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-Seal Plants -- Gardeners use
white glue for sealing the ends of pruned stems and branches
against insects and excessive moisture loss.
-When doing your fall flower
planting (if you order from a company that sends you the roots
and/or bulbs in labeled bags) put rocks in the bags and leave
them where you planted them so next spring you'll remember where
and what you planted last fall!
-When storing bulbs for the winter
sprinkle them with medicated baby powder and store them in old
onion sacks.
-Prevent soil from leaking out
of a potted plant. Place a pair of pantyhose in the bottom of
plant pots to provide drainage.
-A birth control pill dissolved
in one quart of water will help ferns grow faster and stronger.
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-Use all those fall leaves! Shred
them and put them in your flower and vegetable garden for extra
nutrients in the soil and protection from the cold winter!
-If you want moss to grow on
your rocks ...paint plain yogurt on the surface. Make sure you
repeat the process after any rain.
-Garden Tool Carrier - One great
tip is use an old golf bag to store your garden tools in, it
can carry both your long handled and short handled garden tools.
Makes gardening so much easier since you don't need to run back
and forth for your tools. |
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-Weed after a rainfall. Weeds pull
easier. If you need to weed and it hasn't rained, water your
garden first.
-A great way to maintain moisture
to the soil, as well as reducing weeds is to lay down several
layers of newspaper sheets between the rows and plants. At the
end of the season this mulch can be turned into the soil. Make
sure the print is vegetable oil ink.
-To get rid of weeds that come
up between patio cracks and gravel, just sprinkle salt.
-To prevent dirt from getting
under your fingers while gardening, scratch a bar of soap before
starting to work. When you are finished, the soap will wash out
from under your nails and your nails won't have those telltale
dark stains under them!
-Use an inexpensive plastic kids
pool filled a few inches with water to keep your potted plants
in when on vacation.
-Cut the bottom of empty plastic
cola bottles (any size) to use to start seedling. They are the
perfect size and you will also be recycling.
-Rinsed out milk cartons are
excellent containers for kitchen scraps waiting to go out to
the compost.
-When starting new plants from
cuttings, if you will put a little sugar in the water, it seems
to help the cuttings get roots a little faster!
-If an unsuspecting frost came
upon your garden while you were sleeping and the plants were
not protected, get to the garden before the sun shines on the
plants and spray the foliage with the garden hose.
-You can make a tumbling composter
using a plastic garbage can with a sturdily attached lid. Just
poke holes in the sides for aeration, and roll the can to mix
the compost.
-Besides regular water, once
a month dissolve an Aspirin in a cup of tea and feed to plants.
-Herbs for the winter: Cut 4-5
inches of stem from your favorite herbs, tie in a bunch and hang
upside down to dry in a cool place. Its beautiful, smells great
and its economical as well!
Indoor Gardening Tips
- Water your hanging plants with
ice cubes and you won't have water spilling out the bottom!
- African Violets- Water them
with chamomile tea.....will make them bloom profusely.
- Amaryllis-To keep the flowers
blooming, remove the pollen bearing anthers with tweezers before
they begin to drop.
- Cactus- To get a cactus to
bloom, water sparingly - once a month or so, and leave outside
in a dry sunny spot as late as possible in the fall. Bring indoors
when nights are cooler. This will stimulate blooming for the
following spring.
- When you change your aquarium
water, don't just dump the water down the drain - - use it for
watering your indoor plants - - it's loaded with nutrition your
plants will love! |
