It’s gardening season, and millions of Americans are getting out their gloves and spades. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned gardener, you may find a few shortcuts among these tips and tricks provided by gardening pros:
- Give seeds a good start – Save your toilet paper and paper towel tubes, then cut them into two-inch lengths and set them upright in a tray. Fill the tubes with potting soil and plant your seeds. When the seedlings are ready to move to the garden, plant them right in their cardboard tubes, which will decompose in the ground. Be sure to keep the tubes below the soil surface, so they don’t wick moisture from the roots.
- Or save your citrus – If cardboard tubes seem like too much trouble, save your halved, scooped-out orange and grapefruit rinds, and start your seeds in them.
- Use Epsom salt as fertilizer – Like store-bought fertilizers, Epsom salt contains magnesium, which aids in seed germination, chlorophyll production and absorption of vital nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus—and it’s cheaper. Most plants grow best with a ratio of two teaspoons to one gallon of water per month. You can also dilute the Epsom salt with water in a bottle and apply it as a spray. Misting plants increases growth, and works especially well on vegetables and roses.
- Keep dirt off the patio – If you enjoy the look of potted plants on your patio, but hate the dirt or dirty water that spills out when you water them, put a paper coffee filter into the bottom of the pot before adding the potting soil and the plant of your choice.
- Keep potted plants hydrated – Avoid root rot from water pooling at the bottom of the pots. Cut up old sponges and put them in the pot before planting. They will retain moisture, create necessary air space and keep the soil moist longer.
- A tip for office plants – A to-go coffee cup with the lid is the perfect vessel for watering plants in the office or in any indoor space. The hole in the lid is the right size for watering slowly and steadily.
