Top 10 tips for a Successful Garden – Part One
1. Soil Preparation
This is the very foundation of a successful garden. If your soil is poor or the wrong type, then your gardening efforts will always be a struggle.
All plants love and thrive in a well prepared soil.
Proviso – no matter how good your soil is, if the plant is the wrong type for your region, then it will always struggle or just die.. (e.g. plants that are susceptible to fungal disease will be handicapped in a tropical area)
Rule of thumb: a $.50 plant in a $5.00 hole is far better than a $5.00 plant in a $.50 hole.
2. Don’t bother digging over the soil
If you soil is well composted and mulched there is little need to break your back and di over those veg and flower beds. The natural action of the compost will keep the soil friable (and more so if you have plenty of worms. Mulch will keep weeds down and the soil at a more even temperature by retaining moisture better.
Digging will simply set all this back.
3. Be organic
A healthy plant will normally be disease resistant as good organic care will help boost its natural immune system. If you need some form of pest control, using a natural based control is not only safer, it is better for the environment as a whole.
Used on a food garden makes it safer for picking the fruit or veg without having a waiting period
4. Square Foot Gardening
This ingenious adaptation goes a long way to improving the production in your raised beds.
It is planting in raised beds of squares of four feet by four is more efficient that doing it in rows. Then, subdividing into one foot squares. And, according to what I have read, it works. It is raised beds on steroids. More here on square foor gardening
5. Mix Veg & fruit in with the ornamentals (flowers, shrubs etc)
Lack space for a food garden? Then consider planting your veg in your flower beds amongst the annuals and perennials.
For example, use lettuce as an edging for a bed. Herbs such as rosemary and lavender give you both benefits – flowers and herb for the kitchen.
Be careful with herbs that spread – use them in pots and place among the annuals
6. Grow in pots and containers
This is a good solution for those who lack space for a regular garden – such as apartment dwellers.
However, it also a good ideas even for those with loads of yard space as it can add different aspects and texture to a garden design. Subtle placement of planted up post (anything from annuals to dwarf fruit trees)
See part two 10 Top Tips For A Successful Garden … the next 7 (!)
GROWING HYDRANGEAS
