When you get new plants for your garden, make sure you are meeting their sun requirements. Some plants prefer low sun and shady areas, while other plants require full sun in order to thrive. Giving your plants the wrong light level can cause them to wilt and die too soon.
The time to plant lily bulbs are in the spring so that they will be well-established by winter. However, you will find many varieties of lily bulbs in garden centers in the fall. If you opt to plant lily bulbs in the fall, be sure to mulch heavily at least six inches on top with hardwood mulch or straw to protect them from cold winter freezes.
The best time to plant deciduous trees are in the summer and fall. The best way to tell if it is a good time to plant these trees, is to look at the new growth and notice if has hardened. It is best to plant the trees before the ground freezes to reduce transplant shock.
About three weeks before planting your garden build up your soil by adding some organic matter. Organic matter, such as compost and fertilizer, improves the condition of your soil by adding nutrients and helping the soil to better retain water. You can buy bags of organic matter at garden stores, or in the gardening section of most hardware stores.
Use crushed egg shells around plants to deter slugs and snails. Save your egg shells, crush them into small pieces, and scatter them around the base of tender plants. Slugs and snails will not be able to crawl over the sharp shells to get to the plant. Also, the calcium from the egg shells makes its way into the soil, which is excellent for plant growth.
Be sure to water a tomato patch no more than once every five to seven days. However, when you do water, be sure to give the ground a thorough soaking. Tomatoes do best if the soil is wet deeply, unlike many plants which prefer a light misting more often. Also, be sure to water the ground, not the plants.
When the vegetable season is over, grow a shoulder season crop if possible. Fruits like strawberries or raspberries bear fruit very early or very late in the season before or after the summer vegetable crops take over and can be planted. Raspberries can be planted to bear fruit in the fall and strawberries can be planted to bear fruit in the spring.
Gardening does indeed go hand in hand with many benefits. There are numerous societal benefits to gardening. Whether we are growing food plants or purely decorative ones, they all add to the aesthetics and beauty of our world. Gardening provides even more important benefits to the gardener, by instilling a sense of self-sufficiency.