In Today’s post, let us look into 15 household items and their miraculous uses for plants and garden.
15. Soap: Bar soap apart from cleaning purpose, there are some really powerful uses in gardening. You can scrape your nails into a bar soap before handling a potting mix and stuff like that. The dirt won’t enter your nail beds and this hack allows you to clean your hands easily after the job.
Liquid soap or even shampoo is used as a simple pesticide if you do not have any pesticide. Just add 10 to 20 drops or 1 or 2 teaspoons of liquid soap to 1 litre of water and spray on the affected plant. This will clear pests like mealybugs, whiteflies and aphids which are the most common pests in garden. Dish washing liquid soap is actually more potent than handwash liquid soap.
14. Chalk Sticks: Chalk is chemically Calcium Carbonate. You can take white chalk sticks and bury them into the soil while planting your veggies. That’s in initial stages. This really works wonders for plants like Tomatoes, Peppers, squashes, egg plants and almost any vegetable plant. You can bury two chalk sticks per container for these vegetable plants safely if you soil PH is around 6.0. For other plants to provide slow release calcium source, you can bury one chalk stick per container.
13. Turmeric: Turmeric powder has many effective uses in garden like: It repels ants when sprinkled around the plants. You can get rid of soil pests particularly fungal root rot and fungus gnats in the soil by mixing turmeric in soil. You can mix about 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil while making potting mix or 1 tablespoon of turmeric in 1 gallon of water or 1 teaspoon per liter of water and thoroughly water your affected plant with this solution. Its also helpful in healing tree wounds and in grafting as it prevents fungal rot. Another common use of turmeric is in rose die-back disease.
12. Vinegar: You can use vinegar to clean your rusty garden tools and pots. To make your soil more acidic for acid loving plants like hydrangeas, rose, hibiscus and so on and increase flowering in these plants. To do this, Mix one table spoon of white vinegar to one litre of water and water you acid loving plants with this solution once every 15 days to reduce the soil PH. Vinegar is also a strong pesticide. Its almost 100% effective in clearing powdery mildew fungus. To make this spray add One cup of White Vinegar to 1 litre of water and shake well and spray it on the affected leaves. It is also effective against white files and mealy bugs. It is also an animal repellent. Just soak some pieces of cloth and stuff them at entrances or behind pots to deter animals that can spoil your garden.
11. Baking Soda: Apart from cleaning your dirty garden tools and stuff with baking soda, you can also use it for other purpose like sprinkle to drive away Foul Smell from your Compost Pile or compost bin. To kill cabbage worms – Sprinkle Baking soda + flour like wheat flour in 1:1 ratio on the cabbage or broccoli leaves. The worms munch on this and die within 1 or 2 days. Baking soda also encourages flower blooming. Make a solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 litre of water and spray on your plants with flower buds or unopened flowers.
10. Asafoetida or Hing: The most effective use of asafetida is to treat leaf curl disease in plants. Add 5 gms of asafetida powder to one liter of sour butter milk. Mix well, leave for an hour, then sieve the solution and load your spray bottle. Spray over your affected plant. Repeat this every 3 days for 3 – 4 times. Leaf curl disease which is common in pepper and tomato plants will be completely cured by this treatment. Asafoetida can also be used to repel animals in your garden. Just hang some pieces of it in your garden entrances. Animals hate the pungent odor of asafetida. It also repels other insects and termites.
9. Charcoal: Hard wood charcoal has lots of amazing uses in garden like filling your pot bottom with charcoal pieces reduces pot weight. It can be used for mulching and garden décor. Mixing charcoal in soil can act as a good fungicide and prevent root rot, especially for expensive succulent plants. It also increases soil PH, when your soil is too acidic. It also works as a soil conditioner making the soil well draining. It also hold the fertilizers added for a longer duration and make them act like slow release fertilizers. Sprinkled charcoal powder helps deter many insects like the voracious beetles which can create havoc in your garden or on your crops.
8. Alum: Alum or Potash Alum can help to boost flowering. It makes the soil acidic for acid loving plants like hydrangeas, rose, hibiscus and so on. Just 5 gms alum powder per litre of water and water your plants once in a month. Alum is also a good pesticide in higher concentrations, like 100 grams per litre of water and spray on the plants to kill many pests including cabbage worms, cutworms, slugs and snails, etc. It is well known for mostquito control as a larvicide when sprinkled over the stagnant waters.
