Want Flowers In Your Garden All Year Long? Try These Tips.

~ craigb

TIP! Digging in hard clay soil is made even more difficult because it sticks to the shovel. Use a thin coat of floor or car wax on your shovel, then buff it with a nice clean cloth to make dealing with clay soil easier.

In the world of organic gardening, there are plenty of great resources available to both new and experienced organic gardeners alike. There are many e-guides, books, videos, and other resources available. This set of tips contains some of the best advice for helping a good organic gardener become a great organic gardener.

TIP! Create useful rulers from your tool handles. You can use shovels or rakes as measuring sticks.

To prevent shocking your plants, you must gradually introduce new temperatures and other conditions to them. The first day you transfer your plants, you should only allow them to sit in direct sunlight for a few hours. Over one week, gradually build up the amount of hours you leave the plants outside. Once the transition is complete, your plants will probably be able to tolerate the outdoor conditions.

TIP! Healthy soil will also assist in your battle against pests. If your plants are healthy, they can more easily resist insects and disease.

Think about planting your seeds in indoor pots and then transplanting them to your garden once they become seedlings. They are more likely to survive the transition to adulthood with this method. This also enables you to close gaps between planting cycles. Once you’ve removed the previous group of plants, your seedlings can go into the ground.

TIP! Use climbers for covering fences and walls. Climbing plants are extremely versatile, helping to hide an ugly fence or wall, often within one growing season.

If beautiful flowers throughout the warmer months are important to you, make sure you put bulbs into the ground. Most bulbs are extremely hearty and grow easily. They also come back year after year. Choose from the variety of bulbs that bloom at various times of the growing season for a garden of color all spring and summer long.

Knee Pads

TIP! A garden needs the right type of soil to grow properly. Pay a small fee to have your soil analyzed, and you’ll be glad that you did when you understand what nutrients your soil is lacking.

If your garden requires a lot of low work, then save yourself some strain by investing in knee pads. Without pads, you may have pain in your knees from spending too much time kneeling on the hard ground. Using a pair of quality knee pads designed for gardening can provide your knees with cushioning and support, preventing any discomfort.

TIP! Grow wheat or cat grass in the area around the plants that your cat is eating. You could also repel your pet by planting rosemary or placing citrus fruit peels around your garden.

The best gardens start with seeds, as opposed to plants. When starting a new garden, the most environmentally friendly way is to start from seed. Plastic used in nurseries normally end up in landfills. For an garden that helps the environment, plant seeds directly in the garden’s soil or purchase plants grown in organic packaging.

TIP! When mowing your lawn do not cut it as short as possible. If you leave some of the grass when you mow, the roots grow further into the ground, which makes the grass less prone to drying and other hazards.

Look for evergreen variants that produce berries. These evergreens will color your lawn, even when other flowers are not blooming. Other winter plants include the American Holly, Winterberry, The American Cranberrybush and the Common Snowberry.

TIP! A set of knee pads is a great investment if your garden has a lot of low-growing plants. Weeding, watering and picking through your vegetation can cause a lot of damage to your knees if left unprotected.

If you know that you’ll be in the garden for an extended period of time, protect yourself from the sun with proper attire. Wear sunglasses and hats with wide brims, and apply sunscreen. When using the right protection in the sun, you will lower your chance of getting a sunburn and decrease your risk of getting skin cancer.

TIP! If you find yourself in love with mint leaves, but not with how they dominate a garden, read on. Keep your mint growth under control by planting them in pots and/or garden containers.

One way to create a great organic garden is to allow for a portion of your yard to be undeveloped for wildlife. You will find that many of the supporting cast of insects and birds that aid in plant production and pollination will be present on your land and actually help your developed gardens to produce better.

TIP! An excellent garden shouldn’t begin from plants. They should begin from seeds.

You must consider how much light is available when starting your plants indoors. Almost every type of plant you grow requires ample sunlight, so think about how much natural light you home receives or if you perhaps need to supplement with UV lamps. If you want to grow plants that need a lot of light, consider using artificial lighting.

TIP! Look for targeted pesticides instead of using popular but damaging broad-spectrum products. Besides killing the insects you don’t want, this type of pesticide will also kill beneficial insects.

Before planting any perennials, you have to make the ground ready. Using a garden spade, dig underneath the turf and flip it. Then, create a layer of wood chips at least three inches deep over the area you just flipped. Wait two weeks, then dig in and plant the new perennials.

Coffee Grounds

TIP! Put coffee ground into your soil. Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant growth.

Use coffee grounds on your soil. The grounds contain essential nitrogen, which will benefit your plants in many ways. Plants need nitrogen in order to thrive, so give it a natural source with coffee grounds, then watch everything come to life much more quickly.

TIP! Don’t let all the little chores in your organic garden build up. While you may not be able to spend a lot of time every day in your garden, even little items done daily will stop the mountain of work from growing.

Get the most value from your property. Landscaping your yard will bring you a big return on your investment. A few select plants can raise your property value dramatically. You should purchase plants that are well-suited to your landscape and environmental conditions.

Plant Materials

TIP! When you are growing seedlings in your organic garden, lightly brush over them using your hand up to twice a day. This will sound a bit strange.

Your compost pile should contain green plant materials and dry plant materials. Green plant material can include items such as leftover produce waste, grass clippings and leaves. For the dry end of the spectrum, think of things like paper and cardboard, sawdust, hay, etc. Materials to avoid during composting include diseased plants, meat, ashes and charcoal.

TIP! Buy a soaker hose if you plan to plant an organic garden. The water oozes out of the hoses, and it goes directly to the roots of the plants without watering everything around them, including the leaves.

Try using untreated stone, brick, or wood to create a raised bed. Choose a wood that is resistant to rot and does not contain any chemicals. Optimal wood choices that fit these criteria are locust, cypress, and cedar. In a vegetable garden, never use treated wood, as the chemicals can leach out into the soil and food crops. If you have placed treated wood in your garden, line it with a coat of plastic.

TIP! You should plant trees in a manner that allows them to serve as shade for your home. You can get more savings on energy bills because the shade you get from the trees will cool your home naturally.

Among the most important features of organic produce is the fact that it has not been exposed to harmful pesticides. Although this is better for your health, you do need to check organic produce for infestation of bugs before eating it.

TIP! If you don’t want to put lots of money into buying fertilizer, try making compost. You can do this by creating a worm composting bin.

Annually rotate your garden. Keeping plants that belong to the same family in the same place can eventually spark fungus growth and disease. The diseases and fungi are harbored in the soil and are ready to make a comeback each year. By using the crop rotation method, you will be able to ward off disease and fungus naturally.

TIP! Healthy gardens cannot exist without water. Your plants need it to survive.

After you have read the suggestions here, you will have a better idea of what you need in order to be an organic gardener. There are many resources available; you just have to learn how to find and use them. If you keep this information in mind, you should be able to grow a great organic garden in no time.