Gardening can be very intimidating to someone that has never done it before. It can easily lead to a bit of information overload because of all of the resources available to new gardeners. Below are some tips to assist you in organizing all of this information so that you can start gardening properly.
Divide large clumps of perennials. Some perennial plants lose vigor and flower less well if the clump becomes too large. Plants like Shasta daisies, bearded irises, phlox, chrysanthemum and coneflower benefit from being divided every three years. Without division they become congested, and the center of the clump will begin to die out. Simply dig the entire plant out, keeping the root ball intact, and divide it into pieces using a shovel. By doing this, you will have at least two or three new plants!
To store your garden-fresh onions for use throughout the winter and avoid having them rot or mold, store them in pantyhose! Yes, pantyhose! Simply place the onions into the legs of pantyhose, and, to avoid letting them touch one another (which is what helps create mold and rot), place a twist tie between each onion and the next. To store, hang the pantyhose by the gusset in a cool dry place and cut off or pop a hole in the pantyhose to grab an onion when you need it.
Diversify the types of plants you grow in your garden. If you only grow one type of plant in your garden and it gets infected with a disease, your whole garden could be wiped out. Also, if you are only growing tomato plants, remember that just 14 tomato plants can yield a year’s supply of tomatoes for two people.
When it is spring and time to plant, do you have a hard time remembering what your gardens looked like the year before so that you know where to plant your new bulbs? This year, take pictures of your spring garden, and in the fall have a look at them. If you see a place in the yard that is bare and in need of a new daffodil, you can be confident on where to plant the new bulbs!
Find out if the plants you have in your garden have special fertilizer needs. Some plants like slow-release fertilizers, while others prefer nitrogen-rich foods. Most like to be fertilized during the high point of their growing season. A little education will go a long way to improving your garden.
If you want to effectively weed out young plants, you can try “boiling” away the weeds. A pot of very hot water is one of the most effective ways you can get rid of the weeds in your garden. Although this method is organic, it does pose a danger to your plants. Weed roots will suffer harm from boiling water, and this will probably stop them from growing more.
Hopefully, these tips have provided you with some very valuable information, as well as given you a way to organize all of the thoughts and information you may have already had on gardening. Keeping these tips in mind when you start growing your garden can help you to one day become a very successful gardener.
