Tips For Growing An Award Winning Garden

TIP! Consider starting your plants in pots and then planting the seedlings in your garden. Your plants will be more likely to mature this way.

Organic gardening is something you may want to do but never go through with. It can be intimidating to someone who does not know anything about organic gardening. Check out the tips presented here to get some ideas for ways to start your own organic garden. It can be a rewarding hobby with many benefits.

TIP! Transform the handles of your tools into convenient measuring devices. Tools with long handles, such as a shovel or rake, are absolutely perfect for this job, and make your workload a little bit smaller.

Start your plants in containers, and then transplant the seedlings into the garden later on. This can give your seedlings the advantage they need to survive and reach adulthood. This is also a good way to tighten up your planting schedule. Once the fully matured plants are removed, the seedlings can be planted.

TIP! When planting perennials, seek out those that are resistant to slugs. It is alarming to see how quickly slugs, and their cousin snails, can annihilate a plant.

If you see mildew that is powdery, stay away from expensive chemicals to treat it. The best solution is mixing baking soda, a drop of liquid dish detergent and water together in a spray bottle. You then want to spray this mixture on your plants one time a week until you notice the mildew disappear. This solution is perfectly safe for your plants and gently treats mildew in a short amount of time.

TIP! Having healthy soil in your garden will help your plants avoid insect pests. Healthy and well-nourished plants will be hardier and therefore better able to prevent pests from taking hold.

Before planting seeds, soak them overnight. Place them in a cupboard or other place where they won’t be exposed to light. Use a small container filled with water to nearly the top and place several seeds in it. The idea here is for your seeds to become fully hydrated by the time they hit the dirt. The seeds will be better able to survive and grow up.

TIP! When fall arrives, it’s time to plant your autumn vegetables. Instead of a clay pot, show some fall spirit by using a hollow pumpkin to plant your lettuce or kale in.

Choose one plant to be the focal point. A focal point in the garden will capture your attention. It can be anything, but oftentimes a plant that stands out from its neighbors will do the trick.

TIP! If you have a lot of low-growing plants to take care of in your garden, purchase gardening knee pads. Long hours tending your garden can leave your knees sore and achy.

You need to be smart when it comes to watering your garden. Use a soaker hose to save time so that you do not have to water each plant individually with a hose nozzle, or a watering can that needs to be refilled repeatedly. Use a low water pressure to avoid damaging tender plants. You can take care of other tasks or just relax while your plants are automatically watered for an hour or so.

TIP! Start a new garden from seeds. Starting with your own seeds is more environmentally friendly than buying plants from a nursery.

To draw good insects to your garden, plant heather. Heather is great for getting bees to stop by at the beginning of spring, as heather plants have nectar available early in the season. Heather beds are common grounds for helpful insects such as spiders and ground beetles, because they don’t usually get bothered by human activity. If you do have to tend to your heather, wear gloves in case you accidentally annoy one of the residents!

TIP! You can prevent pests using other plants or natural materials. A good way to keep slugs away is to create a border with onions around a garden with vegetables.

Protecting your knees while you are gardening is very important. Many people find it difficult to bend over for extended periods of time when standing up. Concentrate on kneeling. This will still make it easy to reach plants as well as minimize back stress. For extra comfort, purchase a knee pad for use as a cushion between your knees and the ground.

TIP! All of your vegetable plants should have approximately two inches, just outside the stem, of organic mulch placed around them. Mulching helps keep moisture in the soil.

Avoid allowing chores in your organic garden stack up. Even if you can’t tend to your garden daily, you can do little things to help so that there is not a huge amount of work to be done when you are ready to get back to it. Even if you’re just taking the dog for a walk, bend down and pick a few weeds.

Dried Plant Material

TIP! Choose a plant to use for a focal point. When you design your garden, think of a great focal point that will grab attention and add interest.

Apply equal portions of dried plant material and green into your compost pile. Garden wastes, such as grass clippings, are classified as green materials. Dried plant material, however, can include items such as cardboard, sawdust and shredded paper. You should not use things like meat scraps, charcoal, blighted plants or the manure of meat-eating animals in your compost.

TIP! In the middle of the day the vegetables have softened, which means they are easily damaged. You should also be sure to cut them off the vine and not twist them, as twisting can hurt the plant.

Hopefully this article has taken all of your apprehension about organic gardening completely out of the equation. Apply these tips and you will quickly be eating luscious and wholesome foods, that you grew yourself!