25 Gardening Tips Every Gardener Should Know
When you’re just starting out with gardening, it can seem like there’s so much to know, and you’ve got a thousand questions. How should you plant your veggies, and what kind of soil is best? When should you prune your hydrangeas and divide your hostas? Is everything getting enough sunlight and water? The good news is that nature is a terrific teacher. The more you garden, the more you’ll learn about what works and what doesn’t. But for now, use this list of basic gardening tips to find the answers to some of the most common questions beginners have. And don’t forget to have fun while growing your own food and beautiful flowers in your yard!
1. Know your USDA Hardiness Zone. Use it as a guide to avoid planting trees, shrubs, and perennials that won’t survive winters in your area. You’ll also get a better idea of when to expect your last frost date in spring, so you know when you can plant vegetables, fruits, and annuals outside in your area.
2. Not sure when to prune? Prune spring-flowering shrubs, such as lilacs, immediately after the blooms fade. They set their flower buds in autumn on last year’s growth. If you prune them in fall or winter, you remove next spring’s flower buds.
3. Apply only composted, rotted manure that has cured for at least six months to your soil. Fresh manure is too high in nitrogen and can “burn” plants; it may also contain pathogens or parasites. Manure from pigs, dogs, and cats should never be used in gardens or compost piles because they may contain parasites that can infect humans.
4. Perennials generally need three years to achieve their mature size after you plant them. Remember the adage that they “sleep, creep, and leap” each year, respectively.
5. Learn how long your growing season is (the time between your last frost in spring and first frost in fall), so you can start some plants inside or avoid growing them.
6.Deadheading is a good practice for perennials and annuals. Because the goal of annual plants is to flower, set seed, and die, when you remove the old blooms, it tells annual plants to produce more flowers. Removing spent flowers also encourages plants to use their energy to grow stronger leaves and roots instead of seed production. Avoid deadheading plants grown primarily for decorative fruits or pods, such as money plants (Lunaria).
7. Pay close attention to how much light different plants need. Grow vegetables in a location that gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight every day. Most vegetables need full sun to produce the best harvest. Try growing cool-season crops such as lettuce, spinach, radishes, and cabbage if you have some shade.
8. The best approaches to controlling weeds in the garden are hand-weeding and hoeing. Avoid deep hoeing or cultivating that can bring weed seeds to the soil’s surface so they germinate. Weed early and often to prevent weeds from going to seed. Use mulch to smother and prevent annual weeds.
9. Hostas don’t need to be divided unless you want to rejuvenate an old plant or increase the numbers you have or simply prefer the look of single plants. The best times to divide your hostas are in the spring as the new shoots appear and before the leaves unfurl, or in the fall at least four weeks before your soil freezes solid.
10. Not all hydrangeas grow in the shade. Panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) need sun for the best flowering. Some top panicle varieties include ‘Limelight,’ Little Lime, Vanilla Strawberry, and Bombshell.
11. Don’t clean up everything in your garden in the fall. Leave ornamental grasses for beauty and the seed heads of perennials such as coneflowers to feed the birds. Avoid cutting back marginally hardy perennials, such as garden mums, to increase their chances of surviving a harsh winter.
More tips at link!
https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garden-care/gardening-tips-for-every-gardener/
Great Gif! Hot cup of morning coffee in a warm house looking outside at fall happening!
The best advice I ever received is to walk around your neighborhood to see what is growing, blooming and thriving.
I see plenty of plants for sale at my local nursery that I know do not do well in the hot sun and winds we get here.
I made the French Corn Pumpkin “Pie” recipe this morning - you posted it on last week’s thread. It is very ‘dense’ not quite cake, but not as ‘soft’ as pie filling, either. Mom & I just had a piece & it is very good. I served it with whipped cream & mom liked the extra sweetness since the ‘pie’ itself is not that sweet.
I made 2 minor changes to the recipe:
#1 - Used Swerve instead of sugar to knock out some carbs.
#2 - I mixed the dry & wet ingredients separately, then combined.
This may be something I take to our Thanksgiving feast this year - need to get a handle on what desserts others are bringing before I decide. It’s easy to make, so that is helpful.
Thanks for the recipe! 😋
The weather here in Central Missouri was pleasant following last weekend’s drizzle fest. We got a few sprinkles late Saturday afternoon but that cleared up in time to get a hayride in for the dozen or so littles that were able to make it.
Mrs. Augie and I spent a good bit of time doing cleanup getting the yard and gardens ready to put to bed for the winter. We pulled all of the pool toys out of the pump house yesterday. Deflated and packed all of the floaty things, and moved some stuff that had been shoved in there to a more appropriate location for storage. I’m going to install some shelving in there so we’ll have space for the smaller stuff that belongs in there.
The tree watering bags and garden hoses from the chestnut grove have all been picked up, drained, and packed away for the winter. I’ve still got 300’ or so worth of garden hose laying out to drain that needs to be picked up and packed. Mrs. Augie’s elephant ear roots have been dug and are drying in the garage. Still need to dig canna lilies and get those ready for storage.
Pops and I spent a little time yesterday putting some tillage equipment, the big Minneapolis-Moline tractor and bush hog, and some other smaller tools into dry storage for the winter. After we finished that up I put the boat in the pond and pulled the deep air diffuser out and put it on the swim deck. After work today I’ll reset it in shallow water to keep a section of water open during the winter.
The yard needs to be mowed one more time before I send the Kubota to the dealership for its annual maintenance visit. I should be able to knock most of that out later today assuming I’m able to escape work while the sun is still up.