastic pot off and bury it in the ground. This will give better control over the size of the plant once it reaches maturity, thus protecting the plants around it.
Herbs have an instinct to stay alive and multiply. Removing the upper portion of your herb plant stems can encourage new leaf growth from the lower dormant leaf buds. It’s strange how this works, but it’s true for most plants, especially basil.
