The spring is a great time to start working on your garden. If you have the right tools and know what you are doing, then it can be easy to get started. Here are some tips and tricks for starting a new garden this season:
Maintaining a healthy garden
In order to maintain a healthy garden, there are several things you should do. First, ensure that your soil is in good condition. Soil can be tested for pH and nutrients by asking at your local nursery or garden center. If the results indicate that some amendments may be necessary, purchase them and add them to the soil according to package directions.
After having amended your soil, it is important to keep it moist but not wet (wet soils lead to root rot). Water deeply once per week if there isn’t rain in the forecast for over a day or two; if rains are predicted for more than two days consecutively then cease watering until the ground has dried out again. When planting new plants in containers make sure they have access to water from their pots daily – even if it’s just an inch’s worth each time!
Pruning techniques
- Prune in winter or early spring, when plants are dormant.
- Avoid pruning during the summer months, when new growth is forming.
- Remove dead wood that can harbor insects and disease-causing organisms, as well as damaged branches.
- Cut back diseased or broken limbs to a healthy branch collar (the area where the branch meets the trunk), which is surrounded by live bark tissue and green cambium layer. Do not cut into living wood tissue beyond this point; doing so could kill your plant with too much damage to its vascular system (the part of a plant that transports water and nutrients).
When pruning shrubs such as hydrangeas, lilacs and roses: Make sure you keep them shaped for aesthetic appeal throughout their growing season using techniques like shearing (trimming leaves into various shapes) or pollarding (cutting back recently grown stems). The goal here is to maintain an average height while maintaining an attractive shape at all times during their flowering period–which can last several weeks!–in order to produce showy blooms rather than spindly growth that doesn’t look nice all year long..
Soil Care
You may have heard that soil pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline (a.k.a., “basic”) your soil is. But did you know there are actually several different ways to measure the pH of your soil?
In fact, there are over 40 factors that affect the health of your garden’s soil—and they’re all important! To make sure you’re giving your plants what they need, it’s best to know exactly what each factor means and where its value should be:
Dealing with pests and insects
Now that you’re familiar with the basics of spring gardening, it’s time to learn how to deal with pests and insects. First, let’s take a look at some ways you can keep your garden clean:
- Keep your garden free of debris. This will help prevent insect infestations.
- Use natural pest control methods like ladybugs or birds if you have them nearby! They work wonders! If not, there are still other options for keeping pests at bay in your home garden; try using organic pesticides on the plants themselves rather than spraying harmful chemicals around the entire yard (and potentially into neighboring yards). If those aren’t enough, try traps; there are plenty available online that work well for getting rid of wasps or hornets without harming them–or yourself! Finally if these don’t work either then try using repellents such as citronella oil or peppermint oil—insects won’t want anything near these smells so they’ll leave without too much fuss from humans either way (which means less stress!).
Watering and irrigation
It’s important to get the watering right when you’re gardening in spring. If you water too little, plants will wither and die; if you water too much, your plants will weaken and be vulnerable to disease.
There are multiple ways to gauge whether or not your plant needs more water:
- Check for wilting leaves or stems. If they have curled up or become limp, it indicates that there is not enough moisture in the soil for them to draw from.
- Feel the soil near the base of a plant with an open hand; if it feels moist (but not wet), then there is enough moisture in the soil for that plant’s needs at this time.
- Take note of whether or not dew has formed on your plants early in the morning; if so, then they have received sufficient amounts of moisture overnight—you do not need to provide additional watering at this stage unless rainfall has been minimal since planting time.
Tree lopping and arbor care
Tree lopping is the process of removing dead or diseased branches from trees, and it’s a good idea to do this regularly. Dead or diseased branches are dangerous, so it’s important to get them out before they can fall on someone and cause injury. Tree lopping also helps prevent diseases that can spread through your tree if the situation isn’t addressed right away. If you have an attractive ornamental tree that has been pruned improperly in the past, a professional arborist will be able to help you with your arbor care needs.
Proper gardening can add value to your property.
With proper gardening, your property will be more attractive, more comfortable and secure. Your home is an investment that you want to maintain. Gardens give us a place to relax and enjoy life, but they can also add value to your property.
Common sense tells us that if we keep the lawn well-trimmed, it will look better than if it grows wild and out of control; however, there are other advantages as well. When you invest time in maintaining your garden you not only enhance its beauty but also improve its value by making it more attractive to potential purchasers when it’s time for you or your family members to move on from this world into another one.
Conclusion
Though gardening can be time consuming, the benefits are well worth it. The more you invest in your garden, the more value it will add to your property. By taking proper care of your plants and trees, you can also reduce the risk of pests and disease in your yard!
