There is nothing like experience. Being able to say, “Been there,” “Done that,” means that you can rely on your own personal experiences to solve problems. The same holds true when it comes to maintaining a garden. Whether a gardener is relying on some wives tail they heard about ridding their garden of aphids or learning through their own trials that leftover tea and coffee grinds acidify the soil and leads to more flourishing azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias is part of the fun of nurturing a garden.
It is also fun to pass your discoveries along to your gardening friends and learn about home remedies that they have discovered too.
Here are a few tips and tricks that use regular household items to assure that your garden continues to thrive through whatever problems nature throws at it.
Do you use clay pots to host plants? If so, then you’ve probably noticed that salt deposits can form on them. Combine equal parts of white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water into a spray bottle. Spray the formula on to the pot and scrub it with a brush. Allow for some time for the pot to dray, then you can plant anything you want into it.
Chamomile tea can eliminate fungus that may be threatening young seedlings.
(Courtesy: Jaime Pott at flickr.com)
Gardeners can’t prevent getting down to the Nitty-gritty when it comes down to planting flora. However, some of you may not like getting dirt under your fingernails. You can prevent the problem by simply scratching your fingernails along a bar of soap. The soap will seal the underside of your nails and keep the dirt out.
Have you ever wished you had remembered to bring the tape measure from the utility drawer to your garden to help you perform a task in which measuring was involved? Make the long handle of a garden tool into a measuring stick. Simply lay the garden tool down on to the ground next to an open tape measure and use a permanent marker to notch inch and foot marks on the handle. Then when you need a measuring device to perform a gardening task, you have one right at your fingertips.
Are aphids pestering the plants of your garden? Hit them with a strong splash from the hose, spread insecticidal soap on the leaves, or wrap a wide strip of tape around your fingers with the sticky side out and pat the leaves of the plants to capture the nasty critters.
There is always an occasion when you will be boiling or steaming vegetables. Don’t throw away the water. Instead, use it to water potted plants. The “vegetable soup” will do a whole lot of good for the plants.
Do you like chamomile tea? Share some with your garden to rid it of fungus that may be threatening young seedlings. Add the tea to the soil around the base of the seedlings once a week or put the brew into a spray bottle and squirt it around the seedlings.
Have you ever been frustrated about the time it takes for herbs to dry? Lay a sheet of newspaper on a seat in your car, organize herbs on the newspaper in a single layer, then roll up the windows and close the doors of the car. The herbs will dry quickly and your car will smell great.
