Eco-Doctor: Keeping Your Garden Healthy

In the modern world, many people don’t get the chance to live in a place with a garden. Having an area on your property where you can plant herbs, vegetables and flowers is becoming a luxury, making it something worth cherishing, even if it means a bit of work to maintain it.

Of course, once you have started a garden, you will probably want to learn how to keep it looking lush and healthy. To help you out with your yard and garden chores, this post will explore some of the key maintenance tasks. 

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Please note: this is a contributed post.

Here are some tips to give you the necessary knowledge so you can handle all these tasks yourself.

Water

Like people and animals, plants rely heavily on water in order to survive. While grass and flowers are usually more resilient to droughts than humans, they will struggle if they aren’t watered on a regular basis. Grass only needs a light to moderate sprinkling during the spring and summer, but other areas may need more, and this will depend on the specific plants you are growing. So, it makes sense to do some research to make sure that you’re choosing the best plants to grow in your area. Also, pay attention to when it rains, and adjust your watering schedule as needed. 

Plant Food

Along with needing water, plants also need plenty of food. This food comes in the form of fertilizer, but is something a lot of people end up getting wrong. Synthetic and chemical fertilizers can eventually stop working on your soil, as they will upset the natural balance of nutrients in the ground. Instead, it’s usually better to use natural options, like compost or manure. These organic fertilizer options are a much more eco-friendly option for your yard and garden.  

Mowing

Your grass needs to be mown on a frequent basis to keep it looking its best. Keeping your grass mowed helps prevent weeds from taking over your yard. You can pay a landscape company to handle this chore for you, even signing up for a subscription-like mowing service. If you want to mow the lawn yourself, it’s worth investing in a good mower. Mowing and weeding your yard can be very tiring if you don’t have the right yard and garden tools to handle the job.

Weeds

In reality, weeds aren’t really that bad for your garden. Instead, they just don’t look that nice, and can often make your garden appear unkempt and overgrown. Landscape and yard and garden companies use advanced weed control methods to keep your garden from being overrun by weeds. Even if you only use their services once a year, you will still be left with a blank slate which will make it easier to work with when it comes time to plant your vegetable garden in the spring.

Sunlight

Different plants do better when they are exposed to varying levels of sunlight. Before you plant your garden, check each plant to see if it does best in full-sun, partial shade or if it needs deep shade to grow best. There are loads of different products which you can purchase to provide shelter for your plants, such as shade cloth and fine netting. For plants that do best in full light, you won’t have to do as much work to get them planted. Before you plant anything, take a moment to plan everything out on paper, or on the computer. This gives you the chance to plan your garden design based on the available sunlight.

Insects

A lot of people hate seeing insects in their garden. Some insects are a bit dangerous, like bees and wasps, but they all serve a unique and important purpose. It’s never worth killing pests simply because their presence creeps you out. Insects won’t attack you for no reason. If you are observant, and pay attention the these bugs, you can enjoy your garden as you please. Many insects serve a helpful purpose by pollinating your plants, keeping your vegetables and flowers growing strong. However, if you have a pest problem, such as a fire ant invasion, you can always call an exterminator to help service your lawn and garden.

Weather

When the weather gets bad, most homes are strong enough to keep everyone inside safe from harm. In the garden, though, your precious plants will take a battering when storms come by or snow falls. Of course, everything will grow back to normal with time, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t prepare for inclement weather. When the forecast tells you that bad weather is one the way, you can shelter your more delicate plants with cloches and tarps. This will help to protect from both wind and rain.

Roots

Some trees have much deeper roots than others. Cherry trees, for example, have roots which span a far greater distance than other species twice their size, and this can cause a lot of damage to the garden. Because of the way that turf is often installed, roots can break through the ground if they are left to do as they please. Also, if you have a septic system, overgrown tree roots can eventually cause a serious problem. When you have an invasion of this nature, the best thing to do will be to call a trained arborist, as they will have the skills to remove the roots before they cause too much harm.

 A lot of people struggle with this sort of work, finding it hard to know how to keep a garden healthy, especially when you don’t have any experience in this area. If you’ve followed our tips and suggestions, you should feel ready to take on the tasks of making your yard and garden looking its best.

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