If you’re short on time and want to make your yard look beautiful, these gardening hacks will help! They’re not only easy to implement, but also save you money and a lot of effort.
Keep slugs and snails from eating your plants by placing crushed egg shells around them. These pests don’t like the sharp texture of the eggshells, which will deter them from feeding on your garden’s tender leaves and seedlings.
1. Make Your Own Herbicide
Many store-bought herbicides contain chemicals that can be harmful to you, your family, pets and the environment. Homemade herbicides can be much safer and less toxic.
One popular homemade weed killer recipe is to mix table salt with vinegar and spray the mixture on weeds in your garden. You can also use borax to make this solution even more effective.
Horticultural vinegar is a very acidic substance, so wear safety gear when using it as an herbicide. It can be dangerous to the eyes and burn skin if used in high concentrations.
2. Create a Drip Feeder with Soda Bottles
Drip feeders are an easy way to water plants at their roots. They work best on vegetables, but they’re also great for flowers and shrubs.
For a simple drip feeder, simply take large 2 liter soda bottles (BPA free for vegetable use; normal soda bottles work well on flowers and shrubs). Poke holes in the bottom of the bottle using a barbecue skewer.
Bury the bottle halfway – cap down – in a spot near the plant you’re trying to water. Fill the bottle with water, and let it drip slowly into the soil.
It’ll need to be refilled once or twice a day, but this will keep the soil well-hydrated and your plant will enjoy healthy root growth. You can also add plant food or fertilizer to the water for added benefit. This is a great project to do with children, as they can see how recycled materials are used and the importance of taking care of their plants.
3. Create a Pot in a Pot
The idea behind a pot in a pot garden is to bury containers with plants in them underground. It can be a great way to grow a variety of vegetables and flowers.
To construct a pot in a pot garden, first decide which size containers you’ll use. They should be at least one size larger than the plant you’re putting in them.
Once the soil is buried, plant the containers with their roots at the bottom and the rims 1 to 2 inches below ground level. This method will help your plants resist high temperatures, especially if you live in an area with hot weather. Make sure to add in some peat moss or sphagnum moss which you can purchase at Seacliff Organics.
4. Use Plastic Forks to Deter Animals
Plastic forks can be used to deter animals from attacking and disturbing your garden. Animals can eat away herbs that you grew cautiously, torment the soil, displacing seeds, and use your garden as a litter box—all of which will hurt your plants and cause them to suffer.
Putting forks into the ground can also help prevent rabbits, squirrels, and deer from digging holes in your garden. This will keep them from harming your crops and saving you money on pest control.
The plastic forks can be placed in the soil around your plants with the tines facing up to discourage this damaging behavior. They can be pushed into the soil every 5-8 inches or you can experiment with placing them in different patterns.
5. Create a Watering Can with a Milk Jug
Recycle a milk jug into a thrifty DIY watering can! It’s super easy and a great way to get kids involved in the garden.
Creating this project can also be an educational experience for children to learn about the importance of re-using. You can also have fun decorating it with paint and stickers!
To make this watering can, rinse a 1/2 gallon milk jug thoroughly and remove the label. Next, use a hammer and nail to punch holes into the lid of the milk jug.
6. Use Epsom Salt to Transplant Plants
Adding Epsom salt to the soil around acid-loving shrubs like azaleas and rhododendrons can help them thrive. They’ll absorb the magnesium sulfate in the salt, which is an essential nutrient for healthy plant growth.
The salt’s sulfur also helps plants form proteins and enzymes. It’s not a complete fertilizer, however, so it doesn’t add nitrogen, phosphorous or potassium, which are necessary nutrients for plant growth.
Another benefit of using Epsom salt during transplanting is that it can help your plants overcome transplant shock. This happens when plants move from one pot to another or from a small container to a larger one, causing their roots to become stressed.
7. Create a Weed Killer with Vinegar and Dish Soap
A simple mixture of vinegar, salt and liquid dish soap is a great weed killer that you can make yourself. The acetic acid in vinegar destroys plant cells and makes weeds wither, while the salt works to dry them out.
When using vinegar as a weed killer, it’s important to apply it in the middle of the day to ensure the weeds die before they are diluted by dew or moisture.
Keep in mind that vinegar is non-selective and will kill all vegetation it touches, including desirable plants. It may also discolor or erode some concrete and metal surfaces.
8. Cut Down on Pesticides
When you use pesticides, it’s important to choose ones that don’t have an adverse effect on the environment. Organic ingredients, for example, have a short residual activity time that means they’re less likely to harm beneficial insects and pollinators.
Synthetic pesticides, on the other hand, tend to last long enough to affect plant and insect life as well as soil. This can cause problems with beneficial insects that visit the garden, like ladybugs.
It’s best to try to control your pest problem using cultural, mechanical or biological methods before resorting to a chemical product. These methods can be safe and effective for a lot of the pests you’ll find in your garden. And when you do need to use a pesticide, be sure to read the label and follow all instructions.
9. Make a Vertical Garden
Vertical gardening is a great way to maximise your harvest and increase the aesthetics of your garden. By growing upwards rather than across the ground, vines and herbs can really flourish.
It’s also much easier to control weeds and pests than traditional gardening, as everything is higher up and away from the ground.
When choosing plants for your vertical garden, consider where it will be placed and the structure you will use. Then buy a selection of plants, which should be chosen on the basis of how well they’ll do in that space and how ambitious you are with your project.
Start by using potting soil and watering regularly. This will help the plant hydrate and dry out more efficiently, because gravity will work to pull the water down.
10. Create a Container Garden
Whether you have a small yard, limited space, or are just looking for an easy way to introduce some variety into your landscaping, container gardening can be a great choice.
A container garden can be planted with a range of edibles, as well as flowers and foliage. The plants you choose for your containers will depend on the type of soil you have and what you want to grow.
Choosing the right container is also important, as they should have holes for drainage. This will help the potting mix stay moist and prevent it from becoming too dry.
