Wanting grow the perfect garden this year? You need these Easy DIY Gardening Tips for Summer!
Don’t we all love the idea of a beautiful garden complementing the appearance of our homes? Or growing our own fresh fruits and veggies? We watch several videos or browse through hundreds of photos of beautifully-cultivated gardens and wish they were ours. But gardening should not be something difficult.
With the right know-how and some basic garden equipment, you should be on your way to creating your own beautiful garden.
And speaking of basic equipment, NetVoucherCodes.co.uk is offering amazing discounts for garden equipment using codes such as the Keen Gardener Discount Codes and the LYCO Discount Codes for cheaper garden lighting. So with some great discounts on offer, there’s no excuse to maintain a shabby, unkempt garden this summer.
That said, let’s take a look at some easy do-it-yourself gardening tips every garden lover should know:
Soap Shavings Keep The Squirrels Away
You may think squirrels are cute until they start visiting your garden and digging out freshly planted seeds or sometimes plants. One of the most effective and inexpensive ways of keeping those little guys out of your garden is by grating a soap bar around your plants.
For the best effect, Irish Spring bathing soap is recommended. How does it work? Simple. The strong fragrance or scent from the soap is everything needed to deter the squirrels. And one great thing is that, even if the soap dissolves into the soil as a result of frequent rains, the scent that lingers is enough to keep the squirrels away.
Plus, depending on the size of your garden, just a couple of bars are enough. And, if you are concerned about the health of your plants, you do not have to worry. The soap shavings will not affect them.
The Power Of The Plastic Fork
So, we are still on the subject of small animals. While a lot of people may enjoy watching the cute little guys, garden owners do not feel the same way when their plants are constantly being dug out of the soil.
Another effective and cheap solution to keep squirrels, chipmunks, and bunnies out of your plant containers is by sticking plastic forks in the vessels with the tines facing up. This works very well with seedlings in small containers, as it leaves very little space for the squirrels to dig. Plus, it does not harm your plants nor animals.
This method will be very effective during the springtime when your plants are still very young and fragile.
Indoor Seedlings With Egg Cartons
Here is one more reason why you should not get rid of your egg cartons. Every gardener loves the exit of winter and the ushering in of spring, as it means the time to start seedling has arrived. For most people gardening for the first time, finding the right container for new seedlings can be just a little problematic.
However, this simple hack can do the trick – egg cartons. One of the simplest ways to plant your seedlings is by doing so in egg cartons. The egg wells in the packages are of the perfect size to hold the right amount of potting soil needed for your seedlings.
Be careful, though, to ensure that you do not place the carton on any wet surface as doing so could destroy the container.
Prepare Your Own Weed Killer
You cannot talk about gardening tips without talking about how to get rid of another enemy to gardening – weeds. Spring does not only offer a great time for planting, but it also provides a great time for so many kinds of plants to grow, and these include weeds.
And if your garden seems to be producing more weeds than essential plants, you may want to invest in a lot of weed killers. Unfortunately, this can be very expensive. But no worries, you can prepare your own weed killers at home, with the right materials.
One of the best home-made weed killer recipes is a combination of once cup of table salt, a gallon of white vinegar, and a teaspoon of Dawn dish soap. Fill a garden sprayer with your mixture and attack those weeds. It is important to note, however, that if you intend spraying areas where you have already planted seeds (or intend to plant seeds), then you should leave out the salt from the mixture. Salt has a way of depleting the quality of the soil.
Pinching Back For Fuller Plants
One of the ways to grow fuller plants, whether flower plants or herbs, is by pinching back the tops of the plants. By doing so, you will help stimulate the plant’s full growth and help it fill out as much as it can.
Pinching a plant means removing the main stem, forcing the plant to grow an additional stem from the leaf nodes below the cut or pinch. As a result, the plant develops two stems in place of one.
This is how to do it: use your fingers to pinch off the new and tender growth at the end of a stem. Simply locate a stem right above a set of leaves and pinch it off. You can also use a pair of pruning shears if you don’t want to use your fingers.
However, you should only pinch back when the plant is still very young so that you’re left with a lush, bushy plant.
The Magic Of Coffee Filters
A lot of new gardeners are choosing container gardening as a good place to start. However, container gardening comes with its own challenges. And chief among the problems is drainage issues.
Thus, ensuring proper drainage on the container is the number rule when opting for container gardening. The only solution is to create a hole or two at the bottom of the pot. However, this can easily lead to the soil spilling through the hole(s) over time.
In order to prevent this, use a coffee filter to line the insides of the pot before filling it with soil. The coffee filter will allow water to go through but will hold the soil. And if you do not have a coffee filter, you can also use a double layer of paper towel. That will work just as fine.
Whatever your summer garden goals are, these practical gardening tips are sure to help!
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