GARDEN TIPS AND TRICKS

Garden Tips and Tricks to make gardening easier

1) Turn a long-handled tool into a measuring stick! Lay a long-handled garden tool on the ground, and next to it place a tape measure. Using a permanent marker, write inch and foot marks on the handle. When you need to space plants a certain distance apart (from just an inch to several feet) you’ll already have a measuring device in your hand.
2) Plant lavender near your rosebushes to drive away aphids. To learn more about lavender see 15 Long Blooming Flowers.
3) You can deter cats from your garden and lawn by sprinkling a mixture of orange peels and coffee grounds around your plants. This mix is also a great fertilizer.
4) Make a seed spreader from an old coffee can and two lids. Drill holes in the bottom of the coffee can big enough for the grass seed to pass through. Then do the same with one of the lids. Save the other lid on the bottom of the can when not in use.
5) When planting your starts snip off every bloom. Do this so your plant will start growing the roots and stems. The results will be many more blossoms over a much longer period.
6) Plant Marigolds to deter nematodes.

7) Use toilet paper rolls to start your seeds in. Make cuts in one end of the roll and folds strips down so they overlap. Fill with moist soil and plant 1 seed per container. Then plant the whole thing when seedlings are ready to plant in the ground.
8) Recycle a milk jug into a watering can.
9) Recycle a milk jug into a shovel. Find out how to do it here. Tinkerlab.com (make recycled milk bottle shovel).
10) Use an old shower caddy to make a hanging garden. Just line the baskets with landscape fabric and plant your favorite flowers.
11) When away from home use a paper towel and a jug of water to keep your plants moist while you are gone. Fill a jug with water. Take a tightly rolled paper towel and shove one end into the soil around your plants and put the other end in the water. This will keep your plants moist.

12) To help prevent rust on tools store them in a bucket of builders sand.
13) When cutting hydrangeas for arrangements you can keep them perky with alum. Just dab the cut end of the hydrangeas stem into the alum before you add to the arrangement. The alum keeps the blooms from wilting so fast. Just so you know alum is a spice. You can find it with the spices in your local grocery store. To learn more about hydrangeas see 15 Flowering Shrubs
14) Keep a mailbox in your garden area to store your hand tools and garden gloves in.
15) Remove deposits from clay pots with a mixture of equal parts white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and water. Spray the pots and scrub with a brush. Rinse them well. Let the pots dry before planting in them.
16) Want sweeter tomatoes? Sprinkle baking soda on the soil around your tomato plants, taking care to not get any on the leaves or plant. The baking soda in the soil helps the plant to produce sweeter tomatoes.
17) For a natural weed killer combine 1/2 cup liquid dish soap, 1 gal of white vinegar, and 1/4 cup of salt. Mix until blended. Spray on weeds as needed.
18) When planting seeds you can create perfect holes with a muffin tin. Push the muffin tin down into the soil and pull it back out. You will have perfect holes for planting seeds.
19) Use a potato to propagate your rose bush cuttings. Just push your cutting into a potato and then plant as usual. The potato provides the nourishment the rose bush needs to produce roots and begin to grow.

20) To prevent root rot to your plants, pour a little bit of hydrogen peroxide in the soil around the plants.
21) To provide potassium to your rose bushes place banana peels around the base of the bush. They will break down and provide nutrients to the plant.
22) Recycle a plastic soda bottle into a water feeder. Drill holes or use an ice pick to put holes all over the bottle. Bury the bottle in the ground, standing straight up, right next to your plant. Fill the bottle with water. The water will slowly drain from the bottle providing moisture for your plant.
23) When planting large pots use packing peanuts in the bottom half of the pot. Cover them with landscape fabric then add soil. This reduces the weight of the pot and helps to increase drainage.
24) Recycle old pantyhose to create plant ties. Cut strips from the hose and tie up plants with them.
25) If you have a problem with rabbits, try out this old time, gardening trick. To deter rabbits from the garden use hair from your hairbrush. Scatter the hair around your garden. The rabbits won’t go near the hair.
26) Another old garden tip is to plant your garden by the phases of the moon. To learn more about moon phase planting see this post on When is the Best Time to Plant?
27) To get rid of squash bugs on your plants sprinkle them with diatomaceous earth. It contains no toxic poisons and works great to get rid of these pest insects.
28) To deter caterpillars from your garden plant Sage, Hyssop, and Thyme.

GARDEN TIPS AND TRICKS