Gardening is an activity that is both fun and practical, whether you grow your own food or cultivate gorgeous flowers. Here are some clever tips to use while playing in the dirt.
1. Keep dirt from collecting beneath your nails by scraping them across a bar of soap. As you scratch the bar, the waxy soap builds up under your nails, leaving no room for soil. When you’re finished, simply wash your hands as usual, and the soap will dissolve.
2. Place small clay pots over young plants to protect them from freezing temperatures. A sudden late freeze doesn’t have to be the end of your seedlings; clay pots will allow your plants to breathe overnight while trapping a bit of heat and protecting the foliage from frost.
3. Use the water from steamed or boiled veggies to water plants. Vegetables release vitamins and minerals as they cook, and there’s no use in pouring that liquid gold down the drain. Do not add salt to the veggies until after you’ve drained the water, allowed it to cool, and used it as a nutrient-rich drink for the plants in your house or in your garden.
4. Keep your twine untangled with a clay pot. If you’re tired of fighting tangled balls of garden twine, place the spool into a small clay pot, running the end out the drainage hole in the bottom. Simply tug on the twine to release the amount you need, and snip.
5. Use canola oil spray to keep garden implements rust-free. This inexpensive, food-safe product won’t add unnecessary chemicals to your soil like some lubricants, and it prevents rust. Stash a can in your potting shed and coat your hoes, shovels, shears and other tools before putting them away each day.
6. Keep your indoor compost smell-free by stashing it in the freezer. Like many, you may collect kitchen scraps in the house, transferring them to your compost pile as the container fills. This can be a smelly, messy affair, however, and you can attract insects. By using a freezable container and adding your scraps to it as they accumulate, you can keep your kitchen smelling fresh and still enjoy the benefits of composting. Simply empty the frozen contents into the bin when the container fills.
7. Use coffee filters to keep dirt from leaking out of drainage holes. Lining your flower pots with these porous, sturdy filters allows excess water to leave the pot without bringing soil along with it.
8. Drag heavy bags of soil or mulch on a tarp or tablecloth. If you lack a wheelbarrow or wagon, you can easily move heavy items without breaking your back. A tablecloth made from oilcloth or a simple tarp will glide over the grass as you tug, allowing you to move several heavy bags at once.
Like every gardener, you can always use new ideas to make your gardening adventures more fruitful and less stressful. These eight tips can help you solve some of your most annoying gardening problems and get more from your hard work.
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