Gardening Tips
Here are some of my tips which I have picked up over the years. Some of them could save you a packet, without compromising the results.
Natural Slug Deterrent
Slugs and snails detest garlic, so here is a quick recipe on how to make some home-made garlic spray. Just spray the leaves of the plants on a dry and warm (but not hot) evening when slugs and snails are apparent. This does not kill them, but it will simply move them on to someone else’s garden. It’s your choice if you want to ‘dispose’ of them in an appropriate manner, once they come out of their hiding place.
1] You will need one garlic bulb. Skin the garlic and then crush.
2] Add to 1 litre of water, and boil for 5 minutes.
3] Allow to cool.
3] Strain the bits out of the liquid.
4] Keep in fridge or in a cool place until ready to use.
5] Use 1 tablespoonful of the liquid in 1 litre of tap water, and spray the plant and surrounding area/soil.
1] You will need one garlic bulb. Skin the garlic and then crush.
2] Add to 1 litre of water, and boil for 5 minutes.
3] Allow to cool.
3] Strain the bits out of the liquid.
4] Keep in fridge or in a cool place until ready to use.
5] Use 1 tablespoonful of the liquid in 1 litre of tap water, and spray the plant and surrounding area/soil.
Slug Deterrant for Pots
If you are suffering from slugs & snail damage with plants in pots or tubs, you can use WD-40 spray. Don’t spray the plant though, spray the pot or tub. If you think this is a joke, have a look at the back of a tin of household WD-40, or click here. You can also WD-40 to deter Squirrels from your bird feeders/table.
Garden Centre Bargains
Never overlook the cut-price plants and seeds at a nursery or garden centre. Most perennial plants will perk up with a good feed and some TLC. With seeds, if you soak them the night before you sow them you’d be surprised how many germinate even if they are past their best before date!
Natural & Cheap Price Fertiliser
Nettle and comfrey leaves left in a bucket of water for a few weeks makes great fertiliser for vegetables and flowers.
Cheap Seed Compost
Collect fallen tree leaves and store wet in bin bags for seed compost for next year. This also makes a good mulch for over the winter.
F1 Seeds
Try to avoid buying F1 hybrid seeds. Buying non F1 seeds will allow to collect the seeds from the grown plants at the end of their growing cycle, for sowing the following year. With plants grown from F1 seeds, any sowings from collected seeds will more than likely fail.
Sweet Pea’s & Climbing Beans From Seed
Sow sweet peas and climbing beans inside the cardboard cylinders from loo rolls. Pack them into a recycled mushroom box and fill with compost. Any roots that grow through the tube grow safely in the surrounding compost, which makes them so easy to transplant. In addition to loo rolls, the middle of kitchen rolls (cut in half or left whole for long rooted requirements (some sweet peas)) are just the same.
Hanging Basket’s
When planting-up hanging baskets, most gardeners will line the basket with moss or a jute liner. Avoid using plastic bags, as if the weather turns wet, plastic will reduce drainage somewhat, and may result in the roots of your cherished plants rotting. On the other hand, if the weather is hot, it will increase the rate of evaporation. (If you do use moss, ensure it comes from a renewable/sustainable source. This should be detailed on the packaging.) Most gardeners will use a specialist hanging basket compost mix with added moisture retention, either from the garden centre, or their own mix. You can use clean scrunched up newspaper (not magazines or newspaper supplements, or photocopy/printer paper, as most of them contain a bleaching agent) at the bottom of the basket, as this where you want to root to grow to. The newspaper will trap water, and some newspaper print will also add nutrients to the compost, after all, if you have a compost heap, you add paper to that. Some gardeners will add slow release granules to feed the plant. Try putting some used tea bags near the bottom of the basket. This will add nitrogen to the container, giving a healthier plant, and will assist in water retention as well. Both of these items (paper & tea bags), are biodegradable, so you are avoiding using chemicals, and doing your bit for the environment.
Carrots & Onions
Most gardeners growing carrots or onions will have experienced either the carrot fly or onion fly. The flies have a very very sensitive sense of smell. To help avoid generating the smell of carrots or onions, just simply sow the seed thinner, so that you are not thinning out so often, or if at all. If you grow them in pots, try to keep them about 2ft off the ground as the flies cannot fly that high. This can be done by getting another similar or slightly larger pot, turning it upside down, and then put your pot on the top of the upturned one. This makes for easier watering as well. Another way is to sow both carrots and onions in the same plot or tub/pot. When you come to do the thinning, simply thin out both the carrots and onions at the same time, as carrot fly does not like the smell of onions, and vice versa.