subject: Creative Ideas And Practical Gardening Advice [print this page] A planting calendar is very useful for planning your garden. This will tell you what you need to plant each season. This will allow you to prepare in advance, knowing exactly what to purchase and when you should buy things. Use a paper calendar, or create a custom calendar online.
Bumble bees are great helpers in your garden, because they assist in pollinating your plants. However, there are a few types of bees that you do not want to have around. These include the carpenter bee, which eats through wood in the process of creating their nest. Overall, most bees will help you, so it is best if you leave them alone.
Use climbers to cover walls and fences. Climbing plants can cover a wall after one growing season only. You may also be interested in training them over an arbor or trellis. You can also grow them among existing landscape trees and plants. Some varieties of these plants will have to be tethered to some sort of support, but other varieties will be able to attach to the medium they are climbing. A few good choices are climbing roses, wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle and clematis.
Plant seeds in pots that have a rich soil to give them a strong start. Doing this betters your odds of your plants making it to adulthood. This will also allow you to stick to a tighter, cleaner planting schedule. Once you've removed the previous group of plants, your seedlings can go into the ground.
If you have recently suffered a cut, discontinue gardening until the cut has healed completely. If grime gets into the cut, it could become infected. Get the appropriate bandages to seal the cut completely.
Properly lay your sod. The soil requires preparation before sod can be laid. Remove the weeds, then break up the soil into fine tilth. The next step is compacting your soil and carefully leveling it. Thoroughly moisten the soil. Lay the sod in rows, and make sure the joints do not overlap. Make sure that the sod forms an even, flat surface, and if you have any gaps show between the sod, fill them with a little bit of soil. After two weeks of daily watering, the sod should be rooted; at this time, it is now safe to walk on it.
It is important to do your homework so you choose plants that produce higher yields. If yield is important, choose hybrids designed to resist cold and diseases rather than traditional varieties.
If you see mildew that is powdery, stay away from expensive chemicals to treat it. The best solution is mixing baking soda, a drop of liquid dish detergent and water together in a spray bottle. Spray this mixture on your plants weekly until the mildew is gone. Baking soda will not damage your plants and treats the mildew gently but efficiently.
If you have salt spots on your clay pots, try using a mixture of rubbing alcohol and vinegar. When you have plants in clay pots, ugly looking salt deposits may accumulate on the outside after a while. A mixture of white vinegar, water and alcohol can help if you spray it on your pot. Use a plastic brush to scrub the salt away easily. After rinsing, allow the pot to air out prior to using it again.
