If You Like To Garden, You’ll Love These 14 Gardening Tips

Gardening is something my mother-in-law and best friend looks forward to each year! They take their gardens very seriously. I decided to ask them for some of the tips that they have made their gardens thrive through the years. They shared these tips with me to share with you. I hope that they help make your garden produce many full items this year and beyond.

Get your gardening in top notch condition this year with these 14 gardening tips.
 

• If your clay flower pots have accumulations of salt deposits, they can be removed with a 1-1-1 combination of white vinegar, water, and rubbing alcohol mixed together in a spray bottle. After combining the ingredients, spray the mixture onto the pot, then scrub it with a brush. Don’t plant anything in the pot until it has dried.
• Do you hate how dirt gets under your fingernails when you work in the garden? You can put an end to this by scraping your fingernails across a bar of soap. The soap will act as a barrier and will keep dirt from accumulating under your nails. Once you’re done gardening, simply clean your nails with a nail brush, leaving behind clean and sparkly nails instead of dirty ones.
• If you are tired of the string on your string trimmer constantly breaking or jamming, spray it with a little cooking oil before installing it in your trimmer.

• If you have a long-handled tool available, you can use it as a measuring stick. First, you will lay it on the ground next to a tape measure. Then you will make inch and foot marks on the handle with a permanent marker. Now you have an easy-to-use measuring device close at hand if you’re planting a new flower bed and you need to keep your plants spaced apart at certain distances.

• A neat little way to have garden twine easily accessible whenever you need it is to place the ball inside a small clay pot. Then simply pull the loose end of the twine through the pot’s drainage hole, then flip the pot upside down over the ball of twine somewhere in your garden. You’ll never have to go searching for twine again when working in your garden.

• Small clay pots are also a good way to protect small flowers and plants from unexpected frosts and freezes.

• Want to know how to transform a couple of clay pots into a plant-protecting hose guide? Simply take a 1-foot long piece of steel bar and push it into the ground at one of the corners of your garden. Then you will stack the pots together bottom to bottom over the bar. This hose guide should protect your plants from damage as you move your hose around your garden.

• A neat way to create environmentally friendly plant markers is to write your plant names down on flat-faced rocks or stones and then place them on the plants. Be sure to use a permanent marker otherwise, the names will wash off when the rocks get wet.

• Having problems with aphids? One easy way to control them is with a blast of water or insecticidal soap from your garden hose. Another way to deal with your aphid infestation is by using tape. Simply wrap wide strips of tape around your hand, making sure to have the sticky side facing out. Then just pat any leaves on your plants that have aphids on them. Aphids particularly like the undersides of leaves, so be sure to hit those areas too.

• If you have plants like azaleas and gardenias that prefer acidic soil, you can apply any leftover coffee and tea grounds to the soil to make them happy. A quarter-inch to a half-inch applied once a month should be plenty. This also works for trees such as Magnolias and others according to thetreecenter.com

• In addition to being a refreshing drink, chamomile tea can also be used to control damping-off fungus. This fungus is known to attack young plants all of a sudden and without notice. Applying the tea is simple. You can either apply a small amount around the base of your plants once a week, or you can spray it on the leaves using a spray bottle.

• You can use clay pots and saucers in a pinch if you need a table for tea service or brunch. Use one of your larger sized pots, flip it over, then place a large saucer on top. Once teatime or brunch is over, you can now use your DIY table as a birdbath. Just leave the saucer on top of the pot and fill it with water.

• Do you love growing your own herbs but hate how long it takes to dry them out? If so, you’ll love this solution. Simply lay a sheet of paper on your car seat, then lay your herbs onto the paper. Make sure all windows are rolled up completely, then close all doors. Your car has now been transformed into the perfect herb drying machine. Not only will your herbs be dried thoroughly, but your car will also smell awesome as well.

What would gardening tips would you add to this list? 

We appreciate every share we get because it helps this blog grow! Thank you in advance.