7. Banana Peels: Banana peel is one of the highest organic sources of potassium. It helps strengthen the plant and increases flowering and fruiting. You can make banana peel tea or banana peel fertilizer powder if you intend to store it. To make banana peel tea, soak pieces of banana peels in water for about 3 to 5 days. Use this banana tea in 1:5 dilution to water your plants once in a month. To make banana peel fertilizer powder, sun dry pieces of banana peels for 2 to 3 days till they are crispy enough to make a powder. Add one tablespoon of this powder once in a month and see the effect.
6. Aloevera: Aloevera has numerous benefits not only to the human body, but also to plants, like: It helps in faster rooting. Just insert a cutting into a piece of aloe vera and plant into soil. Rooting is faster and success rate is higher. Diluted aloe vera gel sprayed or watered to your seeds helps in faster and healthier germination. High levels of certain compounds found in aloe vera confer immunity or resistance against many plant diseases. Aloevera can also be used as a potent pesticide if mixed with other agents like neem oil, especially for pests resistant against certain pesticides.
5. Onions Peels: contain many useful substances like sulphur, quercetin, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and so on. So, do not throw away the onion peels. The simplest use of these peels is to use them for mulching. If you have time you can make a fertilizer out of these onion peels. Just soak the peels in water for 1 to 2 days and water the solution to your plants once in a month to notice the benefits.
4. Tea and Coffee Waste: Do not throw this away. It can certainly boost flowering in your plants. It contains tannic acid which helps plants like Rose and hibiscus to increase flowering. You can wash the waste for any sugars and directly add to your plants or collect this and sun dry this powder and use it for your plants. You can also add this waste directly into your compost bin for making a rich compost.
3. Cinnamon: Cinnamon powder from your kitchen is well known for its wonderful uses in gardening. It can be used as a rooting agent to increase the chances for rooting cuttings. Just dip the cutting into cinnamon powder and plant it. It also deters ants when sprinkled around your plants. Its antifungal properties also fight fungal attacks to your seedlings. Just sprinkle fine cinnamon powder over your seedling and prevent dampening off.
2. Eggshells: Though eggshells are a great source of calcium, do not add crushed egg shells directly to your plants. It takes many years to decompose and release that calcium into the soil. You need to instantly release this calcium from eggshells by using Vinegar. Make eggshell powder first and then add a cup of vinegar to it. Stir it well and leave for an hour. The acetic acid breaks the eggshell compound and release free calcium into this solution. You can then dilute this solution to 1: 10 or 1:20 and then water your plants to treat or prevent acute calcium deficiency problems like tomato blossom end rot disease and other problems like bud or flower or fruit drop off and increase your flowering and fruiting. You can also add egg shells to compost bin for a calcium rich compost.
1. Aspirin: Aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a plant auxin and a rooting hormone which is proven to accelerate rooting and also it confers immunity against many plant diseases. You can use a dispersible 350 mg Aspirin tablet. Just a little of it will do the trick. A quarter or half a tablet is sufficient. You can read all detailed articles on these individual stuff by searching our website for that particular stuff.
We must know the importance of identifying a plant and its family. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, this information is crucial for proper care and management of a plant. And Misidentification of a plant can sometimes bring potentially serious consequences and might even lead to death of a plant.
PictureThis – An Android and iOS App that claims accuracy of upto 90% ! You can download and install this app from Android playstore or from iOS app store from link below:
https://picturethisai.onelink.me/AYRN/4f297c08
The Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep learning
technology of PictureThis App can quickly scan the plant and recognize the
plant almost instantly within seconds. This is so important specially, if you
are visiting a nursery to purchase some plants for your home and garden. I have
discussed these nursery buying tips in a detailed video, you can check that
link at the end screen of this video.
Well, This app not only identifies the plant but also provide more details
about the plant like the Care tips, its genus or family, planting time, bloom
time, watering and sunlight requirement and many other details which are very
useful for any gardener. It also displays a gallery of additional images and
videos of the plant and maintains a record of your Collected Plants for future
reference.
It also has other advanced features like locating the identified plant distribution on google map. Then it also has a Community tab to learn by discussion and sharing of plant pics and tips. And moreover, they have exclusive support and care for their members.
Having said that, now let’s start testing this app and find out its accuracy. We will test few plants and give 2 points for each successful identification and finally calculate its accuracy as a percentage.
Let’s Begin the test – Watch Video below:
- Coleus: + 2 points!
- Hibiscus: + 2 points!
- Garden Rose: +1 point!
- Ficus Benjamina or Weeping Fig: + 2 points!
- Sanseviera or the Snake Plant: + 2 points!
