Sunday, February 17, 2013

8 of my Favorite Garden Tips and Ideas from Pinterest

As a professional gardener (taking a break now that I'm pregnant, but it's always on my mind!) I am always looking for new ways to make things more convenient and fun. Especially for my home garden, which tends to get neglected the more work I do for other people. Basically, I'm looking for shortcuts to stunning flowers and easy and cheap ways to get the most out of my produce. I also look for natural and organic ways to work in the garden. So here are the best tips that I will be using this year, along with a couple I already use. Just in time to start thinking about getting seeds ready!

What are your favorite gardening tips? What will you be doing different this year? Any container gardens out there?

1. This Composting Infographic from infographiclist.com
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 Composting 101 I love this infographic. I'm going to print it out for my compost bin.
Not composting? You should it's very simple. I have a large Tupperware type container  with holes poked in the sides and worms in my kitchen. I put dirt from a few of last years pots (that had no pests). All the approved items go in. I'll have homemade compost ready this spring without ever leaving my kitchen! When it gets full I'll have hubby carry it to a larger pile out back.

2. This companion planting post from HGTV Gardens
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Companion Planting. I'm hoping this eliminates any need for pest control in my veggie garden this year.  I don't like to add anything, even organic pesticides to my food. Did you know that even organic plant based pesticides can be harmful?
Planting "BFF" plants not only counter acts disease but can boost growth and flavor.

3. My Favorite Pin I've seen this year so far (Home made seed tape!) from Thriftyfun.com
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Home made seed tape. I got really excited when I found this idea. (Seriously I talked about it for days.)  I would never spend the extra money on seed tape. I would rather hover over my beds and cause knee pain than PAY for that kind of convenience (I didn't say I was smart... just cheap!). This idea however might be my favorite thing I have found this year.  Perfectly spaced rows my HUSBAND can plant without much effort? Heck yeah! Especially considering I'll be 9 months pregnant (or a new mom) around planting time this year. I can have an OCD garden this year after all!

4. Toilet paper decomposing seed starters from saidosdaconcha's blog.
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I cant find the story for this on her blog but this is the blog it came from. I may do this this year. I always have a thousand TP rolls rolling around. My husband tends to trash them the second I find something to do with them though. C'est la vie!

5. Vine and Chicken Idea from mcmurrayhatchery.com
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Vines over the chickens. This is adorable, will keep your chickens cool, and I think it might keep the squash borers at bay this year.  If you don't have chickens (I hope to VERY soon) you can grow your squash vines over your shade veggies that need to keep cool.

6. Rock garden markers from repeatcrafterme.com
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Cute, simple, cheap and a fun way to spend an afternoon with the kiddos (or your best friend!) What's not to love about these cute little marker stones?  The ones that stick in the ground always get lost and/or smashed in my garden. I'll be doing these for sure.

7. Pot-in-pot planting from floridafriendlyplants.com
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This was another DUH moment for me. I have crappy dirt, crappy grass, and crappy curb appeal to my house.  It's a rental and I have fairly free range of what I can do to my yard, but I don't want to invest in plants that will take multiple years to mature not to mention cost me a fortune. I also dont want to digg through ancient sod to make beds EVERYWHERE. Most of my garden budget goes to growing veggies.  This idea will enable me to plant several cute seasonal flowers that can be changed a few times though out the year. (plant sales here I come!) Not to mention my hubby can pick up the pots, mow over them and drop them back in, leaving my neighbors to wonder how he got so close to the plants without destroying them with the weed-eater.

8. Re-purposed Planters from apartmenttherapy.com
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Most of the plants I love to grow seem to like excellent drainage. My garden doesn't have excellent drainage. There is no way it could without some serious work, and I've already had hubby till it, turn it over, mix in sand, ect. Still, there is no way drainage dependent plants are gonna dig it there.  I don't want lots of boxes in addition to my already large bed so I have several containers already and I am going to add drawers from an old dresser to my collection.  I'm also hording tin cans like a crazy person. I'm pretty excited about it!






1 comment:

  1. Thanks for compiling these awesome pins, Renee! My favorites have to be the rock markers and re-purposed planters. The first because it's a good way to keep track of what's planted where, not to mention adding a bit of decor, and the second because it's an affordable way to create a focal point instead of buying statues or other fixtures.

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