TECHNICAL TIPS AND PRODUCTS NECESSARY FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT GARDENING

By: Gigi Frost

One of the main keys to home improvement is gardening. There is a lot to be said from looking at the landscaping of a home. Most people will judge a house before ever stepping foot inside. So you have all of the products you need. What do you do now? How do you go about creating an immaculate scene that draws every visitor closer? This article will guide you through the technical tips and tricks of getting the most out of your garden.

Efficiency in Gardening

When you create a garden, there are a few things to consider. In making a garden more efficient, just purchasing the tools to allow for the maximum potential in gardening may not be enough. Many times, people will forget the most basic elements in gardening which will lead to an inevitable drain on time and their pocketbooks. Here are a few simple things to focus upon:

1. One of the greatest ideas to hit gardening in a long time is the LED. LED lights are an incredibly efficient money saving product that come in two ways: one, plug and go, or two, recharge themselves with built-in mini solar capabilities. Oh, and did I say cheap? The electric bill will not give you heart palpitations with LED lights installed. Though initially, you will likely spend more for better options, you are also getting something incredibly durable for both hot and cold weather. Most of the companies offer some sort of guarantee with LED lights. They can range from a promise of lasting from one year to six years. Depending on the kind of garden you are fostering; to give an example, succulents or roses, LED lights may possibly be the way to go.

2. Foliar sprays. Foliar sprays are a necessity when adding supplemental  health to the life of your plants. This constitutes a direct spray onto the plant itself, usually around the leaves. Most places that offer foliar sprays incorporate some type of fertilizer in them. But if you have seedlings or the hazard of fungus growing around your plants, you can also add chamomile tea. Surprisingly enough, chamomile fights off those nasty, damp organisms that affect the growth of your seedlings.

3. Getting your hands dirty working with soil? Spray your shovel with Teflon lubricant to get an easier dig into the soil. When the soil is damp, you will often get a lot of clumping on the metal. This is normal. Even though you may love to dig in the dirt, no one likes to stop so often to scrape the dirt off their shovels for maintenance. It is a small thing that makes a huge difference.

4. The best spot for your plant. It sounds silly, but it is true. If you position flowers in a place that stays shady year round, you will most likely run into some issues. Shade may inhibit the growth and health of your plant. If you are a beginner gardener and not sure where the perfect places are to strategically set your plants, a solution to your issue is this: wheels. Placing a planter on top of a moving garden trolley may just save you that extra time and irritation to your back of having to lift and move your plants from one location to another.

5. Pruning seems logical. Grab those gardening shears. Many new gardeners concern themselves with aesthetics before the life and health of the plant. Pruning and cutting is necessary for a long and happy life. Some plants will develop large, stunning leaves. Though the leaves may possibly be beautiful to look at, they are effectively cutting off ventilation toward the lower half of the plant. Larger leaves also means less likelihood of water reaching the base stem and roots. When a gardener sprays water, there is a huge probability that the leaf will cause the water to splatter farther away from the thirst roots. This will make it all the more difficult for the ultimate survival of the plant. Keep in mind that the smaller leaves are usually okay. Aesthetics and health both go hand in hand when pruning.

6. Protecting plants during transport. A good rule of thumb when purchasing those fantastic potted plants is to ready your trunk or back seat ahead of time. First, grab a tarp, lay it on the surface that your future plants will sit for transport. The tarp will prevent any spills or mishaps from ruining your floors or seats. Then, set a ladder, flat side down, on top of the tarp. This allows for the gardener to place the plants directly between the rungs, allowing for the maximum potential of the plants getting home without any mishap. The longer your drive, the more imperative this becomes.

7. Mulch. This is a life saver. Literally. It will save the life of your plant. Mulch made of organic matter, such as wood, compost, and shells are even better, as they decompose and allow more fertilization for your plant. Either way, whichever sort of mulch you decide upon, remember to layer the ground around the plant one to two inches deep, and pack  it down a bit to give it a fighting chance in windy conditions. Mulch will protect the ground around the plant and prevent weeds from growing and taking over the garden. This even helps during the winter months, when you need to cover your plants. And, of course, the best part of mulching is the environmental factor of reusing and re-purposing matter.

