Garden tips for an article I'm writing

I write a modest gardening article for a local newspaper; only published once each fortnight. I would love to list your favorite gardening tip in the next article. Mine will be using flat-sided chopsticks and a laundry marking pen to label plants in the garden. How about it? Give me your best shot!

How about using old tights and stockings for tying up trees to stakes instead of other things. At least the tights stretch and won't damage bark of trees etc.

I certainly can't take any credit for it, but I heard a cute way to remind ourselves how to handle a seedling:

Make sure you grab 'em by their ears, not by their throats!

I agree with louisa about the stockings, I use them to tie up my grape vines, it works good and lasts for awhile.

FernCliffFarms

One of my favorite tips is to lay newspaper down on a new garden bed before you cover it with mulch. I've done this with almost all my beds when I first put them in. After the soil has been tilled lay the newspaper sections at least 6 pages thick in a patchwork fashion and & overlapping the sheets a few inches - until you completely cover the bed. Having the garden hose handy to wet them down as you go will keep them from blowing around. Then put your mulch on top of the paper 4 or 5 inches thick.

When you plant the bed just stab a hole in the paper and pop the plant into the soil. It saves many hours of weeding - especially in new soil. It also helps retain the moisture in the soil and you won't need to water as often. The newspaper decomposes over the season and the next year you just need to freshen up the bed with a bit of new mulch.

Make sure you use only black & white newspaper (which is soy based ink), and avoid any glossy colored sections.

My favorite tip is to use a spray of chamomile tea on seedlings once a week to prevent damping off. One tea bag in a quart of boiling water, cool, spray - it's almost too easy.

Safety tip:- Place a small plastic/rubber pot over bamboo stakes etc to act as protection against eye damage.

For people who don't like to wear gloves in the garden (like me), dig your nails into a bar of soap, then the soil can't get under the nails!

To plant big seeds (like sunflowers, corn, etc) and space them properly:

Take a 3 foot length of PVC pipe. Walk down the row and poke the PVC into the soil (at the desired depth) and then drop the seed through the top. Just make sure the bottom end doesn't get clogged (which shouldn't be too big of a problem.

Dave

I like that one Dave

Another timely tip, considering the sudden glut of bedding plants this time of year: resist impulse buying and plan first, buy second.

Consider the following:
-the amount of sunlight the area receives,
-the climate zone you're in,and
-the type of plants you want (specific color, minimum/maximum height, perennial vs. annual, foliage interest, etc.)

Do some research to find plants that meet your criteria and decide how many of each you'll need. Make a list of each plant's common and latin names and quantities, and take your list with you everywhere, since you never know when you'll come across another garden center or nursery. Mark them off as you make your purchases.

Don't assume just because it's for sale in your area that it's appropriate for your area. Especially if you're buying from a discount center, or from a diplay of bedding plants in front of the grocery store. Do your homework first, and you'll be richly rewarded with a garden full of plants that are thriving in their new home.

When I am transplanting in the heat of the summer, I use tall garden stakes and newspaper to "tent shade" the plant from the sun, it gets the air, but not the sun beating down to cook it.

When planting trees or shrubs, plant a pipe or two next to it. You can water into the pipe and the water/fertilizer gets to the roots more readily.

And heres a real good tip, dont stab yourself in the foot with your garden fork, it really hurts, lol.

my sounds like there are alot of one legged, one eyed gardens out there. i'll have to be careful,
d'oh, #@%&* rake.

LOL, Alan. That didn't happen to you did it?

Woodspirit, no not me, a friend of my granddads 30 years ago, he wasnt looking what he was doing, went through the top of his boot, and out the bottom, me being just a kid i laughed my socks off, i mean have you ever seen someone doing a rain dance with a garden fork sticking out of there foot, it is funny to watch, but by the noise and language he was coming out with i think it hurts a bit too.

Here's a great tip I got from Gardening by the Yard... which I know many of you watch, however controversial about the Master Gardener thing. I have always used a trowel like a small spade with the area of the trowel that holds dirt away from me, especially when planting bulbs. Instead, use it like a knife stabbing into the ground with the area that holds dirt TOWARDS you, and pull the soil towards you to make a space for the bulb. MUCH easier on the wrists, and more efficient!

Even better than that, Darius, is that hand-held pick that Paul James uses. I bought one at Wal-Mart this year for $8 and it's my favorite tool.

Dave

If you like that, Dave, be sure and watch for the June issue of Mother Earth News. I've got an article in it on one-handed garden tools. You wouldn't believe the diversity of head designs there are out there.

I'll look for it Brook. Thanks for the headsup.

Dave

My favorite tips? Hmmmmmm. Let me see now.

1) I wrap the base of my tomato and pepper plants with aluminum foil to prevent cutworm damage. Make sure that the foil is at least 1 inch above and below the soil line.

2)I use old pantyhose, cut in strips, to tie my tomato plant stems to stakes. The hose are stretchy and won't cut into the tomato stems.

3)I plant radishes with my eggplant, squash, and cucumber plants as a trap crop. I allow the radishes to grow and go to seed. The bugs eat the radishes and leave my eggplant, squash, and cukes alone.

4) I plant lots of petunias (and a few marigolds, too) in with my bush beans to repel bean beetles. It works! My beans are beautiful and they taste good, too!

5)As a substitute for peat pots, which are quite expensive, I'm using styrofoam cups to repot my seedlings. Punch a hole in the bottom with an ice pick or a pair of scissors. They're _very_ cheap and they work better that the peat pots I think...judging from the health and vigor of my tomato and pepper plants!

Terri

My latest addition to my gardening tools is a kneeler
bench. Found it on the internet, and it is a wonderful
aid. Kneeling, helping me to get up and then turn it
over and I can sit on it. Would definitely recommend it
for any old timers like me with a back problem.

Dori

My husband and I scout out broken up cement sidewalks to use as stepping stones in our yard and garden. We just sink the pieces so they're flush with the ground and they work great! They're irregularly shaped, so they resemble stones more, especially when creeping thyme is planted among them.

Hi;
I used to write a newspaper article too, From the Ground Up, any way my tip is, Keep a journal!!!!! and map out your garden in it with detail of who went where. Comes in handy when you have to renovate or just replace a certain plant.
I also list where I purcahsed, traded or hehehehe stole a plant from so I can get another if I like how it does.
Tom

Thanks so much to all of you. I now have so many tips that I am having to write the article in 2 parts. I have already gotten the first one going and it is nearly ready. NO MORE TIPS, PLEASE, lol. You should see me e-mail, it's a riot.
At least I can also see that these tips could be handy to everyone else here too. After the article is printed, I will try to post it under photos.

Darn. I just thought of another one. LOL

Dave; add a funnel or top half of a soda bottle to the top end of the pvc pipe, makes it go faster. Also cut the length so you stand up straight. Saves your back.