- Anthurium Plant: + 2 points!
- Kalanchoe Thyrsiflora: 0 points!
- Donkey’s Tail – Sedum Plant: + 2 points!
- Mother of Thousands: + 2 points!
- Euphorbia Mili or Christ Thorn: + 2 points!
- Poinsettia: +2 Points.
- Rubber Plant: + 2 points!
- Vinca or Periwinkle: + 2 points!
- Plumeria or Nag Champa: + 2 points!
- Kalanchoe Variety: + 2 points!
So, Now lets Total our Results. We got 27 points out of 30. That means an accuracy is 90 %. That’s really awesome for any Artificial Intelligence software or an app.
Download LINK- https://picturethisai.onelink.me/AYRN/4f297c08
In this post
we will try to simplify plant identification and will make an attempt to
classify and identify about 100 common house plants and quickly know their important
care tips – like watering and sunlight requirement. Of course these
requirements vary depending on the zone you live in. Please watch each of the plants carefully for
identification whether or not you possess them, because this knowledge will
certainly help you when you visit a plant nursery to purchase a plant.
We will try to make this post as short and concise as possible along with a
video at the end for you to identify common house plants easily. And you can
find detailed videos and articles on most of these plants on website.
Let’s Classify Common House plants as:
- Ferns
- Vines, Creepers and Climbers
- Small Trees
- Ornamental Plants
- Succulents and Cactii.
- Flowering and Fruiting Plants.
- FERNS
1. Asparagus Fern
Level: Easy
Indoor: Difficult
Sunlight: Avoid direct Noon sun, Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
2. Fox Tail Fern
Level: Easy
Indoor: Difficult
Sunlight: Avoid direct Noon sun, Indirect Sunlight/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
3. Boston Fern
Level: Easy
Indoor: Difficult
Sunlight: Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- VINES,
CREEPERS AND CLIMBERS
- Philodendrons
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Sunlight/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or alternate days (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Money Plant / Pothos
Level: Very Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Grown in Water or Soil.
Fertilizer: None / Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Pepperomias and Hoyas
Level: Easy
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Wandering Jew
Level: Very Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: None / Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Bougainvillea
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Alamanda
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Scarlet clock vine
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Betel Vine (Edible Paan)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Sunlight or Early Sun.
Watering: Daily.
Fertilizer: Once in 3 months (Nitrogen rich).
- Ajwain Plant
Level: Easy
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- SMALL
TREES & SHRUBS
- Ficus (All Types)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Early Sun.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Norfolk Island Pine (Christmas Tree)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Juniper (Cypress)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun, Shade-net, Avoid Noon Sun.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Schefflera (Umbrella Tree)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Plumeria (Champa)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Oleander (Kaner)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Euphorbia Mili (Christ plant /
Crown of Thorns)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Neem Tree
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Song of India
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Palms (Areca palm, Table or
Umbrella Palm)
Level: Easy
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Crotons
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- COPPERLEAF (acalypha wilkesiana)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- ORNAMENTAL
PLANTS
- Coleus
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Sanchezia
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- SYNGONIUM (arrow head)
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Baby Tears Plant
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- AMARYLLIS
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Spider Lilly
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Rain Lily
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Tube Rose (Rajnigandha)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Anthurium
Level: Moderate
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once in 1 or 2 months
- Peace lily
Level: Moderate
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once in 1 or 2 months
- Calatheas
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Dieffenbachia
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Spider Plant (Chlorophytum)
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: None or Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Adenium (Desert Rose)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight / Shade-net.
Watering: Weekly Twice.
Fertilizer: Once monthly
- Jatropha
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month
- Lucky Bamboo
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect sunlight or Shade
Watering: In Water or Daily Watering in Soil.
Fertilizer: none
- Insulin Plant
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Poinsettia
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- SUCCULENTS
& CACTII
- Common Care Tips
Level: Moderate to Difficult
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Sunlight / Shade / Shade-net.
Watering: Weekly Twice or Thrice.
Fertilizer: Once 3 months.
Jade
Plant (Crassula), Crassula Ovata, Ecchiverias, Flowering Kalanchoes, Kalanchoe
Thyrsiflora, Mother of Thousands, Sedums, Sedum Adolphi (Golden Sedum), Fish-bone Cactus, String of Bananas, Donkey’s
Tail – Sedum morganianum, Snake
Plants (Sanseivera), Aloe Vera, Haworthias, Haworthia Zebrina, Gasteria, Pencil Cactus, Baby Sunrose,
Portulaca,
Cactus Types
- FLOWERING
& FRUITING
Common Care Tips
Level: Easy to Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4 to 6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: At least Once in a month.