8. Adding an edge to your garden gives it that extra bit of life and protects the plants from being invaded by the rest of the lawn grass. You can choose any type of stone or trim that fits your fancy. Align it in any shape you like: round, square, rectangle, or oval, the options are boundless. The actual inserting of the stone into the ground is a bit difficult, as you should dig about six to eight inches deep, to make sure that tricky lawn grass does not pass underneath the stone to grow inside the garden bed. But stone is not the only way to go when edging a flower bed, you can also dig a few inches into the ground and clear a gardening spot, add the flower beds and remember number 7: mulch.

9. Netting the garden. More than once, almost every gardener will have an issue with critters eating bulbs and plants. They are sneaky and tend to come and go in the blink of an eye. It is disheartening and quite angering to see those stunning orchids that you worked so hard to plant and water, get eaten down to the bottom of the stem right as they were just about to blossom. Beginner gardeners should especially take heed. Netting is an invaluable resource and money saving resource. Get some netting on top of your flowers, protect them ahead of time and save yourself the headache of going to war with a furry rodent.

10. Start taking pictures and notes. This is absolutely necessary. Jot down notes in a notebook and paste pictures on there of successes, failures, and ideas. After getting a good groove in gardening, you will begin to lose track of certain details. Such as that product you used last year to keep the bugs from eating out the holes of every leaf, or the mulch that you bought to keep the plants safe and warm. Every time there is a major mishap, or minor struggle, the gardener should record the exact happenstance and steps that lead to the outcome. The more you jot and make notes, it will become second nature to detail and record. There is nothing better than being able to go over the mistakes of past gardening exploits, it is an outline of how far you have developed as a proficient gardener. That notebook will be a lifesaver when it comes to remember the smaller details in the haphazard adventures of gardening life.

11. Consider raised beds. Raised garden beds are a dream because, depending on size, they can be made to fit virtually any sort of plant or vegetation. You can use other potting methods without difficulty in a raised beds and have an excellent drainage system. For a beginner gardener, a smaller size is recommended. Smaller raised beds are easy to care for, and give you a general idea of the work and planting style that will be the best fit. In lieu of stressing over the small details of getting the bed together after a long winter, it is simply easier to plan the future of your plant bed and get a head start coming out of winter when you garden on a raised bed.

12. Composting is highly recommended. Composting allows the soil to breathe better, because of the breakdown in organic material, which adds to a better drain for the water. Stagnant water is not good for any plant. Compost is a positive resource that adds a lot of value to any garden and most gardeners will consider it a personal responsibility to their environments. It is a great cost-cutting measure that allows everyone to reduce on the amount of waste that leaves a home. It is efficient and biodegradable, both a win-win for the most conscientious of gardeners.

13. Numbers. Numbers are important for vegetable and flower gardens, and numbers in association with note taking will yield outstanding results. Knowing how many seeds to plant for a variation of vegetables is the key to a well-formed garden. Most people do not consider how or what they eat on a daily basis. If the gardener is planting vegetables to ultimately be served at the dinner table, it is necessary to know how to segregate the gardening beds. As an example, if you enjoy using a lot of onions in your food, will need to calculate how many onions should be planted and in which part of the garden. Having sections of the garden prepared thusly will allow for the gardener to purchase the exact number of seeds and bulbs needed for planting. This lesson is also important for flowers. Some flowers grown in tandem with other breeds will end up dying. This is because one breed is more aggressive than the other, and will cause the weaker breed to eventually die from lack of nutrition or even sunlight. So the gardener must know how to section off the flower beds and to experiment with the number of seeds that must be planted.

14. Last but most certainly not least on this list is an extension of number 13, plan accordingly. If you are designing a garden to look and feel a certain way, you need to know what colors you will be working with and also what design best fits the exterior of the home. Consider what is most important in this instance. Perhaps you would like a simple garden that frames the outside of an archway? Or act as a noise buffer? The list goes on and on. The garden landscape with vary immensely depending on your needs. Color and texture is one of the first things that comes to mind. As a gardener, you want to take pride in what you plant with your own two hands. And nothing does a garden better justice than a stunning array of colors and textures. Mix and match the blossoms that work for you, but study up a little on certain breeds and make sure that you understand the life cycle of the blossom. You would not want to plant something that blooms and dies faster, while others are in full blossom. It would look erratic and misplaced.

In essence, the technical guidelines above give an invaluable insight into the world of efficient and productive gardening. You do not have to be a professional gardener to understand the intricate value of home improvement through good gardening. If you are willing to take the time and energy to allow for the maximum potential of a truly stunning garden, use this guide as a reference to the best results possible.