Organic Gardening Can Be Easier Than You Think
Organic Gardening Can Be Easier Than You Think
Gardening offers numerous benefits for those that choose to take it up as a hobby. One of the more important of those benefits is that it makes us more self-sufficient. Even if we grow flowers, we learn skills that could be turned to producing our own food. The tips outlined in this article will help you toward that goal.
When designing a garden area of your yard, a good place to start is with a tree or hedge as the anchor or structural foundation to your garden. Plant grasses and perennials around the taller centerpiece plant to add texture, color and flow. In time, these plants will fill out as they grow and look splendid against the taller trees or shrubs in the background.
Spend the additional money to fence in your garden. You are about to make real investment in time and money to create a garden of your own, but it can all go to waste through the stomping feet of playful children, pets and other small animals. Protect your investment with a small fence that keeps the kids and critters out.
When you need to control weed growth, choose your weed killer carefully, and always follow the directions. Many weed killers have chemicals that are harmful to people if they are not applied properly. They are especially harmful to young children if the children play around an area that has recently been treated.
Do not forget the sun when deciding on a place for a garden. Gardens need sun. Almost all flowering plants and vegetables grow best in excellent sunlight. Vegetables like tomatoes require a lot of sunlight and will not produce without it. If there are trees above the area, trim them back or look for another location because a garden without sun is doomed to failure.
Before you plant seeds, pre-soak them for a night somewhere dark. Place your seeds in a container filled with water. This hydrates your seeds and jump-starts their growth. Seeds that are grown in this way have a higher survival and maturity rate.
You can plant wheat grass or cat grass near the plants that the cat eats. You could also place something that will cause your cat to go away from your plants, such as citrus peels or mothballs.
If you are growing tomatoes, be sure to pick an airy spot that gets plenty of light. Tomatoes require at least ten hours of sunlight during an average summer day in order to grow to their peak flavor levels. Good air circulation between and around the plants is also vital to their survival.
Create a convenient cleaning station next to your outside faucet or garden hose. Collect all of your old soap slivers from around the house (or simply use a whole bar) and place in a plastic mesh bag. You can often find these bags in the produce department of your favorite store for storing vegetables in the refrigerator, or in the laundry department for delicates. Hang the bag near your hose, and the mesh works as a scrubber as well as containing the soap for an easy hand washing station.
Gardening does indeed go hand in hand with many benefits. There are numerous societal benefits to gardening. Whether we are growing food plants or purely decorative ones, they all add to the aesthetics and beauty of our world. Gardening provides even more important benefits to the gardener, by instilling a sense of self-sufficiency.