8 Tips & Tricks For Easy Gardening
Working in the garden is so much fun at the beginning of the season when you finally get a chance to spend some time outside and watch your plants start to grow. But as the summer wears on, gardening can start to become a chore. Digging around in the dirt, trying to reach tricky spots to harvest ripe fruits and veggies, watering and replanting all of those plants – it's a lot of hard work! These 8 tips & tricks for easy gardening are going to change all of that. We'll show you how to keep both yourself and your lawn nice and clean, protect your plants from overwatering and frost, and easily harvest your fruits and herbs without the stress. Gardening doesn't have to be a chore anymore!
1. DIY Fruit Picker
You'll Need:
- 1 plastic bottle
- 1 broom handle
- box cutter
Here's How:
1.1 To make a DIY fruit picker to help you reach fruits growing high up in a tree, fasten the top of an empty plastic bottle to a broom handle. Use a box cutter to cut a large rectangular piece out of the bottle.
1.2 Position your new fruit picker near that hard-to-reach fruit and move it around until the fruit falls into the hole in the plastic bottle. Now you can enjoy as much fresh fruit as you can harvest!
2. Water Plants Evenly
You'll Need:
- paper cups
- drill
Here's How:
2.1 Use a drill to make small holes in several paper cups.
2.2 Dig small holes in your flower bed and bury the paper cups in the soil, making sure the to keep opening at the top of the cups uncovered.
2.3 Fill the cups with water and the water will reach the roots of your plants without washing away the soil.
3. Keep Fingernails Clean
You'll Need:
- bar of soap
Here's How:
To prevent dirt from getting under your fingernails while gardening, scrape your fingernails over a bar of soap before you get started. You won't get frustrated by having dirty nails later, plus you won't have to bother with gloves!
4. Rake Leaves Efficiently
You'll Need:
- rake
- bed sheet
Here's How:
Instead of dragging all of the dead leaves in your yard into pile after pile, you can just rake the leaves and other debris onto an old sheet. Once the leaves are on top of the sheet, grab the corners and scoop everything up. Now you can transport lawn debris wherever you want without having to run back and forth all of the time!
5. Protect Plants From Frost
You'll Need:
- terra cotta pots
Here's How:
When the weather starts getting cooler and the frost rolls in, put a terra cotta pot over your plants before it gets too cold. They'll be protected from the extreme temperatures and will survive longer!
6. Clean Off Stubborn Dirt
You'll Need:
- lemon
Here's How:
Sometimes after a full day out in the yard, the dirt and grime won't come off of your hands, no matter how many times you wash them. But there's an easy way to get that stubborn dirt off for good! Rub your dirty hands inside the rind of a squeezed lemon, rinse your hands with water one last time, and the dirt and grime will come right off!
7. Grow Tomatoes
You'll Need:
- 1 bag of potting soil
- fork
- 1 burlap sack
- box cutter
- 1–2 slices of tomatoes
Here's How:
7.1 Use a fork to poke small holes in a full bag of potting soil.
7.2 Pull a burlap sack over the bag of potting soil. Use a box cutter to cut 1 or 2 large crosses on top of the sack, making sure the cut goes deep enough to cut into the plastic bag holding the potting soil.
7.3 Plant a slice of tomato or two directly in the potting soil. Water the slices of tomato regularly, and soon you'll have beautiful tomato plants!
8. Harvesting Herbs
You'll Need:
- fork
Here's How:
There's a very easy way to harvest just the right amount of basil, rosemary, or other herbs. Instead of picking each leaf one by one, pinch the herbs between the prongs of a fork and pull up along the stem. All of the leaves will come off at once, and you'll be ready to cook with fresh herbs without wasting all of that time picking them!
With these 8 gardening hacks, your backyard and garden will be blooming and blossoming in no time! Now you can truly enjoy your harvest and bask in the glory of having some extra free time!
Get the instructions for the Hacks To Keep Your Plants Looking Beautiful and Ways To Grow Plants In Egg Shells featured in the bonus video.