
Horticulture is much more than a way to spruce up your yard. It isn’t only a pastime for hobbyists with a green thumb. Horticulture can be a meditative activity, one that cements your appreciation of life, and one that even instills the gardener with a sense of peace and tranquility. You can really pull off some miracles if you are a good gardener.
To prevent shocking your plants, you must gradually introduce new temperatures and other conditions to them. Start by placing your plants outside for a few hours only. Then over the next week, gradually increase the time they are in their new habitat. After a few more days, your plants will be more resistant and ready to stay outside all the time.
Many times when digging in clay soil the clay will adhere to the shovel, which will make it much harder to dig. To make the clay soft so you aren’t working as hard, take floor or car wax and rub a light coat on the surface of the shovel using a clean cloth, then buff the surface. The clay easily slides off the surface while keeping the end from getting rusty.
Your tool handles can easily be used as handy rulers. You can convert any large handle tool, such as a hoe, shovel, or rake into a measuring tool. Just lay your tool down on the floor then lay a yardstick beside the handle. Label the distances with a permanent marker. Now when you go to work in the garden, you will have a ruler that is large at your fingertips!
When winter arrives, you could save some plants by placing them inside your house. You may want to save the most beautiful or expensive ones. Carefully loosen the dirt around the roots, then transfer the plant into a pot filled with the same soil.
Both cat grass and wheat grass are good for giving your errant feline pause. Another option is to place something smelly, like citrus peels or mothballs, on the soil surrounding the plants that have previously been eaten.
Protect your delicate deciduous shrubs from harsh elements. Delicate shrubs that are sitting in pots should be sheltered from the cold weather. Tie the tops of the canes together; then take a sheet and cover the wigwam loosely. Covering your foliage in plastic will let the air in – and may lead to decay.
Horticulture Knee Pads
Get some horticulture knee pads if you find yourself kneeling on the ground a lot to do your gardening. When you spend a lot of time kneeling while horticulture, your knees can be very achy by the end of the day Pick up a good pair of horticulture knee pads to help cushion your knees.
Protect your plants from moisture on a daily basis. If your plants get too moist, they may get sick or infested with parasites. Fungi are parasites that are common in the plant world. Be sure to prevent the growth of fungus with a spray that will inhibit their growth.
If you are just getting into horticulture, make sure you heed all of the directions on fertilizer and chemical labels. If you do not do this very simple step, you can end up causing skin irritation problems that are very painful. Keep yourself safe by carefully following all instructions.
Having a good wheelbarrow and a kneeling stool makes garden chores a lot easier. Spending time on the ground is rough on the knees, a portable and light stool can help make gardening easier. Gardening also typically involves transporting bags of topsoil, fertilizer and other heavy items, so using a wheelbarrow to make these tasks easier is a sound investment for your garden, and your back.
Avoid sun damage by dressing appropriately whenever you will be horticulture in the sun. Try wearing a large sunhat and sunglasses to protect your face and eyes, and use sunscreen on any exposed skin. If you shield your skin from the sun correctly, your risk of sunburn and cancers will go down.
Grow heather so that you can attract useful insects. Heather is desirable to bees; when heather emerges in early spring, it can be a source of nectar. Since a heather bed is normally left undisturbed, ground beetles, spiders and other beneficial insects tend to live inside it. Because of this, you might want to invest in a good pair of gardening gloves for the times when you need to prune it.
Protect cuts from dirt and chemicals, and think about staying away from gardening until they heal. If dirt and grime get into a cut while gardening, it may become infected. Now, there are bandages available that will cover and seal the injured area completely, allowing you to continue your horticulture projects.
If you choose to use organic methods to care for your houseplants, you should bear in mind that certain plants require more sunlight than others. If you’re living in a home that doesn’t receive much sunlight, you should consider growing plants that thrive in environments with low to medium amounts of light. If the type of plant does not help, you can always use lights to help.
Use the tips you’ve learned here to turn your garden into an oasis. When you see your plants and flowers alive and flourishing, you will feel a sense of happiness that you helped to make that happen. If you give gardening a chance and see it through, it can be a life changing experience, so hop to it!