Gardening is a relaxing hobby that can yield useful and beautiful products. You can do it for pleasure, or for feeding a family. The tips in this article will help to bring additional joy to your horticulture endeavors.
If you want to keep your garden free of pests, start with healthy soil! If your plants are healthy, they can more easily resist insects and disease. To boost your garden’s prospects of giving you the healthiest possible plants, make sure you begin with premium soil devoid of salt-accumulating chemicals.
Before you begin to plant your garden you will need to check the soil. For a small fee, a soil analysis can be obtained – based on that report – the soil can be properly enriched to support a vibrant garden. It is worth having this information so that crops do not get ruined. Most Cooperative Extension offices provide this service.
Mix the grounds of coffee in soil that has a lot of alkaline. Using coffee grounds is a less expensive way to make your soil more acidic than trying to replace your topsoil. You will notice that your vegetables and greens will have a stronger taste.
Knee Pads
It is a good idea to invest in a good pair of knee pads, made specifically for horticulture. They can be very helpful when working close to the ground on low-growth plants. Excessive time spent kneeling often results in significant stiffness and pain. Using a pair of quality knee pads designed for gardening can provide your knees with cushioning and support, preventing any discomfort.
Irises can be easily divided. You can get more irises by dividing the overgrown clumps. Pick up bulbous irises after the foliage dies. If you split the bulbs that you pull up, and replant them, they will bloom the following year. Use a knife to divide the rhizomes. Get rid of the center and keep the new pieces you cut from the outside. Don’t plant any pieces that don’t have any strong offshoots. Plant immediately.
When you boil vegetables, use the leftover water on your potted plants. Tea and coffee grounds can also serve as acidifiers in the soil of your gardenias or rhododendrons. Chamomile tea can be an effective treatment against fungus attacking plants.
Use only pesticides designed to kill the specific type of pest in your garden, and avoid the broad-spectrum kind. These types of pesticides also kill the beneficial insects that eat the pests. Beneficial bugs are more sensitive to these pesticides than the bugs that are detrimental to plants, so if the good bugs are eliminated, the bad pest population may grow. This will leave you using even more pesticides to fix the problem.
Choose plants that will provide color in autumn. It’s not necessary to think this way, however. When it comes to vibrant color, the bright foliage of fall beats all the other seasons. Maple, beech, and dogwood trees are many colors in the fall, from yellow to a deeper crimson. Shrubs such as barberry, cotoneaster and hydrangea all have gorgeous fall foliage.
Indoor plants need an environment that is between 65 and 75 degrees. This is the optimum temperature to ensure strong growth. If you wish to keep your house cooler than that, you may want to use a heat lamp just for the plants.
As previously mentioned, horticulture is something that has been enjoyed by many throughout the centuries. A long time ago, people had to garden to survive. Today, it can be done for fun or to save money on fresh groceries. The stuff from this article can make your gardening experience more enjoyable. Enjoy the many rewards gardening has to offer.
Originally posted 2013-07-30 14:44:21.
