Gardening is a hobby which not only relaxes you, but can provide you with delicious food. Gardeners are often faced with the questions of when to plant and what equipment to purchase. The following article provides answers to many of the questions that are asked by gardeners of all skill levels.

Choose perennials that won’t be taken out by slugs. Snails and slugs can destroy plants in just one night. These garden pests prefer perennials with thin, flat, delicate leaves, particularly if the plant is not yet mature. Perennials with hairy leaves or bitter taste are unattractive to snails and slugs, keeping them safe from harm. Some of examples of these are achillea, heuchera, campanula, helleborus, and euphorbia.

Healthy Plants

The first thing you can do to avoid pests is to start with healthy soil in your garden. Healthy soil equals healthy plants and healthy plants can fight off diseases with ease. For healthy plants, start with healthy soil that is properly amended and free of chemicals in order to avoid salt accumulation.

If you see mildew that is powdery, stay away from expensive chemicals to treat it. Mix a solution of baking soda, water, and a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid. This solution can be sprayed onto your plants once per week until the problem is resolved. Do not worry about your plants; the baking soda cannot harm them.

TIP! When winter arrives, you could save some plants by placing them inside your house. You can save the ones you spent the most money on or the ones that are resistant.

Keep the weeds out of your garden by removing them regularly. Weeds can truly ruin a good garden. A clever way to accomplish this is with the help of some white vinegar. White vinegar kills weeds. Apply it full strength to any areas where weeds are a problem.

Plant bulbs in your garden if you want flowers through spring and summer. Bulbs are hardy, easy to grow into flowers, and will blossom for several years. Bulbs bloom during different seasons, if you pick them carefully you will have flowers almost all year.

If you have planted vegetables within your garden, make sure that they are getting at least six hours of sunlight each day. Proper sunlight is a prerequisite for proper growth. This holds true for some types of flowers.

TIP! Check the soil before you plant anything in your garden. You can get a soil analysis, and if you find your soil needs a supplement, do it! A lot of Cooperative Extension locations offer this service, and you can prevent ruining a few crops by identifying the specific steps to take.

If you are horticulture for the first time ever, read and follow all directions and instructions that come with your chemicals and tools. If you use your gardening chemicals wrong, you can abrade or even burn your skin. Keep yourself safe by carefully following all instructions.

Broad-spectrum pesticides are really not the optimal choice for pest control in your garden. In addition, these pesticides destroy the good insects which eat pests. The bugs you need are often more fragile than the ones you don’t: a pesticide could actually kill the beneficial insects while leaving the pests unaffected. This will leave you using even more pesticides to fix the problem.

Always completely protect any cuts, or wait until they are healed before attempting any horticulture, as this can introduce dirt or chemicals into the wound. A cut or abrasion can become infected if it is not properly protected from dirt, pesticides and other irritants. Bandages are available that will completely cover the cut so that this cannot happen.

TIP! A simple way to lower the alkaline content of your soil is to dilute it with coffee grounds. Using coffee grounds is a low-cost way to increase the acidity of the soil.

Add three inches of mulch to your flower beds. Doing this keeps weeds down, keeps the moisture in your plants, and gives more nutrients to the plants. Mulch will also improve the general appearance of your flower beds.

Do you prefer to eliminate weeds without the use of harmful chemicals? To control the growth of weeds, all you need is last week’s Sunday paper. Weeds need sunlight to grow. When you place layers of newspapers on top of them, the weeds will suffocate from the lack of light. The paper will break down quickly and cleanly, adding to your compost. Put mulch over top to increase the attractiveness of the pile.

In conclusion, gardening is a tremendously rewarding hobby. It is also a hobby for which a substantial amount of understanding is required to ensure the best results. If you follow the correct advice and plan your garden properly, your garden will flourish in no time. A beautiful garden requires the right tools, soil, water and sunlight.

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