Create A Garden To Remember With This Useful Advice.

Long, long before mega-marts appeared offering two-thousand different types of food, people were wholly self-reliant and grew their own produce for sustenance. These days, whether its to get healthier or save some money, people are returning to those old days of organic gardening. Read these tips and find out how you can become a great gardener.

Use your tool handles as rulers in the garden. It is possible to utilize tools with long handles, such as rakes, hoes and shovels, as measuring sticks. On the floor, simply lay out the handles, then take a tape measure and run it next to them. Next, use a Sharpie to accurately label the distance between each one. Now, every time you work in your garden, you are going to have a powerful ruler at the touch of your fingertips.

Plant vegetables and flowers that are native to your local area. These plants will grow better with less work than plants that are not native. Also, native plants wont require much extra watering, as they will generally adapt to the amount of rain typical to that area. This will also reduce your need for pesticides and fertilizers, since the plants will be able to handle the soil and pests in your area.

Avoid chemicals for pest control. Chemicals are effective but can also damage your plants. You should look for natural methods instead. For instance, you can buy jars of ladybugs and release them on your plants. Ladybugs are natural predators for a variety of smaller insects that eat flowers and other plants.

Exercise

To avoid injuring yourself while gardening, be sure to do some warm-up stretches before starting your project. Most people may not think of gardening as exercise, but injuries like pulled muscles frequently occur in the garden. You should also be sure to move around and not stay in one position for a long period of time.

Growing your own vegetable garden, whether large or small, offers many benefits. You will eat better! Fresh vegetables offer more vitamins than those which have been processed. Planting and doing upkeep on your garden will also help provide exercise which leads to better fitness. It will also save you a significant amount of money at the grocery store!

Nutrition

When youre picking vegetables from your garden, choose to harvest them when they are at the peak of ripeness for the best flavor and the most nutrition. It is best to pick vegetables and fruits in the early morning, because they are still full of moisture and nutrients. With only a few exceptions, anything that youre not going to use right away can then be preserved by chilling in the refrigerator.

To give your plant great nutrition without spending a lot of money, use leaves! Leaves are one of the best plant foods available. Try covering any exposed soil in your garden with small, shredded leaves. This will enrich the soil and will allow it to provide better nutrition to your plants.

Remember to mulch before the first freeze. Spread compost or shredded leaves around the garden, mulching under shrubs, hedges, roses, and on top of the crown of any tender perennials. A layer of compost spread on bare ground will help to protect any bulbs, corms or plant roots. By springtime, this compost will have been taken into the ground by worms, and your soil will be full of nutrition, ready for new planting.

There are many reasons one may wish to go to the opposite direction of modern technology and growing techniques. Regardless of your reasons, you can use these organic gardening tips to grow some of the best produce of your life. Focus on what youve learned here and implement these tactics.