For many of us, gardening is more than something we do simply to make our house or our property look more attractive. It can be an ideal way to lower our stress levels and get some exercise while breathing in fresh air and getting in touch with nature.
To grow an incredible crop of tomatoes, make sure your planting area gets plenty of light and has lots of room around each tomato plant. Tomato plants are sun hungry! They really want at least ten hours of sun each and every day and the additional space between plants helps maximize each tomato’s succulence.
During hot weather, water your plants more frequently and deeply. When your plants do not get enough water, their roots work themselves up close to the surface, which means they will dry out quicker. If you water deeply, the roots will stay well underground to get to the water down below.
Plant a new and different edible each week. Eating tomatoes or corn every day can get old real quick, but if a variety is planted, this problem will never happen. The garden can offer a wide variety of different edible plants and if they come to maturity at the same time the variety will make the garden more enjoyable and more fun.
If this is your first time planting a garden, you should purchase seeds and plant them in seed trays to allow them to grow some before planting them outside. By doing this, your plant will be stronger and much more likely to survive once you plant it in the soil outside.
Try growing crops that are easy to store or store themselves. If handled properly and gently, given the right amount of time to cure, garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, squash, dry beans, or shallots will keep for a very long time in a cool, dry place. No canning or freezing required. This will ensure having fresh vegetables from the garden all winter long.
When growing potatoes, make sure you choose a variety with a starch content that corresponds with the way you’ll be cooking them. The more starch there is in a potato, the drier and flakier it will be when cooked. Potatoes that are good for mashing have approximately 7% starch. These potatoes cook quickly and retain a high moisture content, so they’re easy to mash. Baking potatoes have a starch content between 15% and 18%, and frying potatoes have the highest level at 22%.
Create a convenient cleaning station next to your outside faucet or garden hose. Collect all of your old soap slivers from around the house (or simply use a whole bar) and place in a plastic mesh bag. You can often find these bags in the produce department of your favorite store for storing vegetables in the refrigerator, or in the laundry department for delicates. Hang the bag near your hose, and the mesh works as a scrubber as well as containing the soap for an easy hand washing station.
Gardening is a relaxing pastime for many people. In this helpful article, you learned how to make gardening a more relaxing and productive activity. If you are willing to apply what you’ve learned, you could be well on your way to having the greenest thumb on your street!