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Gardening has long been a very popular hobby, and only getting more so by the day. This article contains many useful tips on gardening that will help you get the beautiful garden of your dreams. Make the most of your yard and windows, by beautifying them with easy care options!
Make use of an old golf bag to carry your tools such as spades and rakes around your garden. You will save a lot of time and effort (and you'll have an excuse for a new golf bag!). The bag will keep them all together, so no more lost tools either. Many golf bags even have a stand, in this case you won't have to worry about it tipping over and causing an accident.
Pre-soak seeds overnight in a dark place. Put some seeds in a container and fill the container to the brim with water. The water will hydrate the sends, giving them a head start once you plant them. The seeds will now have a greater chance of maturing and surviving.
A key element to having a great garden is to fertilize it. There are many different types of fertilizers available at most home stores, but what works for different types of gardens varies. Manure is a great choice, but it does smell. A commercially produced manure will have no pathogens to contaminate the vegetables in the garden. Some people swear by chemical fertilizers, yet they are not an organic way to grow.
Put compost down on the soil in your garden about two weeks to a month before you plan to plant. This allows the compost enough time to integrate with the soil. Giving the compost time to stabilize means that your soil pH will be steady enough to test, and your plants will be ready to thrive when you plant them.
Recycle your coffee grounds and use them to acidify the soil for all of your acid loving plants. Plants that like an acidic soil include roses, tomatoes, cyclamen, violets, gardenias, begonias and hibiscus. Apply the grounds approximately one quarter inch thick for the best results. If you don't care for coffee, leftover tea will produce the same results.
Divide large clumps of perennials. Some perennial plants lose vigor and flower less well if the clump becomes too large. Plants like Shasta daisies, bearded irises, phlox, chrysanthemum and coneflower benefit from being divided every three years. Without division they become congested, and the center of the clump will begin to die out. Simply dig the entire plant out, keeping the root ball intact, and divide it into pieces using a shovel. By doing this, you will have at least two or three new plants!
Draw your fingernails across a bar of soap, to seal the undersides of your nails off. Doing this will prevent dirt from becoming trapped underneath them while you are gardening. When you are finished in the garden, you can clean your nails with a nailbrush to remove the soap.
Try to fill your garden with a variety of plants instead of just a few types. A garden with a wide variety is more resistant to garden pests. It attracts more beneficial insects that eat the bad bugs. This will cut down on the need for pesticides. tree trimmers with just a few types of plants will sustain more damage from pest invasions.
Make your own compost. If you create your own compost at home, you can be absolutely certain of what goes into it, unlike if you purchase bags of compost from a gardening store. In addition, composting in your yard will attract helpful native wildlife such as insects that will balance the ecosystem of your garden.
Think about a color scheme. Your garden design will take shape more smoothly and quickly if you choose a color scheme to work around. Before deciding, take into account any existing plants and such things as the color of the facade of your house. You can choose one color scheme for the entryway planting, and something completely different for a mixed border in the back garden. If you are a beginning gardener, don't worry about mistakes. If you end up with a garish looking display, you can simply remove certain plants!
Try using ladybugs rather than pesticides to protect your plants from insects. You can order large quantities of ladybugs from gardening supply stores for very little money. If you release them near your garden, they will eat pests such as aphids, leaf hoppers, mites and other soft bodied insects, helping to protect your plants from these unwanted critters in the process.
When you plan your organic garden, remember that some plants, especially leafy greens like lettuce and spinach will mature well before the end of the growing season. Beds for fast growing plants can often produce two harvests in one season. Have more quick-growing plants ready to replace the early harvest so that you can maximize your garden's productivity.
If you plan on starting an organic garden, you should always properly cover your seeds. If your seeds are not properly covered, then they will not grow. You should aim to cover most of your seeds about three times as deep as the thickness of your seeds in order to ensure optimum growth. However, certain seeds, such as alyssum and snapdragons, should not be covered because they need a lot of light to germinate.
So, after reading and applying the helpful tips listed above, you should feel a bit more at ease in the land of organic gardening. You have the tools, and it's time to use them. You should feel excited and ready to begin your organic gardening adventure to grow healthier organic produce.