A garden is more than just a way to decorate. It is even more than a hobby for the green thumbs! Horticulture can have a very calming effect, and can really slow life down a bit, allowing you to find your inner peace. When you excel at horticulture, these effects can prove very positive within you life.
Make sure that your sod is laid properly. Get your soil ready before you lay the sod. Pull out any weeds and break up the soil. Using a light but firm touch, compact the soil until it is flat. Make sure you work with a moist soil. Sod should be staggered in rows, the joints offsetting from each other. After the sod is in place, go over the surface to ensure everything is level. Use loose soil to fill in any gaps between seams. The sod requires water on a daily basis for two weeks, then the roots will have taken hold and ready to be walked on.
Try planting your plants in flower pots first, then transferring them to your garden once they have had a bit of time to grow. This can give your seedlings the advantage they need to survive and reach adulthood. This also helps tighten time between plantings. Your seedlings will be ready to be planted when you remove your old mature plants.
In the cold winter months, you can salvage certain plants by bringing them into the house. Maybe you could pick out the most expensive plants or the most hardy ones. Use caution when digging around the roots of your plant. You need to keep the root structure intact for it to thrive after being potted.
For showy flowers throughout the spring and summer, plant plenty of bulbs. Most people have no trouble successfully growing bulbs, and their flowers will return each and every 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.
If your garden includes vegetables, make sure you plant them in a location whether they are exposed to sunlight for a minimum of six hours each day. Almost all vegetables need this much sunlight, so that they can grow correctly and in a shorter amount of time. Some flowers need the same thing.
Shelter your deciduous shrubs. Tender, potted shrubs must be protected when the weather is cold. Connect the tops, and then place a sheet over the top of the wigwam. This tactic is better than utilizing plastic, because it will allow air to circulate.
When horticulture, don’t use any broad-spectrum pesticides. These pesticides will kill every type of pest in your garden, including beneficial bugs that eat garden pests. Beneficial bugs usually have more sensitivity towards pesticides than bad ones. Therefore, if the number of beneficial bugs drops, the problem with pests can get bigger. This ends up becoming a vicious cycle of increasing pesticide use.
Create a focal point in your garden with a unique plant. A focal point can help direct a viewers gaze. Mostly it is a distinctive plant that sets it apart from the neighboring plants and flowers.
If you cut your hand, you can use a glove to protect it from germs and chemicals until it heals. Open wounds can easily get infected while horticulture because you’re exposing yourself to dirt, bacteria and germs. You can get bandages that can completely seal your cut.
Do not plant your seeds in a rush. First, add moisture to the soil where you will be planting. Spread the seeds, and leave them enough room to grow. Bury the seed with a planting depth of about three times its size. Some seeds you won’t have to bury because they need light in order to grow.
An old laundry basket works great for gathering produce from your garden. The basket strains the produce as well as stores it while you are going through your garden. After you have rinsed your produce in the laundry basket, the water will just drain right out the sides.
Try lightly ruffling the seedlings with your hands about twice a day. While this appears strange, research shows it can help plants grow larger, versus not petting them at all.
If slugs are an issue in your garden, a beer trap can make them go away. Bury a single glass jar with the open mouth level with your soil in the garden. Next, fill up the jar with beer until there is around one inch between the liquid level and the jar top. Slugs are attracted to beer. They will crawl into the jar and be trapped.
Try to use untreated wood, brick or stone and make a raised bed. Choose wood that is naturally resistant to rot and is untreated. Several species of trees yield suitable wood. Locust, cypress, and cedar are among the more commonly used rot resitent woods. In a vegetable garden, never use treated wood, as the chemicals can leach out into the soil and food crops. If you have to use treated wood, you should line it with a bit of plastic to create a barrier.
Get your organic garden certified so you can credibly claim that your crops are organic. Obtaining this certification will give you further credibility as an organic gardener, boosting sales and proving to your customers that you provide only the best.
When planting tomatoes in your organic garden, a great tip is to plant another set of tomatoes after three weeks of planting the original ones. The reason for this is because it helps to prevent the entire harvest from producing all at once. Additionally, should something happen to during one of your harvests, your tomatoes will not all be ruined.
Use the above tips to revitalize your garden. Once your garden is back to its blooming glory, you will feel gratified and renewed yourself. Horticulture is a way of relieving stress and making the world a prettier place so go out and start growing things and bringing life back to the world.