While you may be able to get good #gardening results by simply tilling and #planting, it’s a good idea to perform a basic #soil test to ensure your #garden has the nutrients necessary for #flowers and #vegetables to grow to their fullest potential, Homesteading Family says. Soils need to hold carbon (humus), oxygen, water and minerals to provide a quality medium for plant growth, as well as offer a pH in the 6.5-7 range. To improve the quality of your soil quickly, invest in a quality compost — or make your own by giving raked leaves, lawn clippings and other organic materials the opportunity to break down in a bin or drum. #GardeningTips
Tag: gardening tips
Prepare Your Garden for Planting
In many hardiness zones, March is the best month to prepare your #garden for the #growing season. Tackle maintenance and preparation tasks such as cleaning out beds of debris, raking up mulch and pruning trees and shrubs, Better Homes & Gardens says. Divide #perennials before #spring growth begins to keep them healthy while adding to your garden or sharing extras with friends. Perform any needed upkeep on infrastructure such as edging and walkways, and clean and reintroduce outdoor furniture. By the end of the month, you should be able to safely #plant many cool-weather vegetables such as radishes, peas and potatoes. #GardeningTips
Plan Your Garden Before the Leaves Appear
The best time to plan your #garden is before any existing perennials, trees and shrubs start to fill in, Family Handyman says. Add evergreens, berry bushes and other plants to give those bare or blah areas four-season appeal. As #spring arrives, figure out how many hours of sun the different areas of the yard get to plant the appropriate flowers and shrubs in the right spots. Full-sun plants require at least six hours of direct sunlight per day, while part-shade plants need three to six. Plants that thrive in shade grow best with just two or three hours of direct sunlight per day or indirect light throughout the day. #GardeningTips
Use Labor Day Weekend to Organize
Bittersweet as it may be, #summer is drawing to a close. While The Organizing Blog encourages you to do little that qualifies as “work” on Labor Day weekend, one thing that can enhance your overall mood and prepare you for #fall is #decluttering. Start #organizing and putting away those summer supplies, says Simplify Experts, tossing anything that’s too worn to justify keeping for another year. That includes grilling tools, camping supplies, pool toys, gardening equipment and even old bottles of sunblock. If there’s anything that you didn’t use but might still be of use to someone else, you can donate it to ClothingDonations.org. #LaborDay
Gardening Season Has Begun
An unusually cold and rainy spring has finally given way to warm and sunny weather in most of the country. If you haven’t yet planted your summer #vegetable or #flower #garden, there is no time like the present.
While starting seeds indoors is the #thriftiest option, you’ll likely need to turn to the local garden center for plants that are ready to go into the ground. Now is the perfect time to plant summer-maturing plants such as corn and tomatoes.
All is not lost if you start a little late, Gilmour says. You can plant a couple of weeks late in the season, or choose vegetables, fruits and flowers that thrive and produce late in the growing season.
You’ll need to prepare the soil for whatever plants you pick. Vegetables grow best in rich, crumbly, loam soil, says Family Handyman. Tilling and amending sandy or clay soils with compost, peat, manure and other soil builders can help plants thrive.
After planting, press the soil surrounding your seedling firmly in place and water as needed. You may need to support plants such as tomatoes (which grow too tall to support their own weight) or send out vines (like grapes and beans).
Why do all of this? Because you can often get a much more flavorful and nutritious end product than you’d ever be able to buy at the grocery store at a fraction of the price. We at The Organizing Blog plant a variety of tomatoes every year for that simple fact. Is there anything better than a #homegrown tomato?
If you prefer decorative gardening, a perennial garden only requires a little bit of thinning each year. That said, you’ll want to weed and tend any beds soon, and help new plants get established to fill in any bare spots.
Container gardens, too, are an excellent option for those low on space. To slash the cost of getting started or adding to a container garden, shop the #thrift stores supplied by generous donations to ClothingDonations.org for lightly used pots and window boxes.
Whatever you decide to grow, gardening can be a relaxing and rewarding hobby that requires only a little bit of attention each week. And the time to get started is now!