Owning and maintaining a successful garden is about more than just having a “green thumb” or knowing when to plant your tomatoes.

There is plenty that can be learned through everyday knowledge and tips that experienced gardeners are often willing to share with any listening ears. All you have to do is be interested in learning the right way.

Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Garden

1. When it is spring and time to plant, do you have a hard time remembering what your gardens looked like the year before so that you know where to plant your new bulbs? This year, take pictures of your spring garden, and in the fall have a look at them. If you see a place in the yard that is bare and in need of a new daffodil, you can be confident on where to plant the new bulbs!
2. To protect your crops from being ravaged by pests such as deer and other nuisance animals, be sure to fence your garden securely. A good fence will also keep other people from trampling your crops, or worse, stealing them. If you have burrowing pests like gophers, you may want to use raised beds for your vegetables.
3. Divide up your perennials while they still look healthy. It’s best to divide a perennial at the end of the growing season during which it hits its peak. As the plant starts to overgrow, the center of the plant will start to have dying stalks and weaker flowers. Allowing perennials to grow too long may also lead to them overtaking neighboring plants.
4. Use fertilizers that are free for the taking. Using chemical free grass clippings or human urine for a nutrient rich and free fertilizer. Twenty parts water with one part urine is an excellent fertilizer for seedlings, or steep the grass clippings in water to make a tea for watering and fertilizing the plants. So don’t spend a lot on the garden when the fertilizers can be had for free.
5. If you will be doing a lot of pruning in your garden, invest in a high quality pair of gloves. Garden gloves with a leather hand, or that are grip-enhanced, can be a good choice. The gloves will protect your hands, and help to make your work tasks more pleasant.
6. It is better to have several smaller rain gardens than one big one. In order to determine how large to make you rain garden, you can find computer models that will give you the information to control 90 percent of runoff from specific roof sizes. Any size rain garden is better than none, but generally rain gardens should not be larger than 300 square feet.
7. To make sure you’re getting a level edge when pruning your bushes, use a piece of rope or a line. Simply fasten the rope to two pieces at the approximate height you’d like the bush to be at. Seeing the bush along this straight line will make it easy to see if it’s level at a glance.
8. Grow evergreen plants. If you grow too many evergreen plants, your garden runs the risk of looking very gloomy, but a few well-placed evergreens can give a year-round framework. Choose evergreen plants with variegated or lighter green foliage, rather than sticking to darker colors. They can be used as a backdrop for spring and summer plants, and be the main attraction in the fall and winter.

Conclusion

Through the article, you should have picked up on a few tips that will help you plant and raise your garden with a little better results.

As you can see, it takes a combination of time, care, and planning to make it reach the full potential. Of course, having a “green thumb” doesn’t hurt.