There are so many reasons why people love gardening. This hobby gives us a chance to soak up some rays, relieve stress, and grow a plethora of gorgeous plants, including beautiful flowers and tasty fruits and vegetables.
However, gardening sometimes seems hard to get into for those not already in the know. We’re here to help the budding gardening among us by giving you 26 secrets to growing an amazing, luscious garden. Now there’s nothing to hold you back from growing those juicy, ripe tomatoes that we all love.
Keep reading to see the 26 gardening tricks that the pros don’t want you to know!
Eggshells as Fertilizer
Even for plants, the saying holds true: breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Because plants thrive in well-fertilized soil, it’s important to regularly fertilize them. But don’t go buy that bag of fertilizer from the gardening store—use those eggshells that you would otherwise throw away.
This puts much-needed calcium into the soil in addition to repelling pests such as slugs and snails. Save your shells, put them into a bag, smash them up, and put them on top of your soil. You won’t believe how much your plants will love it!
Tomatoes
One of the world’s most beloved ingredients, this delicious product is a key ingredient for many popular dishes. However, growing them can be a challenge; but fear not. Simply pick up some Epsom salt and add a teaspoon to each hole before planting the seeds. This will speed up the germination process.
From there on, once the plants start blooming, dissolve a teaspoon of Epsom salt in five cups of water, put it in a spray bottle, and apply to the plants once per month. This is guaranteed to make your plants happy, healthy, and full of delicious fruit.
Vinegar as a Weed Killer
Whether you use it to kill those pesky weeds coming up through the cracks of your walkway or the get rid of annoying plants that are threatening to choke out your flowers, look no further than an everyday and inexpensive fix: vinegar. Simply put white vinegar into a spray bottle and go to town on those weeds. The vinegar will kill the root and you can easily pull them out. Plus, since it’s entirely natural and doesn’t involve any nasty chemicals, you never have to worry about contaminating your culinary plants.
Flowers
Everyone loves flowers. No matter how you decide to decorate your flowerbed or which varieties you prefer, you, your family, and your friends are sure to enjoy these beautiful plants. Consider planting roses, daises, or lupines that match your house’s trim for maximum effect. Also look for species that bloom all season long, from spring to fall, that way your home is always colorful. Even in a vegetable patch, a few marigolds or petunias around the edges can go a long way!
Natural Pest Remedy
Similarly, everyone hates pests. They can destroy a garden, make plants ill, eat plants to oblivion, or even just look creepy. That said, there’s a simple solution that you can employ in your home garden. Just combine a little dish soap with a tablespoon of canola oil in a quart of water then spray it on your plants, including under the leaves. This nontoxic solution is a great deterrent that is friendly to your family and mother nature.
Stick to Local Plants
Before you decide which plants to buy, do a little research on your area and climate. For instance, the southeast is quite hospital to Crepe Myrtles, but you might think twice if you live in Alaska. By picking plants that are best for your environment, you’ll save time, money, and heartache by giving you plants the best fighting chance. You have a lot of options!
Shade or Sun
Before putting anything in the ground, make sure to check the sunlight requirements of your plants. Some, like hydrangeas, begonias, Lily of the Valley, and ferns thrive in shade and would die in direct sunlight. However, others, like lavender, verbena, and daisies love to soak up as much sun as possible. You can find this info on the seed packets or the market found in the plant’s soil. If you still don’t know, ask a garden store employee or do a little internet research.
The Right Tools
The age-old adage of having the right tools for the job applies to nothing so well as gardening. Spend some time collecting everything that you’ll need: a watering can, gardening gloves, a spade, a hand fork, a trowel, and pruners. Keep everything together, maybe in a shed or basket, so that you don’t lose anything and to save you time. For the fashionable gardener among us, try sporting an apron that matches your gloves: looks good and keeps you clean!
Beginner Plants
When you’re first starting out, look for plants that are especially friendly to beginners. Find some that are low-maintenance and that won’t immediately die if you forget to water them for one day. Vegetables like radishes, sugar snap peas, beets, lettuce, and carrots fit into this category, as do some flowers like sunflowers, geraniums, and marigolds. And, of course, there’s always the cactus.
Intermediate Plants
Once you start to learn your way around the dirt, consider adding some flair to your garden by adding some intermediate plants. You can add decorative flowers and fresh produce galore. First, think about the amount of sun that your garden gets and plan accordingly. Then make sure that you are planting at the right time so that your plants will live a healthy life and, if you’re growing food, be ready for harvest in the summer or fall. Plant some squash, tomatoes, and peppers, or perhaps a nice bed of tulips.
Expert Plants
For the truly expert gardener, there is a wealth of options available to your ambitions. Roses add a classic beauty to any yard while also presenting a considerable challenge to keep alive. To help you along, put them in a large bucket to soak the pot in water prior to planting. You’ll also need to regularly prune them if you want to have beautiful roses year after year because this will aerate the base of the plant and make sure it gets all of that sunlight.
