Have you been a busy bee in your garden? If you feel you have mastered the arts of gardening, trust us there are always some extra tips that will help make your gardening life much easier. These tips will leave you satisfied with your work and your garden will thank you for it later. If you spend a lot of time in your garden working on it looking perfect and want to learn a new thing or two, we are sure that these tips will help. Check out these 40 gardening tricks that will have you turning over a new leaf with your garden!
1. Bricks
If your planters often get stepped on or you simply want them to stand out a great tip is to use bricks to raise them. This will also allow for the soil to stay loose, be well-drained, and easier for you to maintain.
Bricks will also prevent pests from coming into your garden and destroying your plants. Bricks are also really strong and won’t decay over time. Why not try it and give your plants a little lift.
2. Muffins
Muffin tins can be a great essential for your kitchen, however, they can also be a great tool to use in your garden. It may sound strange, but it definitely does work to help you keep the form in your garden.
All you need to do is just push the bottom of your muffin tray into the ground, making sure each cup section goes deep enough into the ground. Pull the tray out and you’ll have perfect spots to add seeds into. Unorganized plants ain’t got muffin on you!
3. Watering Gallon
Reuse and recycle. If you don’t have time or extra money to go out and get a watering can, this tip is just the best and quickest solution for you.
If you have plastic milk bottles or perhaps a big water bottle lying around, you can use it as a watering can. Just clean it out properly, punch some even holes in the lid, fill it up with clean water, pop that lid back on, and wallah, a homemade watering can!
4. Bee Fountain
We know you want to keep bugs out of your garden, but there’s one you should actually keep around, it’s bees. Bees play a massive part in pollinating plants to help them to carry on growing.
To help out these little helpers, place a small bowl of water in your garden for them to drink from. You can even add a bit of sugar to the water to give them a boost. Just to make it safer for them, place little stones next to the water so they can land on them.
5. Piping
Does your fertilizer always end up all over the place rather than just where you need it to? Fertilizer bags don’t make it easy, you always have to aim at one specific garden spot
Why not use a piece of plastic piping to aim at the part of the garden you want to fertilize? Place a funnel on top and pour your fertilizer in to allow it to run down straight to where you need it. You can hold the bottom of the pipe up while moving to the next spot and then just release it again.
6. Dig It
Keeping your tools all neat and tidy is never an easy task. If you’re always busy in your garden, your tools are probably scattered around in different spots around your garden
The best way to keep your tools organized is to place them in a wide and deep bucket of sand. This is not only an easy way to pack them away once done, but it also keeps your tools dry and prevents them from rusting. We dig it!
7. Trimmed
We all love a well-trimmed garden that creates a perfect picture. To get those perfectly trimmed edges, you can take a piece of a flat box or cardboard and place it down where you need to add those edges.
Take your spade and drop it down along the edge of the box to create a perfect line to trim from. Now you are all set to use this as your guide to trim those overgrown patches.
8. Perfect Pot
We often want to switch the pots which our beautiful plants are in. Perhaps you found the perfect pot for your garden, but now you need to replant some plants to their new homes.
Without having to pull the plants by their stems and damaging them (we all do it), rather take a knife and run it along the inside of the pot to release the dirt around it and lift the plant out. This way you get all of the goodness out for the plant without harming it.
9. Beer O'clock
Is your garden feeling a bit sluggish? These slimy pests have a slippery way of eating and destroying your plants. But don’t worry, we’ve got the best bubbling solution for you.
Place a cup with some beer in it in your garden where you notice slugs or snails might be living. Snails are attracted to beer, so they will either get stuck in the beer trap or just drink enough of it to feel hungover the next day and won't come back.
10. Weed Killer
Weeds are a never-ending story when it comes to gardening. You can almost go broke on spending money on different products to get rid of them. But we have a cheaper and easier solution for you.
Just make a homemade blend of weed killer by mixing together water, vinegar, salt, and a dash of dish soap! Pour it into a spray bottle and spray over those irritating weeds in your garden to get rid of them.
11. Labeled
Sometimes it gets confusing trying to figure out where and which herbs and vegetables you planted. Well just like how plant stores have their plants beautifully labeled, you can have that too.
Collect your old wine corks and use those to label your herbs and vegetables. Write the plant names on the corks, place the corks onto wooden skewer sticks and place them where you have planted the seeds. You’ll know which plant is which and also have a vintage touch to your garden.
12. Soapy Safe
Besides the slugs, bugs, and weeds which tamper with your garden, in some places, bunnies also enjoy getting their fair share of snacks from gardens. We’d never want these furry friends to be harmed, and that is why we can just steer them away the safe way!
Grind a bar of soap into small pieces and sprinkle it around your garden. This will just simply put the animals off from wandering around there and keep them from digging up your garden. It’s soapy and safe.
13. Compost News
It may be old news to you, but just in case you didn’t know, you can use newspapers in your garden as compost. Yes, you read that right, a compost!
