Gardening Basics For Dummies 3e

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Incomplete fertilizers: Incomplete fertilizers are missing one or more of the macronutrients, usually the P or the K. Gardens come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s just a matter of figuring out what will work for you and what’s within. Most veggies are annuals (planted each year). If you’re planning on growing “perennial” crops such as asparagus, rhubarb, and some herbs, provide permanent locations orbeds. Many bugs and diseases that cause damage to plants are more likely to occur when plants are stressed, so a good supply of sun, water, and nutrients will reduce other gardening difficulties.

It’s fun, but meeting the needs of your seedlings can take a bit of experimentation (and internet research) to learn what works best for a particular type of plant. That being said, virtually all plants require a few basic ingredients: Sun The type of soil you have in your garden will also affect how much water is available to plants. A good rule of (green) thumb is that plants should guzzle up enough water to cover the ground with an inch of water each week. It’s also better for plants to get all the water one or two times per week rather than a little bit each day. Think of it as intermittent fasting for plants.

Helpful Hints & Tips

Foliar fertilizers: You apply these to a plant’s leaves rather than to its roots. You can use most liquid fertilizers as foliar fertilizers, but make sure that the label instructs you accordingly. The length of a plant’s growing season is another handy piece of information. It’s the average amount of time per year where the temperature stays above freezing during both day and night. Minimise your use of powered tools. Mowers, blowers and brush-cutters can make life easier, but think about their environmental impact. Buy an energy-efficient mower, mow less often and keep the grass height to about 4 to 5 centimetres — it’s better for your sustainable lawn as well.

Green lacewings: Their voracious larvae feed on aphids, mites, thrips, and various insect eggs. Release them in your garden in late spring, after the danger of frost has passed.

Top 10 & Other Ideas...

Fertilizing is an important part of gardening because given at the right time, fertilizers can really give your plants a boost. When you’re trying to decide on which fertilizer to use, keep this list handy to make sense of fertilizer terminology: