Try Something New – If you have older gardens, don’t be afraid to add a new flowering plant, bush or vegetable to your gardens.
Harvest at Peek – Don’t try and force your fruits and vegetable early, and don’t leave the fruit to rot. Picking at peek means the fullest flavor too! If at the end of the season you have a load of green tomatoes left on the vine, you can wrap them in newspaper… but leave that until the end of season.
Plant Perennials – I love perennials. Not only does it save on work – I don’t have to keep replanting year after year, it eventually saves on cash. While normally a higher initial investment, because they last, well, forever in some cases, perennials end up less expensive in the long-run!
Vegetable Soup Water For Plants – The next time you boil or steam vegetables, instead of pouring the water down the drain, use it to water potted patio plants or your garden after it has cooled. Your plants will thank you.
Plan Your Garden – Not only should you do some research on what will grow in your area, but plot out where the garden can go. Is it full sun? Partial sun? Shade? What type of soil do you have? Will you have to enhance it? And make sure the plants you grow are compatible.
Tomato Cages are useful for more than just tomatoes. Beans, green peppers, broccoli – anything that is top heavy or climbs that shouldn’t sit in the soil can make use of a tomato cage.
Start Off Slowly – Unless you are running a farm stand or leaving zucchini at the neighbor’s door, only plant enough for you, your family and what you can realistically freeze or can. Planting 50 tomato plants your first year gardening will have result in a red-hell come August and September. Start with 3-4 and next year you can add more if you see a need.
Wear Gloves – They protect your hands better than any cream or salve. If you hate gloves (and some people do), run your fingernails across a bar of soap before you head to the garden. This will prevent dirt from accumulating under your nails as you can just flick the soap out in the sink when you are washing-up.
Acidic Feeding – If you don’t have holly food handy? Use leftover tea leaves or coffee grounds to acidify the soil of acid-loving plants such as parsley, green beans, azaleas, rhododendrons, and blueberries. Sprinkling 1/4″ of an inch in a circle around the base of your plants approximately once a month will keep the pH of the soil on the acidic side.
