Do you like quizzes? A quiz can be a fun way to learn about what works best in your garden. Here are some ideas that you may or may not have heard about that may or may not improve your chance of raising a successful garden.
True or False: Can a coffee filter help transport potted plants for transplant into an outdoor garden?
True! Use organic coffee filters. Place on at the bottom of a pot, and then add soil and organic fertilizer before placing a seedling. Later, when the seedling has grown enough to be transplanted into your outdoor garden, it is easier to lift the seedling out from the pot.
True or false: Can wine corks be used to space seeds for planting?
True! Take a wine cork and push it into the ground where you want a seed to go. The indentation made by the cork is a perfect guide for creating uniform and clearly visible seed locations with even spacing between each. Make the cork indentations in a row or be creative and create different planting shapes like spirals, circles, S shapes, etc. The effects of a little creativity will show when the plants start to bloom.
True or False: Will buried banana peels near rose bushes enhance their bloom?
False! Although it is true that a boost of potassium will help the rose bush’s appearance, the results of decomposed banana peels will lead to a leaching of nitrogen from the soil.
It is best to create compost that includes potassium-rich items that will breakdown into the soil. Such items include hardwood, ash, potato peels and spinach.
True or False: Should you pour a cola around your gardenias?
True! You may not believe it, but a little bit of cola poured near gardenias will make the soil acidic, which will encourage beautiful blooms.
The optimum words here are “little bit.” Dilute the cola in water at a ratio of 1 part cola and 5 parts water. Don’t soak the mixture around the plants. Instead, just give them a light sprinkle. Repeat only once during the blooming cycle. Do not overdo it.
True or False: Should all young trees be staked to prevent snapping?
False! Just stake trees in areas where there is heavy winds or if the tree is delicate. In general, a little sway is good for baby trees.
By the way, if you do stake saplings because you live in a windy area, then be sure that they are not grating against the ties when strong winds blow. Don’t tie the sapling too close that it is too tight around the developing trunk. The trunk needs room to grow.
True or False: Should you sprinkle coffee grounds around a shrub to improve soil pH?
False! The coffee grounds can harm the shrub because they are acidic. It is true that the coffee grounds will slowly change the pH of the soil, but the decomposition process releases natural elements that impede nitrogen and this will affect the plant’s rate of growth.
Photo by Joonas kääriäinen from Pexels
True or false: Should you place pennies around your garden or orchard to deter pests?
True! But only pennies minted before 1982. It is true that slugs hate copper, but the pennies minted after 1982 contain mostly zinc with very little copper.
Copper is great to rid slugs because it has an electric charge that shocks the slug if it tries to cross a penny. It doesn’t kill them, just annoys them. So they will find a safer place to crawl.
True or false: Should you plant by moonlight?
True and false! You don’t technically need full moonlight to plant. However, planting at night can help certain varieties of plants to be stronger and assists plants in warm areas where full sunlight could burn them when they’re young. You don’t need a full moon or full moonlight specifically when you plant for the plants to grow successfully.
(Source: catesgarden.com)
