Now that you have picked out your shrubs and flowers you are probably asking yourself "how do I make sure when I plant these it will look nice and they stay alive?" At least that was the question I asked myself when moved into my house. Well I am here to share my secrets with you make you have a beautiful and healthy garden just like me! Secret #1 - SoilEverybody's house and yard is different and depending on where you live your soil can be different too. Check out the type of soil you have. Some people have harder soil, like clay, and other have very fine soft soil, like sand. When you plant your shrubs and flowers they will benefit greatly from mixing in some professional soil blends to add some extra nutrients to the ground help your plants grow. I personally love the Frey Potting and Planting soil as that is the same blend of soil that my local nursery uses in their plants. Secret #2 - MulchOnce you have all of your plant material planted into the ground it's time to mulch. Mulching your garden bed makes everything look so nice but also have some awesome benefits. It can help with weed control, and no weeds means more nutrients for the plants. It also helps keep the moisture in the garden beds keeping your plants moist long and helps if you forget to water. After helping my parents mulch for years and now working at a nursery where we also sell mulch, I highly recommend purchasing mulch in bulk as it is so much nicer and is fresh compared to the stuff in the bags, plus it's cheaper when you do the math. Secret # 3 - WaterPlants are just like you and me.... they need water to survive. Be sure to water your garden every day, especially then they are newly planted and still getting established. At the nursery we have a large irrigation system that waters most of the property, however everyday I am sure to walk around and water by hand either using a hose or watering can. The best rule of thumb is to make sure the ground is moist, about 2 inches of water a week. If you are not sure if you are giving them enough water, remember plants are like you and me and they will show you if they need water.
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I am such a happy camper when the truck load of vegetable plants arrives at the nursery, because that means it is vegetable garden time! My favorite aspect of gardening is creating and caring for my vegetable garden. While yes, flowers are so pretty.... I find caring for my vegetable garden is so peaceful and rewarding, but believe me when I saw when I first entered into the gardening world veggie gardens were just about the scariest thing in the world! When I was a kid, about 6 years old, I remember helping my mom every summer prepare and plant the veggie garden on the side of the house. We grew all types of peppers and tomatoes, peas, herbs, and cucumbers. I loved going outside and picking the different type of produce when my mother would say it was ready and it truly is one of the fondest memories I have as a child. As I got older and so did my younger brother my mom stopped with the vegetable garden and I never really got to learn how to care for one. Last year I decided I wanted to go back down memory lane and with all the amazing non-GMO vegetable plants we sell at the nursery, I wanted to create my very own veggie garden. I always heard how beneficial it is to your health to grow your own food and it's true, I felt so much better eating food I grew instead of produce that is not what is should be. When it became time to get to work on this project, I remember thinking "How in the world am I going to do this when I know nothing about it?" But with a little research and help from some farmers my garden got under way. Now with a year of successful experience I want to share with all of you how to get started and care for your veggies. Getting StartedI did so much research before I got started and every thing I read said start with seeds. Two things I knew was that I did not get started early enough and I doubted all abilities to grow veggies from seeds my first go around. I decided to start with starter plants (hence the name). At the nursery we sell beautiful non-GMO vegetable start plants with so many different varieties, and I began picking a few different tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and herbs out to start. I highly reccommend visiting a local nursery when chosing starter vegtable plants because they are well taken care of. Many of my friends have attempted box store start plants and got no where as much produce out of their plants as I did with mine the first year. Once I picked out my starter plants, it was time to get planting! There is so many different places you can grow vegetable plants. The most common way to make a veggie garden now a days, is creating raised beds, however that is not necessary (even though it is totally fancy). I did mine right in pots on the back patio, but you can always designate an area of your yard to your veggie garden and plant those veggies right into the ground. Now depending on where you live I suggest putting a fence around your garden to keep out as many critters as possible. While you will never be able to keep all the critters out you can keep out some, and typically the ones you are keeping out are the ones that do the most damage such as deer, groundhogs, and bunnies. Once you get those veggies in the ground the fun part kicks in! Caring for your Veggie GardenSo many people, including myself, don't get into creating a vegetable garden or any gardening for that matter because they really don't know how take care of it. The first thing I did when trying to figure out how to care for all my veggies was I did a little research and also went to the website of the brand of start plants I purchased called Chef Jeff. There I found so much wonderful information about each type of produce and how it grows and how to care for it. It also tells you when to harvest each different type of veggie which is so useful because you don't want to pick it too early and you don't want to not pick it and it go bad. After all the research and information I gathered on caring for veggies, I decided it was best to compile a list of tips to follow..... 