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Gardening can be a very rewarding and worthwhile activity. Some people see gardening as a hobby, a way to derive pleasure in their spare time. Others may view it from a more utilitarian perspective, as in a way to grow their own food without being dependent upon grocery stores. Regardless of the reason for gardening, many great tips can be found in this article for both beginner gardeners as well as seasoned gardeners.



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.



If you like to plant flowers that produce a lot of fragrance, consider planting them close to your house. One reason is that you can enjoy the scent whether you are inside or outside your house. Another reason is that the heat from the walls of your house can intensify the scent from your flowers, making them more fragrant.



If you would like to create an eye-catching fall garden with a lot of height and contrasting colors, try planting spiky plants like the New Zealand flax, the yucca or tall ornamental grasses. Add drama with texture and color by adding chartreuse plants like the Golden Spirit smoke bush or the Tiger Eyes sumac. To contrast the chartreuse color, plant purple plants alongside the chartreuse plants like the Black Lace elderberry or Loropetalum.



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.




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A spicy solution to ridding your garden of pests is to spray your plants with a hot mustard or red pepper mixture (one tablespoon of hot mustard or red pepper to one quart water). The solution is safe to spray directly on your garden foliage and pests can't stand the taste of it!



Plant a new and different edible each week. Eating certified arborist 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.



You can get most of the gardening tools you need second-hand. Visit yard sales and estate sales near you to look for gardening tools at a very low price. You can also visit online trading or donation groups to trade items you have for gardening tools, or even to find find free tools.



Mulching around your plants is a great water saving tip. You can use purchased mulch, but it is easy to make your own from what you find in your yard. Use fallen leaves, pine cones, sticks, and tree bark, and lay them out heavily around your plants on the dirt so that water does not evaporate so easily after you water.



If you are practicing organic gardening then try using baking soda to prevent powdery mildew from forming on your plants. Simply mix one tablespoon of baking soda with a half teaspoon of mild liquid soap and add to a gallon of water. During humid or damp weather spray your plants which are susceptible to powdery mildew with this mixture each week. The unused mixture cannot be stored and used later.



It is important to spray chemicals when it is not windy outside. Wind can cause chemicals to get into your eyes or cause you to inhale them. There are some chemicals that can be very harmful if ingested. By only applying sprayed chemicals on windless days you can help protect yourself from accidental ingestion.



Are you ready to plant a garden? Swap seeds with http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430-457/430-457.html know, or join a seed exchange with others online. It is not uncommon to need only a small number of seeds from each of your seed packets for each growing season. Trading will help you gain a greater variety of seeds not found in your stores. It will also save you from spending even more money just to get a greater variety of seeds!



Make sure your seeds have enough room to grow. It is fine to have many seeds in one container before they sprout, but you will have to replant them as they grow. Use containers that are actually big enough for one plant, and avoid having more than one plant in each container.



A natural, albeit somewhat tedious, way to keep pests and fungus from destroying your organic fruit crop is to use plastic zipper bags. When the fruits are still young on the branches, place them in large zipper bags secured at the top with staples. Cut off a bottom corner to allow for adequate drainage.



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.