With Spring in full bloom, I’m often asked what my top garden tips are for growing a successful and ecological garden. I am so excited to share my 10 Gardening tips for successful spring blooms. When considering what to grow and how to grow. My number one tip is to gather up your courage and take that first step and to start growing something.
Gardens are a wonderful way to be present and commune with nature and have many benefits that include:
Growing food and plants for humans and providing a habitat for insects, birds and creatures below the soil.
1 –When in doubt, add compost!
- A healthy compost slowly releases a broad spectrum of nutrients. This adds an influx of active soil biology to your garden.
- If you don’t have your own compost pile at home to borrow from, consider choosing worm castings which can benefit all soil types.
2 – Thou Shalt Not Leave Soil Bare
- Mulch, whether chipped or living (ground cover), performs a number of important functions in the garden.
- Mulch can help minimize weed pressure and retain moisture in your garden, saving you time, energy and money.
3 – Minimize soil compaction
Plants have a tough time accessing water and nutrients in compacted soil, as their roots are unable to explore the soil horizons. Something as simple as creating pathways to step upon in your garden beds can create healthier soil. Which in turn will lead to healthier plants
4 – Avoid synthetic fertilizers or pesticides
The relationship between your plants and the biology in the soil are disrupted with synthetic intervention. Avoid chemical products like herbicides, fungicides and pesticides . Keep harmful compounds like glyphosate out of the soil and water table. As they are a detriment to the health and wellbeing of all on the planet.
5 – Water for everyone!
Do you know how and when to water your garden? A healthy soak every other day is best, as it infiltrates deeper into the soil profile. This helps your plants establish stronger roots, among other things. Watering earlier in the day is also preferred to watering in the evening. Watering at dusk can encourage the presence of slugs.
6 – Diversify
By diversifying our gardens, we diversify our gains. There are countless examples of certain plants improving the health of their neighbours. When you imagine a lush forest, there is an abundance of diversity and if we mimic nature’s mastery in our own spaces, we will see positive results.
7 – Smell nice and beautify
Mint, garlic, basil, lavender, rosemary, wormwood and tansy are but a few plants that can confuse pests with their strong scent. By adding these plants to your garden, you can harness nature’s defense against garden predators – and as a bonus you’ll have some incredible herbs to harvest.
8 – Know your plants’ preferences!
By learning about your plants’ preferences, you can design your plant communities for success. Are your plants thirsty? Group thirsty plants together, and in areas with higher soil moisture.
9 – Observe and interact
By slowing down and spending time in your garden, it’s possible to gather important data on the health and wellbeing of your plants. Note if a certain insect is attracted to a certain pest on a certain plant, or if your companion planting is successful or not.
10 – Patience is a virtue
More often than not, allowing the time for nature to restore order in any given issue is what truly pays off. As an example; one year, aphids attacked my rosebush. Ever the eager gardener, I started spraying the rosebush twice daily to rid the plant of the aphids. Had I left them though, I would have allowed the ladybug population to find them and do the work for me.
Happy Gardening ! I hope you enjoyed these 10 tips for successful spring blooms.
I hope you enjoy my garden wisdom and as always, please reach out on all of the social channels @thegoodseedto with your garden questions.
About the Author:
Melissa Cameron is an Organic Master Gardener and founder of the Good Seed. She is passionate about the connection between human health and nature and believes that regenerative gardens and urban farming can help create food security and broaden ecological diversity. Melissa spends her days as a garden designer and homesteading coach. She has been featured on Farmer’s Footprint, has been a guest speaker at Allan Gardens and is an active garden and wellness expert on social media.
To see more of Melissa’s work visit her website: The Good Seed
Instagram: @thegoodseedto
or
Facebook : @thegoodseedto Twitter: @thegoodseedto
When not in the garden Melissa enjoys hiking the Canadian wilderness with her husband and four children.
If you are a fan of nature and the greener side of life. You might enjoy this post discussing green beauty tips: Green Beauty Tips
Thanks so much for reading !
Shira and Melissa xo
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