1. The rule of thumb for watering is about an inch of water a week (But know your soil because that will determine how fast the ground dries out and how often you really need to water) 2. Check on your veggies daily, making sure everything looks healthy and nothing weird is going on (like a fungus starts growing) 3. Use cages when growing tomatoes and produce that can grow on vines as a support to the plant. 4. Pay attention to harvest periods and harvest your produce whenever necessary. 5. Find joy in caring for your vegetables and make it an enjoyable experiences. Whatever you do, remember growing your own vegetables should not only be enjoyable and fun but is good for your body too and you wont regret the little bit of work you had to put in to see the amazing results. In the last two years I have been given the luxury of working at my boyfriend nursery. While I help him run the everyday functions of the business the most rewarding duty I am given is helping people with all their landscape questions, and the question I receive at least once a day (once a day is very conservative) is "I am on a budget, what can I do to keep costs down and looking nice?" I am asked this question so often I can't help but think there are so many others out there wondering the same thing! I am here to share 5 tips that all people can benefit from, giving my personal incite on how these tips have helped my customers and myself. Tip 1. Young ShrubsJust this morning I was helping a young couple who recently got married and bought a house in the last year. The first thing the wife said to me is " this is all new to me but we are on a budget as we just bought this house and got married." They also shared with me that they had called around to a few different landscape companies and those large companies wanted to charge a good bit of money just to plan their new landscape, and that was before the installation and plant purchase. To help this couple get that professional look they were looking for, my first tip was start small. What I mean by that is choose shrubs that are young. Most shrubs do not grow at the same rate as a puppy therefore the larger the plant the more money it costs. By choosing younger shrubs when redoing the landscape it helps keep costs down when purchasing beautiful nice shrubbery. For example when looking at boxwood, they are slow growing so by buying a boxwood that is 15-18 inches verses a boxwood that is 24-30 inches you can keep cost down and still get a beautiful boxwood. Boxwood are also a lovely choice as they stay green all year round, therefore your house will always have a beautiful landscape. Tip 2. PerennialsOne of my favorite suggestions I give to people who are looking to add some color to their yards is suggesting that they purchase Perennials. Perennials are plants that die off in the winter and come back every year. These great plants are low maintenance and add a pop of color to your garden every year. Another wonderful advantage to perennials are that they can also be split, which means you can dig them up and split them up and replant them getting multiple plants out of one purchase. While splitting is a little more advanced there is plenty of YouTube videos out there to help you in your ventures of splitting your perennials. At my local garden center 2 gallon perennials are around 15 dollars making it a great investment as you will have that pop of color in your garden every year that cost you 15 dollars one time. Perennials are truly a cost effective solution to adding color to your garden every year without breaking the bank. Tip 3. Container GardensEvery time you buy coffee or tomato sauce save the can wash it thoroughly and it is ready to use. Keep it by a window or on a patio so it can still receive sunlight and thrive all year long. Where the nursery I work at is located there is a ton of Urban communities therefore many of my customers don't have much yards if they have any at all. One wonderful tip I love suggesting to the customers who live in these settings and want a vegetable and herb garden is creating a container garden. A container garden is exactly what it sounds, it is when you plant different plants (often times succulents and herbs) in recycled tin cans. What I tell my customers to do is instead of buy those expensive planters that break, or buy those throw away plastic pots is to save all of the cans you purchase when buying coffee and tomato sauce. Every time you buy coffee or tomato sauce save the can wash it thoroughly and it is ready to use. I keep my herbs in cans right on my kitchen windowsill and those herbs thrive all year long. Tip 4. All about the WaterOne thing that is often not thought about but can end up costing you a whole lot is the water involved in gardening. The cost of water in many towns is rather pricey but the only way your gardens can thrive is if it is given water, especially in those hot summer months. One way I save on water is by putting a watering can under my sink. Every time I find a half drank water bottle around my house or I boil water for hard boiled eggs, I dump the water into my watering can. Once that can is full I can use it to water my vegetable garden or container garden and keep down on my water usage. Tip 5. Local Garden CentersThe last but most important tip that I cannot stress enough is to keeping your gardening adventures cost effective by shopping local. Many times people think the big box stores that sell plants and flowers is the cheapest way to go but that is not the case. Big box stores often charge the same or more on plant material that is smaller and not as nice compared to what you can find at your local garden center. The other advantage of shopping at your garden center is the people that work there is almost always more knowledge on the plant material and can help you choose what is best for you and your needs (and your budget). Woolman Nursery located in Willingboro, NJ is always cheaper than the box stores near by and the people that work there are always willing to work with you to help chose what plant material is best for you on your budget and for your yard.
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AuthorMy name is Jacquelynn Hart and I am a Junior at Rowan University. While going to school I also work at a plant nursery where we grow and sell a large variety of plants, trees, and flowers. I am here to supply Tips & Tricks to help anyone with their gardening needs using my own first hand experiences. ArchivesCategories
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