Just put some wet newspaper sheets in between your plants and then add some grass cuttings or dried leaves on top. Newspapers are usually printed with organic ink, so there is no need to fear ink pollution in your garden.
14. Bottled Weed
Sometimes when you spray your weeds with weed killer, some of the residues get on your good plants and damages them as well. This is why we have this killer solution (see what we did there) that will change your gardening experience.
Cut off the top of a used bottle and place it over the weed you would want to kill. Once it’s all compacted into the top you can spray the weed killer on them and the bottle acts as a barrier to other plants around them!
15. Fresh Soil
Sometimes the pots you’d like to move your plants to seem too deep for the size of the plant you have. But if a bigger pot will look best with your collection, then why not try this helpful hack.
Put some empty soda cans in the bottom of the pot and then add your soil around them. This way the soil has some space for air around the cans and will stay aerated. Your soil will stay fresh and your plants will thank you for that.
16. Back Pain
Those who garden for hours often find themselves tired and uncomfortable from the hard work that gardening is. Bending over for long periods of time can really cause some immense back pain.
To avoid feeling exhausted after a day of gardening, why not buy yourselves a posthole digger? This will allow you to make the pits needed for planting. And the best part is you don’t need to bend over to do it.
17. Weed water
Weeds have a sneaky way of sucking up all the good stuff from the soil they’re in, which should actually be going to your plants. It’s draining, mostly for the plants and for you.
But we have a secret solution for you. Once you’ve done your weed plucking, keep the weeds aside. Add them to a bucket of boiling hot water and let them soak. In 24 hours water your garden with that water the weeds were in. You’ll be adding all the good stuff back into the soil for your plants.
18. Wet Soil
It seems as though weeding a garden is the most part of gardening. It’s a never-ending story. We’ve mentioned quite a few tips and tricks already, but a few more wouldn’t hurt.
When weeding, do it while the soil is wet. This makes it much easier for you to get through. Either do it after you’ve watered your garden or to save water, just get into your garden after you’ve had some good rain and pull those weeds out.
19. Filters
When you plant seedlings in your garden, they can often get washed away quite easily with a good bit of rain. And if they survived not being washed away, your garden could possibly be waterlogged. We of course have a tip for this too.
Get some coffee filters, if you don’t have some lying around already, and add them under your plants before planting them. This will make sure the seedlings don’t get washed away and they’ll absorb any water without your plants and their soil being destroyed in the process.
20. Recycle
We all love a good takeout meal. But we don’t necessarily love the amount of plastic waste that comes with it. But there’s no longer a need to waste them, why not use them for your seedlings.
Make sure you first clean out the containers properly. Then add some soil in and place your seeds in it. Put the container in a sunny spot and close the lid. This will keep the soil damp and assist your seeds to grow into their beautiful plants.
21. TP Trick
If you haven’t already used your empty toilet rolls in your kid’s arts and crafts class, then save them aside for this helpful gardening hack. Get the kids to help too if you’d like.
Toilet rolls are really helpful to create little individual seedling starters. Fill the roll-up with some nutritious soil, place your seeds into the soil and add some water. The rolls create a compact and waterproof barrier for your seedlings to grow in.
22. Sponge Trick
Too much of one thing is never a good thing. The same goes for your plants. As much as they need water, too much water is not great for plants.
Use a kitchen sponge, new or old, and just put it to the bottom of your pots. It won’t suck up all the water from your plant, but it will make sure that any extra water will be soaked up. Saving your plants from drowning.
23. Natural
We’ve got solutions for weeds, animals, slugs… but there’s still something bugging the plants. Those troublesome little insects. Those little suckers can cause a lot of damage to your garden.
There is a natural and safe way to keep the bugs away without harming them. Make a mixture of garlic and mint water, add it into a spray bottle and spray it over your plants. This will repel the bugs away from your plants, keeping them safe.
24. Remedy
Everyone loves a quick and easy home remedy for most things in life. This little hack is perfect for your plants and you don’t even need to get your hands dirty for it.
If you want to fertilize your plants and help them grow, just make a mixture of 2 teaspoons of Epsom salts to about 15 cups of water and spray it over your plants. Just do this once a month, then sit back and watch them grow.
25. Win-Win
A lot of people are working towards a lifestyle that includes reducing waste. This tip helps you to do that while nurturing your healthy garden at the same time. It’s a win-win.
Whenever you have leftover fruit peels, tea bags, or eggshells, pop them into a compost heap. Your compost heap will create all the good nutrients that you can use in your garden to sustain your plants and herbs.
26. Cardboard Trick
Pesky weeds almost always seem to creep into your garden. Your gardening time probably consists mainly of trying to keep the weeds away. But there is a way for you to prevent the weeds from taking over before they even come through.
Lay down some cardboard around your plants before you throw your fertilizer over them. This way, the weeds don’t get any of the good stuff your plants need, and they have no way of growing in and around your plants as long as they’re blocked by the cardboard.
27. Climatize
No one likes to keep their plants in those bland plastic containers they come in when you first buy them. We all like to replant them as soon as we get home. But did you know that is harming the plant?
