Whether you’ve just moved into a home with a garden or you’ve just started to take gardening seriously, it can be a pretty daunting task. It can easily become overgrown or lose its vibrancy without the right care, and it might look like it would take a lot of work to manage. However, with the right tools and routines, it becomes not only a lot easier, but a lot more rewarding as well. Here, we’re going to look at what you really need to know about caring for your garden, as well as some tips and tools that will make it much more manageable.
Keeping It Watered
The basics of gardening are all about making sure that your lawn and plants have the sunlight, water, and nutrients that they need to grow healthily. The particulars are a little more involved with that, but that’s where you should start. Good watering is important ot keep your lawn green, your plants growing, and your soil disease-free. Balance is key, as most beginners tend to either overwater or underwater. You want about 2.5 cm of water per week during the growing period, including rainfall. With the help of sprinklers, you can make this task effortless, especially those with smart features that can sense rainfall levels so that they only activate when necessary.
Mowing Your Lawn Is Vital
Keeping your grass cut to a suitable level doesn’t just make your lawn look neat; it’s also vital for its health. For one, grass grows at its best and its thickest when it’s at an even height, typically around 2.5-4cm, depending on the season. When grass grows too long, sunlight has trouble reaching the roots, and moisture might lie for longer, leading to waterlogging problems. Too short, and weeds can easily overtake it, or the soil might dry out due to excessive sunlight. An electric lawn mower is all you need to give your lawn the routine care that it needs. Cordless models are particularly helpful if you have a larger lawn, as well. You want to mow when the grass is dry, when you can help it; otherwise, the grass can clump, clogging up your lawnmower, making it much less effective. Be sure to clear out any debris before mowing, as well.
Your Plants Need Pruning, Too
It’s not just your grass that needs to be kept at an appropriate length. Pruning and trimming are vital for any plants that you’re growing, as well. It keeps them healthy by making sure that the sun and rain can reach where they need to grow, shapes their growth to maintain their beauty, and even encourages new blooms. Secateurs and loppers are both useful tools for trimming trees, as well, which is especially important as dead or overcrowded branches can affect their long-term health.
Keeping Your Lawn Fed
Nutrient-rich soil is the foundation of any healthy lawn or flower bed, and to that end, you should make sure that you’re using compost and fertiliser where possible. Both of them can be placed on the soil to give them the essential minerals that they need, but compost is the more eco-friendly method of the two. Compost can be bought in the store, but you can also make your own by building or buying a compost bin and putting all of your organic waste in, including vegetable scraps, dead leaves, and lawn trimmings. Compost improves the general soil texture, water retention, and increases microbial activity, which all lead to healthier growth, while fertiliser provides nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which lead to stronger roots and greener grass blades.
How To Handle Weeds
If you haven’t been taking care of your garden, then it’s likely that you’ve spotted unsightly weeds growing in patches of soil and through your lawn. Weeds are your garden’s main competition for nutrients, sunlight, and space, and if they’re allowed to grow unchecked, then you can have a lot of trouble maintaining a healthy garden at all. Prevention is much better than a cure. Regular mowing and lawn care keep your grass dense and healthy enough to keep out weeds naturally. You should also look to mulch your flower beds so that weeds aren’t able to grow up around them, too. When weeds do appear, pull them out by hand or use a hand fork or weeding tool to take them out from the roots. Chemical weed killers are an option, but you want to avoid using them too often as they can affect your soil health, too.
Managing Moisture Levels
How you water your garden is important, but it’s not the only thing that affects its moisture levels. To prevent it from flooding or getting waterlogged, you should aerate the soil, poking holes into it once or twice a year, or install drainage systems such as French drains to let excess water flow away naturally. If the soil is looking too dry even after watering, on the other hand, then mixing in compost, peat moss, or manure can help the soil retain moisture much better.
Put Together A Seasonal Care Calendar
The care that your garden needs is going to change depending on the time of year. For instance, spring is the season of growth, so you need to plant and feed. Summer is when you need to focus most on watering and mowing to keep that growth in check. Autumn is when you should be cleaning up the garden, raking up leaves, and putting together compost for the next year. Then, winter is all about protecting your lawn and plants. There are plenty of seasonal gardening calendars and guides that can let you know exactly what you should be doing at which time of the year. Consistent care makes sure that the task doesn’t build up too much, allowing you to take care of it with only a little effort on a regular basis.
Maintaining a healthy garden isn’t about perfection; it’s about consistency and about keeping an eye out for the early signs of any problems. The tips above can help you grow from a beginner to a gardening natural.
