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Taking care of a garden is an extremely rewarding pastime, and will bring a lot of benefits. Whether you decide to grow a flower garden or plant some fresh herbs, you'll find that tending to your plants is incredibly fulfilling. This guide can give you insight and pointers that you will need for gardening.



Plants should be protected from cold weather. During winter time, the cold can present dangers to plants, either by freezing the water in their stems or forming sharp ice crystals which may sever or puncture important organs. Tomatoes, in particular, are very susceptible to the frost and should be moved to a warmer indoor climate, or covered outside with frost-resistant cloth.



Pay attention to the compatibility of your plants. You can plant tall plants, such as tomatoes, and use them to shade such sun-sensitive plants as lettuce and spinach. These combinations can reduce the amount of fertile space your garden requires while also increasing the yield of all the types of plants you have.



Save money by drying the seeds from your annuals to plant next year. Petunias, zinnias and impatiens are just a few of the flowers from which it is easy to extract and save seeds. You will have to extract the seed pod from some flowers, and wait for it to split open. With others, such as marigolds, you will have to open the flower and extract the seeds yourself. After extracting the seeds, let them dry for at least a week. Place them in a jar with a rubber seal, and add silica gel pouches to keep them from absorbing moisture. Store them in a cool, dry location until you're ready to plant them next year.



Try and start your gardens as early as possible and keep them as late as possible to maximize http://www.gardena.com/ie/garden-life/garden-magazine/trimming-special/ of crops you're able to produce. You can use things like cloches, cold frames, and tunnels to start gardening a month or more in advance. You can also use row covers in the fall to extend visit the next web site .



To make the most of the water you use, be sure to water your plants first thing in the morning. Doing this makes your water less likely to evaporate, and allows foliage to dry quickly. This reduces the risk of many common diseases, and will help your plants grow to be strong and healthy.






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Grow sweet basil easily. Basil is an annual herb, and very sensitive to cold, so try growing it in a pot in a sunny kitchen window. Continuous harvesting of the plant encourages growth so be sure to pick the top leaves constantly. It can be grown in the garden, but beware of lower night-time temperatures as this will cause the entire plant to wilt or even die.



Using mulch is helpful to plants that are located in extreme heat. The best mulch to use is wood mulch because it holds in moisture and helps drown out the weeds. Wood mulch also adds nutrients to the dirt as it decomposes. Rock is used for mulch as well, however, rock does not retain moisture as well as wood mulch.



Abandon mass plantings to make your flower garden more personal. Mass plantings in every flowerbed have a tendency to make a landscape look like it belongs to a hotel or a corporate office building. Border plants and pockets of similar plants will give the same effect of a mass planting without being impersonal.



You can use small clay pots or milk jugs to protect your plants from a late season frost. A bed sheet is also an effective cover on shrubs or large areas. Typically, young sprouts are the most vulnerable. If you forget or your efforts fail, you may be forced to replant the crop.



If you have recently planted seeds in your organic garden, you should regularly aerate the soil by using your hands to gently sift it. Believe it or not, aerating the soil in this manner can actually make your seedlings grow larger.



Fertilize your soil with organic compost. Organic gardeners tend to fertilize their soil twice in one season: once prior to planting, and then again in the middle of a growth cycle. The best fertilizer to use is an organic compost, as it releases nutrients slowly unlike chemical fertilizers, which release nutrients in one go and then lose their effect.



Attract positive bugs to your garden. Bugs like lady-bugs actually hunt natural predators to your plants; aphids and caterpillars are just some of the nasty critters that can go through a garden and eat the leaves of the plants. Lady bugs are the natural predators to such pests and help the growth of a good healthy garden by consuming pests.



Just think of the beautiful harvest you can add to your dining table from your garden. Not to mention the environmentally friendly impact of growing your own food. Maintaining a personal vegetable garden can provide food at low cost to your family -- and wait until you savor the amazing taste of vegetables, picked straight from the plant. Store-bought produce never tasted this good!