Equipping yourself with knowledge on maintenance goes a long way in your DIY garden project. Keep reading the following for the essential tips you’ll ever need, including on weed control.
Having the Necessary Tools
Your hands are not the only tools you need for garden maintenance, but you don’t have to buy many tools at once. Instead, focus on the basic tools that will assist you in gardening.
- Gloves: Without the right pair of gloves, you might have to deal with a splintery hassle. Do not buy bulky gloves because they are hard to use. Also, be sure to keep yours away from insects and water while storing them.
- Hand trowel: They’re perfect for digging around and planting herbs.
- Spade: It makes the digging for holes and moving dirt mounds from one place to another easier.
- Rake: It is an essential tool if you want to keep your garden clean from debris and leaves.
- Hoe: Choose a hoe based on the garden type you have. If your garden is perennial, you may need a thinner hoe.
- Loppers: you will need a pair of it if there is something that has to be lopped in your garden.
- Long hose: Pick one with a rain wand and an adjustable nozzle.
- Wheelbarrow: You need it if you use compost or have a backyard that has more soil. One can help you haul pounds and pounds of soil.
Pruning
It is the process of cutting away overgrown or dead stems and branches and is a basic task to do to keep your plants away from infection and disease. Many shrubs, trees, and other garden plants, such as roses, need maintenance and pruning.
Tip: When pruning trees, you should not remove over 30% of a tree’s foliage at once. You can also consult gardening pros to determine the right method of pruning you will need for the task at hand.
Prune damaged shrubs and trees in the late winter. Never wait until the spring season. Remember that the damaged or wounded stems and leaves can be infected, making the disease more established. It is still better to do the tree pruning or trimming of the broken limbs earlier, even if storms in winter can cause other damages.
Planting
For planting maintenance, there are several things to remember. For one, you should watch out for bugs and insects, which provide the entry holes for bacteria and viruses to get into the plants. In addition, some insects carry and spread these germs from one plant to another.
You must also use the right kind and amount of fertilizer. If not, too much of it can burn the plants’ roots, limiting their ability in absorbing water. And this condition also makes plants prone to more damage during drought.
Part of maintenance, you must also be able to choose the plants and put them in the right location. For example, Azaleas and other shade-loving plants will grow badly in full sun areas.
They can also be easily attacked by insects and diseases. Overall, using location and zone appropriate plants is a part of successful gardening.
In addition, you should water your garden regularly, but to make it helpful for plants, choose the right watering methods that won’t put in too much moisture on the foliage of the plant.
If you’re watering by hand, you should hold the leaves out of the way as you’re watering the roots.
Weed control
There are basic things to remember when weeding. As a general rule of thumb, you should not leave any roots behind, so do not just yank the leaves only or the weeds will grow back.
- Make sure to grab them very close to the ground before pulling them straight up.
- Also, you can use a hoe if the weeds are very small and if the soil is dry.
- If using mulch, you may want to pick one that is mixed with weed preventer.
But for the best results in weed control, you may want to consult the weed removing pros in your area. They have the vast knowledge and updated skills on how to deal with any weed problem, including getting rid of the worst garden weeds.
Hope you picked up something from the above tips for garden maintenance (having the right tools, pruning, weed control, etc). If you think we missed a tip or two, let us know in the comment section. Finally, spread the word and help others by sharing this post on Facebook today!
