Each person has a different way to unwind and gardening might be your way of relaxing. Gazala takes you through 11 gardening hacks that will help you make your gardening experience more fun and your green space more effective.
Some people truly enjoy the process of nurturing a garden. From experimenting with different plants to having one’s own herb garden- the one with a green thumb is constantly trying to grow different plants in her garden that will make her garden more useful and beautiful. Here are eleven gardening tips that will help you make your garden more productive, eco-friendly and efficient.
- Starting off plants in different and creative ways: You can use eggshells or the peels of an orange or any citrus fruit as a container to start off your seedlings. This help eliminates the need to use plastic, reuse your resources and to later use the same items in your compost. Apart from this, you can make small containers out of a newspaper or discardable egg crates or even cupcake liners which can easily be decomposed.
- Eggshells to the rescue: As already mentioned, you could use eggshells to start off your seedlings. Apart from this, there are many other ways that you can use this magic material in your garden! Coarsely crumbled eggshells are a great remedy against soft-bodied pests like snails or slugs. These also provide a great calcium boost to your plants when added to the soil.
- Epsom salt in your garden: Another commonly found an item that you can use to better the lives of your plants, Epsom salt can come in handy in more ways than one in your garden. When you transplant a seedling or plant a new plant, place about a tablespoon of Epsom salt in the bottom of the hole and add a layer of dirt on it- this will save the plant from “transplant shock”. Apart from this, the magnesium in the salt promotes the germination of seeds. There are multiple other benefits of using Epsom salt, one being that it increases the nutrient absorption capacity of the plant thus eliminating the need to use chemical fertilisers. It also helps prevent the curling and yellowing of leaves and keeps pests away. More benefits can be credited to Epsom salt- like it helps it helps grow sweeter fruits, tastier tomatoes, beautiful and lush roses, higher yield in peppers etc.
- Reuse water: Water is a precious natural resource, and often maintaining a garden demands substantial availability of water. You can reuse water from your kitchen to feed the plants in your garden. You can use the water discarded after boiling vegetables, eggs etc. Not only is it free of any form of chemicals, but also rich in nutrients. Use the water that has been left over after it cools down.
- Vinegar in your garden: Vinegar is a great way to retard weed growth in your garden. Apart from this, you can use vinegar to clean rust from your garden tools by soaking them in undiluted vinegar overnight.
- Make your own compost: Adding manure is a time-tested way to enhance the growth of your plants. But is it essential to use chemical and artificial manures? Make your own compost that you can use to enrich the soil in your garden. You can make your compost using items that are easily available around you. Using green and dead leaves is a good source of nutrients. You can use scraps from your kitchen like leftover or spoilt tomatoes, peels of cucumbers, lettuce etc and mix them in a jar and let them disintegrate for a few days. This mixture can then be added to the soil to enhance the nutritious value of the same.
- Coffee in your garden: Coffee is another item from your kitchen that you can use in your garden. Coffee grounds from your coffee maker come in handy to keep pests like ants, slugs, snails etc away! Coffee grounds can also be used to reduce the PH of the soil, in compost and it also enriches the soil due to the nitrogen content present in it.
- Uses of baking soda in your garden: Baking soda finds itself to be extremely useful in your garden. You can use it to take care of powdery mildew. Apart from this, it makes for a fantastic fungicide, and can also be used to test the PH of the soil using opting for testing kits. It can also be used to discourage the growth of weeds, to kill crabgrass and to kill cabbage worms that can be seen in broccoli, kale etc. Baking soda can also be used to clean your hands after a day spent in the garden. Use this home essential in combination with different items and in different quantities for the functions mentioned above.
- Taking care of larger pests: Sticking forks between your plants is a great and economical way to keep larger pests like racoons away.
- Unique fruit produces: This is one hack that you can use if you have been growing fruits and vegetables in your garden and love to experiment. Use moulds to shape your fruits into different fun shapes that look great on your plate and the kids love them too! You can find moulds in abundance in the market- both online and offline!
- Pellets to your rescue: Pellets can be used in multiple ways in the garden. They can be used to make raised plant beds, to make cheap and efficient storage for garden tools and to make horizontal stands to hang the same. Other than this, you can use pellets to store compost, grow delicate plants like strawberries and to make flower beds. Pellets are a cheap and easily available item that can replace a lot of other containers in your garden- all you need to do, is get a little creative!
These fun and efficient hacks are sure to keep your garden healthy, lush and nourished. Follow these simple tips to make the most of what is easily available to you, right in your vicinity without splurging too much. What’s more? These tips are also eco friendly and come with no chemical inclusions making them a hit amongst gardening enthusiasts.