In order to make sure it gets climatized to its new environment, you can add the plant with its plastic container into a better, prettier-looking pot, just like that. Let it sit there for some time to climatize before replanting it.
28. Fork Trick
Has your garden become the neighborhood's cat’s litter box or the best spot for animals to walk around or play in? Don’t stress, we have a safe and sharp solution for you.
Just simply get yourself some plastic forks, place them in the ground around your garden. Make sure they are placed with the fork teeth up. It makes it quite difficult for the animals to just walk around your garden.
29. Greenbottles
Greenhouses can be quite costly to build in your garden. However, if you don’t want to spend too much money on building one, or perhaps you don’t have space, you can simply just use plastic bottles.
Cut a plastic bottle in half and place it over your plants or herbs. This will make sure the plants are kept safe and also gives them the right air to have the ideal growing space and fresh air that’s clean.
30. Shoe Organizer
Who knew that shoe organizers are great to use for making small, cute gardens? This is a great tip for houses that don’t have gardens or much space to garden in.
All you need to do is hang a shoe organizer either on a wall or over a backdoor. Make a few small holes under each shoe compartment, fill them with some compost or soil, and pop your plants and herbs in each one.
31. Self-Watering
Got some empty wine bottles standing around? Why not use them as a self-watering mechanism for when you go away for a holiday. It’s basically a plant babysitter in a bottle.
Make sure your wine bottle has been cleaned out before filling it with water. Quickly turn the wine bottle over into the soil of your plant. Make sure you push it in deep enough into the soil that the neck of the bottle is covered. This will allow the water to slowly release over a few days.
32. Cinnamon Trick
Cinnamon acts as a strong rooting agent for plants when they just start growing. It gives plants that important boost and also prevents the fungus that is often caused by dampness.
You can take a piece of kitchen towel, dampen it and add some cinnamon over it. Take the stems of your plants and dip or roll them in the cinnamon. You can also sprinkle it over the soil of your seedlings.
33. Coffee Trick
Have some coffee and treat your plants for some too. Did you know that your coffee grounds can be beneficial for your plants in different ways? You can use it to fertilize your plants, create compost and prevent insects and pests.
Just simply scatter your used ground coffee over or into your soil. This will create a barrier which keeps pests away and also provides nutrients to your plants to make them healthier.
34. Citrus Trick
If you don’t have empty lemon peels leftover, cut a lemon in half and scoop out the fruit. Fill the empty lemon with some soil and push your seeds inside. Actually you can do this with any citrus fruit.
This citrus ‘pot’ will give the seeds a safe space to grow. Once they have sprouted, you can place the lemon peel with the sprouts straight into the ground. The peels will decompose and act as a great fertilizer.
35. Shell Trick
Ever walked over some sharp stones or wood shavings? It’s quite uncomfortable and naturally, you would avoid such surfaces. This helpful tip takes the same concept but helps keep the snails away.
Crush your used eggs shells into small pieces. Sprinkle them all around the soil where your plants are, especially those which are being eaten by snails. The shells are really uncomfortable for snails, and they’ll avoid crossing the path to get to your plants.
36. Towel Trick
Going on holiday is so much fun, but for your plants, it usually leaves them wilted. But you know we have you covered. Roll up a long piece of gathered kitchen towel into a rope-like shape.
Soak it in some water and lay it over the soil of your plant. Then add one end of the kitchen towel into a glass of water. This will allow the kitchen towel to soak up the water and keep the soil wet where the rest of the towel is placed.
37. Mosquito Trick
This is not a trick for your garden, but a trick using your garden. If you are fed up with mosquitos and using repellent products there is a natural way that you can keep them away.
Put some plants together to make a repellent pot. All you need to add in is some Citronella, Lemon Thyme, Catnip, Floss Flower, and Lemongrass into a plant pot. This combination will keep away the mosquitos, giving you a good night’s rest and leaving your skin itchy-free.
38. Stylish Garden
If you’ve had one of your pots fall over and break, don't throw it away. You can simply repurpose it in your herb garden. Take the broken pieces and write the names of your herbs on them.
You can do this with a permanent felt-tip marker or carve the names in with a sharp metal object. This way you will have a stylish-looking herb garden and never forget which herbs are which.
39. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a great antiseptic. It has many different benefits, but one you may not have known of involves your plants. Using hydrogen peroxide on your plants can save them from root decay and fungi-causing diseases.
Using a hydrogen peroxide mixture after you water your seeds can help avoid these issues. You can also add a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide in a big jug of water when watering your plants to do the same for them.
40. Ph Levels
The pH level in your soil is important to know as it plays an important role in how your plants grow. It gives you information on the bacteria in your soil, the nutrients, and toxicity levels.
To check your soil pH at home, you can make a mixture with your soil and vinegar. If the mixture bubbles up, then your soil has a high pH, meaning its alkaline. You can also mix your soil with baking soda, and if that mixture bubbles, your soil is too acidic.