Whether you want to have a garden because you need a hobby, because you want to try growing your own food, or because you find it relaxing to have a little patch of nature all to yourself, there are ways to make your garden more successful. Here are some easy tips for becoming a great gardener.
Before settling on your garden space, visit it at multiple times throughout the day. You need to understand what type of light the spot gets on an hourly basis, as it can have ramifications on the plants you can grow and your ability to grow anything at all! If the location receives no direct sunlight, reconsider your options.
When your summer blooms have bloomed and faded away, remember to dead-head the flowers. This means pinching off the flower heads. This will encourage new flowers to bloom longer next year, and it will also strengthen the plant. Since the flower heads have seeds, you can also save the flower heads that you have pinched off for planting at another time.
You can enjoy fresh corn from your garden for an extended time during the summer by making several plantings. About a week after you plant your first few rows, make another planting of a few more rows. As the harvest from your first planting begins to dwindle, your next planting will be nearing maturity. Depending on the length of the summer season in your area, you might be able to make several plantings.
To get rid of weeds and household junk at the same time, use shredded junk mail as a fertilizer. Take the shredded pieces of mail, wet them, and lay them in your garden. This will prevent weeds from growing on the places where they are laid, and will also help your plants to fight off diseases.
Be aware of the optimum time frame for harvesting vegetables. Different vegetables have different, ideal times that they should be picked for best flavor. For instance, zucchini and baby peas will taste a lot better if you pick them when they are young. By contrast, it's best to wait until tomatoes are fully ripe before picking them. So, it is good to learn about the best time to harvest your vegetables.
Try to pour a bit of leftover water from your steamed veggies on them. To add acidity to the soil of your rhododendrons and gardenias, use coffee or tea grounds. Some types of plant fungus problems can be solved by sprinkling with chamomile tea.
Create soil for your organic garden by composting. Composting is a wonderful way to re-use some items that you would normally throw away as garbage. It also provides for rich and fertile soil, without the use of chemicals and pesticides. Compost bins are available in many sizes to fit your specific needs.
Blend flowering fruit shrubs into your regular landscape. Don't have a separate area to turn into a garden? Elderberries, blueberries and currants have pretty flowers in springtime and look great in the fall as well. The side benefit of these landscape-enhancing plants is all the fruit they produce for you to enjoy.
Regulate how often you revitalize your soil based on your planting season. During a very long season it might require you to fertilize the ground more than once. It's important to give your plants the proper nutrients to grow, and remember that as plants grow the nutrients within the soil slowly diminish. Having the correct amount at the correct time will promote your harvest to grow to its maximal size.
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.
Get more value out of your property. You can get a great return on investment from landscaping. Certain plants could increase the value by 20%. Different plants thrive in different environments, so be sure to invest in plants that are low in moisture, and will flourish in your garden.
Plant slightly more than you will need. Pests and poor weather can diminish yields from your garden, especially if you are new to organic gardening. To account for this possibility, plant a little more than what you will need. However, don't go overboard, if it is successful, you could have more vegetables than you could possibly use.
For claiming your crops are credible and truly organic, get organic garden certified. This will improve your sales and show your faithful customers that they are getting the best possible food that is grown.
Grow basil successfully. Basil is an annual warm-season herb, very susceptible to cold and frost. Sow seed in spring at a depth of about 1/2 inch in full sun. Keep the soil evenly moist. When the basil reaches about 6 inches, pinch out the top to encourage bushy growth. Pick continuously before any flower buds open. Pick leaves in the morning after dew has dried, and don't over wash leaves, as you will lose the aromatic oils.
Encourage earthworms in your soil. Earthworms make for healthy soil by eating the soil and thereby aerating it in the process. They also leave behind their castings, or vermicast, which is a great organic nutrient-rich fertilizer. The vermicast also retains water and nutrients better than soil without worms.
Use a soaker hose to water your garden. These hoses let water out slowly at a regular rate. You can direct the hose to the roots of your plants, keeping the leaves dry. These use much less water than the sprinklers and are less time-consuming than hand-watering your plants.
If you follow the above advice, your plants will be happier and so will you. It doesn't matter whether you're a home gardener with a tiny container garden or an ambitious community gardener who wants to feed a family with what you grow. The tips like these can help make sure you reach your gardening goals sooner rather than later.