Garden Maintenance Tips
For beautiful blooms, grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers, here are some great garden maintenance tips.
Garden Plant Essentials
Whether or not a plant lives or dies is contingent upon the following garden plant essentials. Garden plants require:
•- Consistent water supply
•- Plenty of sunshine
•- Rich, nutrient-dense soil
•- Proper weeding
•- TLC (tender loving care)
Garden Fertilizer
Fertilizing your lawn and flower garden a few times during each growing season helps your grass grow greener and fuller, and your flower garden blossom sooner and longer. Fertilizer should be used in combination with watering. However be careful not to over-fertilize, which can cause your plants to burn.
Fall Fertilization: Fertilizing your lawn near the end of autumn is a regular practice you should adhere to in order to maintain your garden. Over the winter, the ground will absorb the nutrients provided by your fall dose of fertilizer, keeping your lawn strong, healthy and raring to go once the weather warms up again.
Chemical vs. Organic Lawn Fertilizer: The use of chemical lawn fertilizers is rapidly decreasing as people opt for organic, safer lawn fertilizers. Long-term use of chemical nitrogen, which induces grass growth and greener grass, also makes grass dependent upon chemicals for their growth to the point where it will not grow independently. Moreover, chemical fertilizers pose a health risk to you and the environment. Organic fertilizers, on the other hand, enrich the soil by providing abundant microorganisms which give your grass a lush, green, alive look.
Types of Organic Fertilizer: Select between homemade organic fertilizer, composed from liquefied compost, and ready-mix organic fertilizer, which you can buy from a store.
Weeding, Pruning, and Deadheading
Proper weeding and pruning helps your garden and lawn thrive. One way to maintain the life and beauty of your garden is to "deadhead" or clip away wilting and dead flower heads from the main plant, allowing the plant to continue to blossom new flowers. To reduce slugs and other harmful garden insects, remove dead and scattered leaves.
Pre-Winter Plant/Lawn Preparation
Prepare your plants to survive the winter by covering them with plastic before the arrival of the first frost. Digging around the roots after each freeze is another good lawn maintenance practice, which helps water, previously blocked by the frozen ground, seep into plant roots.
You can also protect and maintain your lawn by removing all debris (i.e. logs, branches, toys, shovels) before winter sets in, since smothered grass is more likely to die (appearing as a brown ring on your lawn in the springtime).
Getting Ready To Plant
Learning the best times of year to plant your garden selections is one of the keys to gardening success. Different types of flowers, bulbs, and vegetables each have optimal planting seasons. The next step is to till and prepare the soil for planting, removing rocks and debris that could hamper plant growth. Find out how deep and far apart your items should be planted, then fertilize the soil with supplemental nutrients, and you will be well on your way towards creating a healthy, thriving, green and colorful home garden!