Quick Gardening Tips
Clay Pot Irrigation
Clay pots, or ollas provide constant drip irrigation by allowing water to seep through unglazed terra cotta. Ollas come in varying sizes. Each has a large body with a long, narrow neck. The olla is buried up to the neck in the garden and filled with water, and then plants are planted around it. The water seeps slowly out through the clay, and the plants develop roots close to the pot to take advantage of the water supply. The olla is refilled as needed.
Cardboard Covers Existing Ground
No need to till the ground when putting in a raised garden bed or any other garden bed. Cardboard can be laid over the existing grass, and soil can be put on top of that. The cardboard should help keep weeds and grass from growing up from the existing ground, and the cardboard will eventually decompose. Will any ordinary cardboard from cardboard boxes work? To minimize toxins, avoiding cardboard with a lot of printer’s ink is a good idea. But just about any cardboard box works just fine.
Border Plants
Border plants are resourceful because when planted around the garden, they will repel moles and other unwanted garden critters. Some useful border plants include, castor beans, daffodils, narcissus, scilla and grape hyacinth. Yarrow works extremely well when planted between paths. When planted around the border of an herb garden, it will help improve the growth of essential oils in the herbs.
Healthy Plants – Spacing
One of the best ways to maintain healthy plants is to be aware of the spacing used when planting them. Plant allowing plant leaves to barely touch each other. This will allow companion friends to become true friends.
Healthy Plants – Soil
Another important thing not to forget is the quality of your soil. Stinging nettle is an excellent plant to add to soil, because it stimulates the microbial life, which will aid in plant growth. There are many ways to replenish soil that has already been depleted of nutrients. One is to sow thistle into the soil. This will bring up nutrients from the subsoil to aid in enriching the top soil.
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