Growing a garden is a very profitable and exciting family hobby that must be encouraged and enjoyed especially with the advent of global warming. It allows gardeners to discover the beauty of Mother Nature and be close to it. Gardening also contributes to food security because of the high quality yields of fruits and vegetables it provides on the family table.
A gardening hobby is relaxing and therapeutic. It gives the gardener a sense of accomplishment especially when his plants start to bear luscious fruits and fresh vegetables, and give a glimpse of magnificent green foliages and vibrant blooming flowers that uplift the spirit and enthrall the heart.
Here are some gardening guides that may be useful in pursuing this hobby:
Select what to grow
Choosing plants is a personal preference. However, when you select which plant to grow, you must consider its suitability to your soil and climate. It is wise to select plants that naturally thrive in your locality so that these will have a greater chance of survival. There are a wide variety of plants you can choose from such as evergreen shrubs, flowering shrubs, hedges and borders, fruit or shady trees, vegetables and root crops, medicinal or herbal plants, climbers, climbing plants or vines, water or pond plants, aerial plants, plants in potteries and many others. To get some ideas on what plants to grow, attend gardening hobby shows and festivals, especially those with seminars. You should also take a garden tour to see a variety of private landscapes and gardens. Touring a garden is a most pleasant way of meeting new people and fellow gardeners and learning about plants, horticulture and the tips on the secrets to a successful gardening.
Choose and use good seeds or seedlings
After figuring out what you want to grow, the next requirement is selecting a good seed or seedling to avoid poor germination or weak plants. Do not take the risk of using a seed that is stored for more than 2 years. High quality viable seed may be sourced from growing your own seedlings or buying from garden centers, tree seedling banks or nurseries, retail centers which usually offer a wide range of new flower and vegetable seed packets or from well-established gardening mail order companies.
Before using or planting your newly-germinated seeds or seedlings, take some time to harden off your seedlings by gradually introducing them to early morning sunlight and sheltered breezes for a period of one to three weeks.
Prepare the Planting site
Before any planting can be done, and while your seedlings are hardening off, prepare your planting space. Your first priority is caring for your planting soil because soil holds roots in place and helps them find nutrients and moisture needed by the plant. Building soil fertility is mostly a matter of adding the right amounts of the right organic fertilizer and compost since these energize the soil’s food web. Limit tilling the soil because digging breaks up the soil’s nutrient reserves. Do not use harsh chemicals intended to fertilize the plant, suppress disease or kill insects and weeds as this will also destroy populations of soil organisms.
Transplant the seedlings
When the seedlings had hardened off and the soil is ready to receive them, check the weather forecast. Transplant the seedlings when the temperature is favorable to the plant, which means that the weather is mild, cloudy and still. If the weather is too hot, windy or cold, you shield the transplant from the sun and wind by covering them with upturned flower pots, cardboard boxes or buckets for two to five days after transplanting.
Do much of garden maintenance
Provide enough water to the plants. Remove weeds because they compete with your plants for water and nutrients. By using mulch and compost, prevent many potential garden diseases such as leaf spots and blemishes, fruit rots, stem and root infection and viral diseases spread by insects. Remove affected leaves or branches only if the foliage is dry.
Use innovative tools for gardening
A garden cart will be useful for hauling and moving safely bulky loads of pruned leaves and branches and sacks of topsoil or compost. Wear gardening gloves to reduce hand fatigue when working in the garden. Aerial plants may be placed in hanging baskets, in various shapes and designs. thus giving a plus factor to your garden. A sunlight calculator that measures the duration and intensity of sunlight falling at a given spot over a twelve-hour period is most useful in putting plants where they will grow best. Chairs with unique designs can add to the relaxed atmosphere of your garden.
A gardening hobby can be a good investment. To all home gardeners, I wish you the best of a happy, productive and colorful gardening and may you never stop planting, propagating and growing new seeds!
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