Squash
Between summer and winter squash, there’s a lot of delicious options for any gardener who can make space for these wonderful plants. Summer squash generally grow in 50 to 70 days, whereas winter varieties usually take between 75 and 120 days. When planting, make sure that the area isn’t prone to pooling up water, and check the package to see how far apart to plant them. You’ll also want to regularly water them and use board or wire to keep the fruit off the ground. You’ll love enjoying the fruits of your labor!
Attract Butterflies
Ah, the beautiful butterfly, truly a wonder of the natural world. When you get over their impressively designed wings, know too that these amazing creatures actually help your garden along by acting as a pollinator. To draw them into your garden, you have various options like goldenrod, milkweed, fennel, willow, and thistle. These plants will also help to attract other pollinators like hummingbirds and bees. For extra effect, you can even put out a hummingbird or butterfly feeder.
Coffee Ground Fertilizer
Get extra juice out of those coffee grounds that you used for your morning cup of joe by feeding them to your plants! This organic material promotes water retention, drainage, and soil aeration. Plus, they can even draw in worms, which naturally feeds life into the soil. For optimal effect, mix some coffee grounds into the soil before planting to give a nitrogen boost. Even after planting, though, you can still add some grounds to the soil if you’d like.
Fruit
There are so many types of delicious fresh fruits that you could grow in your garden. From strawberries to raspberries to melons, you can eat them right off the plant or bake them into tarts, pies, breads, or other goodies. Remember that most fruit plants need a lot of sun, so check where you’re planting them, and also keep in mind that many fruit plants, like raspberries and blueberries, will return with a lovely bounty year after year. Soon enough, your neighbors will start drooling over your sweet, juicy berries—maybe baking a pie for them will earn you some esteem!
Landscaping
Bordering your garden is an incredibly important aspect of starting your garden because it should be both functional and beautiful. A nice option is a retaining wall, and you could use wood or stones for a clean, natural look. Either way, make sure to install it properly; for example, if using heavy stone, put some gravel underneath so that it won’t slip into the ground. Get creative and see what you like!
Decoration
By decorating your garden, you can really make the aesthetic pop. Take a good look at the surroundings and neighborhood before you pick a theme because, even if you have a thing for large, obtrusive garden statues, the neighbors may have another view. Either way, there’s tons of options, from wind chimes to water globes to stepping stones—and of course garden gnomes—so that you can personalize your garden however you want. Remember, however, that the focus should be on the plants, so don’t go overboard!
Pot-in-Pot Landscaping
Nobody likes redoing their landscaping at every change of season, so save yourself time by using by this useful hack. Simply dig a hole for your seasonal plants and inset an empty plastic pot. Then, instead of having to shovel it out, you can just drop a new seasonal plant in the empty plastic pot and switch it out at your leisure.
Packing Peanuts and Pots
Try filling the bottom of your pots with packing peanuts before planting to allow for excellent drainage, to save money on soil, and to make it easier for you to carry around. Just remember to put a layer or landscape fabric between the peanuts and soil so that it doesn’t sink to the bottom of the pot.
Rubbermaid Container Garden
Even if you don’t have a yard, you can still enjoy a little personal garden. Simply start planting in Rubbermaid storage containers, which are both the perfect size and lightweight. For an even lighter weight, put some packing peanuts in as described before. There it is; your own little paradise, perfect for a small apartment or on your balcony.
Diapers Can Help to Retain Moisture
Not just for babies, this useful household fixture can also be used at the bottom of potted plants to help retain moisture. Especially for summer annuals that require a lot of watering, these will help to keep your green friends from ever going thirsty.
Cinder Block Garden Bed
If you’re having a hard time fashioning your raised beds out of wood, simply try building it out of cinder blocks. Plus, they already have holes, making it easy to separate herbs and flowers.
Eggshell Starters
Another great use for those otherwise discarded eggshells, they are the perfect size for starting a seed and you can easily transfer them right into the ground when you’re ready. Simply put the whole shell into the dirt for a little calcium boost.
Roses in a Potato
Can you believe that you can grow your own rose bush from the trimming of a different bush? It’s incredible! Just push the bottoms of the rose trimmings into a potato, and it will help to keep it watered as it develops roots.
Stop Invasive Plants
Invasive plants are a threat both to uncultivated nature and to your home garden, but you can keep them at bay by using this simple trick. Just cut the bottom off a plastic pot and bury it in the soil around the invasive plant. This garden trick can contain plants that tend to take over your garden, giving you control and guarding neighboring plants.
DIY Mini Greenhouse
Your seedlings will love having their own little greenhouse. Just take the bottom ¾ of a used plastic bottom and turn it over, making it into a dome. This great idea is fun to do with children as well.