Top Tips Every Gardener Should Know

If you’re wanting to get out into your garden and get stuck in with everyday tasks, then there are a number of top tips you should know before doing so. By sharpening your gardening knowledge, you’ll get the most out of your time spent in the garden and find your projects much more rewarding. Whilst there are lots and lots of things to learn about gardening, the basic tips will help you with the majority of tasks early on, in turn helping you expand your gardening skillset and learn as you go. 

Compost Piles

Having a compost pile in your garden is ideal for doing your bit for the environment and bringing the nutrients back to your garden. You can use compost in your soil when planting new things, however it’s important to remember not to use your compost until it has cured at least six months down the line. You can purchase compost in the meantime, whilst you wait for your heap to cure and be ready for use.  Composting is great for a number of different reasons and if you have the space to create a compost pile or heap in your garden, it’s certainly worth introducing. 

Pruning Schedule

Knowing when to prune is important as timing is everything. In order to have your flowers blooming properly, you need to prune at the right time in the season. For example, you should prune spring-flowering shrubs like lilies and roses immediately after they start to fade. If you prune them to early, then you run the risk of removing the flower buds that should appear during the spring, so add each task to your calendars to ensure you’re pruning when required and not a moment earlier or later. 

When to Plant

There are different times that work best for planting certain bulbs, so just like pruning it’s important to know when is the best time for which. In order to have beautifully bloomed spring bulbs such as tulips and daffodils, you need to aim to plant these particular bulbs during the autumn months. The idea is to plant theses bulbs before the ground freezes over, as this ensures that they’re deeply in the ground, growing comfortably without the risk of any weather damage during the winter months. Your bulbs should be around 3 times deeper than the width of the bulb, to ensure its tucked away and has enough space to grow before reaching the surface during the spring. 

Avoid Wet Soil

When it comes to digging and planting, you want to avoid wet soil where you can. By digging in wet soil, you are damaging the condition of the soil which will have a knock-on effect on whatever you intend to plant there. The ideal condition of your soil should be dry and crumbly, before you start to work on the area and plant anything at all. Whilst you may feel slightly impatient if the bad weather arrives for a few weeks, it’s very worth the wait and will ensure your plants grow properly.

What Works for You

Identifying which gardening tools work best for you is very beneficial when it comes to basic gardening. With so many amazing gadgets and tools available it can become very easy to get drawn in and sold onto something extremely pricey when the cheaper alternative probably works just as well. Invest in some good quality tools from your local garden centre, whilst not breaking the bank, to find out which tools you require the most and which you’re happiest working with. You may then find that the odd tool deserves a little more money spent, as you reach for that on in particular every time! Knowing what works for you will help you achieve gardening goals and see good results over and over again.