Whether you’re growing a garden full of herbs, vegetables or flowers, there’s no denying that maintaining it can be hard labor. Luckily we’ve got a few simple tricks up our sleeves that can make your gardening, faster, cleaner and more efficient.
1. Take Notes
With each season that passes, keep track of which plants you used in your garden and where you bought them. You can even go as far as creating a sketch that shows where each plant was located in your garden that season. This will make gardening a breeze as each season comes and goes. However, just because you’re taking notes on what you did last season doesn’t mean you have to do the exact same thing this season – don’t be afraid to change things up!
2. Lighten Heavy Pots
Give your arms and back a break by filling you pots halfway with packing peanuts. Layer a piece of landscaping fabric on top of the packing peanuts, then place your potting soil. Voila! Your pot is half the weight. To make your pot even lighter, use lightweight potting mix.
3. Create Non-Stick Shovels
Soil sticking to your shovels can be frustrating and messy. Spray your shovels with a silicone spray so soil slips right off of your shovels.
4. Effortlessly Transport Your Plants
Transporting plants from the nursery to your home is another frustrating task, sometimes resulting in spilled soil all over your car and damaged plants. Line your trunk or back seat with a plastic tarp and put a small step ladder over the tarp. Place your plants between the slots in the ladder to protect your plants and reduce spilling.
5. Make Your Rain Gauge Easy to Read
Place a few drops of food coloring at the bottom of your rain gauge so the next time it rains it fills up with colorful water. This will make the water level easy to read, plus add some fun to your garden!
6. Keep Your Nails Clean
Working in the garden makes your nails inevitably dirty. To prevent soil from gathering under your fingernails, draw your nails across a bar of soap before heading into the garden. This will seal the underneath of your nails so dirt can’t get in.
7. Turn a Tool into a Measuring Stick
Lay one of your long-handled gardening tools next to a tape measure and mark one inch and one foot on the handle with a permanent marker. If you find yourself needing to space plants a certain distance apart while in the middle of gardening, you’ll waste no time since you already have a measuring tool in your hand!
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