- Hibiscus ( All Types)
- Rose
- Ixora
- Vinca (Periwinkle)
- Marigold
- Lemon
- Pomegranut
- Chickoo
- Custard Apple
- Guava
- Guirella Gardening: This means Gardening on a land that the gardeners do not have the legal rights or permission to cultivate, such as abandoned sites or public properties – the commonest example is gardening outside our homes like alongside the footpaths or similar areas.
- Leaf Galls / Leaf Bumps: are Odd little bumps or Funny looking protuberances on leaves. This can be an Indication of pest attack – usually the result of mites and other sucking insects that make their homes under the plant tissue.
- Deadheading– similar to pruning or pinching branches to promote more branching. Dead heading means Removing faded or dry and dead flowers from your plant. Just cut of the twig holding the flower or the entire branch if there are no more flowers or buds left. This diverts the plants energy in more blooming and more branching rather than setting seeds for reproduction.
- Humus– A black or brown organic substance made up of decomposed vegetable waste or even animal matter. This includes decaying leaves, insects, twigs and many other materials. Composted food and garden scraps are human-made humus. This is very useful and provides many essential nutrients for plants.
- Hardening off– To Gradually acclimatize your seedlings to outdoor sunlight , temperature, wind and humidity and before transplanting them into the garden or containers. General Rule of thumb is introduce them gradually to sunlight, like 1 hours for day 1, 2 hours for day 2, 3 hours for day 3 and so on.
- Biological Pest Control: Using living organisms such as beneficial insects or parasites like lady bugs to destroy garden pests. Watch a detailed video on these useful insects from a card linked at top right corner of this video.
- Chlorosis: A yellowing or blanching of the leaves due to lack of chlorophyll, nutrient deficiencies or disease. Watch a detailed video on diagnosing and treatement this leaf yellowing problem from a card linked at top right corner of this video.
- Foliar Feeding or Fertilizing: A technique of feeding plants by applying liquid fertilizer directly to plant leaves. This is generally done using a sprayer or mister with liquid fertilizers like the seed weed extract or even various teas like the compost tea, bone tea and even water soluble NPK feed.
- Worm Casting or Vermicompost: This is nothing but the digested organic waste of earth worms – that is the excreta of earthworms. Gardeners consider them the most nutrient organic compost available which also includes various essential micronutrients for your plants.
- Damping off– A disease or condition that causes seedlings to weaken and die. The Decay or rotting of young seedlings at ground level following fungal attack. This is often due to soil borne diseases and over watering. Damping off can also result in failure of seed germination, or may result in poor germination and weaker seedlings.
One way to prevent damping off, use a sterile potting mix instead of ordinary garden soil. Also Use clean, new pots, or sterilize used pots with one part bleach to 10 parts water. When you sow seeds, leave room for good air circulation. Water seeds and seedlings from the bottom using the tray method.
- Use a Magnifying Glass to closely examine and diagnose your plant pests and insects to identify them and follow the treatment accordingly.
- Create a no-stick shovel or any garden tool. Spray paint your garden shovel or any gardening tool to protect it from rust and keep it clean.
- Lighten the weight of your Pot: Use pieces of packaging foam or even thermocol pieces at the bottom layer of the container and mix lot of cocopeat or peat moss + perlite.
- Protect Plants During Transport from a Nursery – using a your home aluminium Ladder like Batla and place your pots tightly in the ladder compartments.
- If you detect Iron deficiency in your plant called iron chlorosis and if you see pale colored leaves instead of dark green you can burry some iron nails or iron pieces around the plant.
- Help Your root bound plants by root pruning or repotting them in larger pots.
- You can use candy sticks or even larger pebbles or even broken pot pieces as markers for your plants and seedlings.
- Erase Permanent marker markings using rubbing alcohol and reuse the same markers.
- You can make your own Plastic bottle slow water feeding. Easiest one is make small holes in the cork and invert the bottom and insert in soil.
- You can roughly Know the PH of your soil using baking soda and vinegar. Take two soil samples from different areas of your garden. Add vinegar to one sample and stir, if it bubbles – then its alkaline soil. Now to the other sample, add baking soda and water and stir – if it bubbles then the soil is acidic.
- Do not throw away egg shells – crumple or powder them and sprinkle around your plants to provide them a source of calcium. Also repels certain insects like slugs and snails.
- Grow sweeter tomatoes using baking soda: Sprinkle baking soda around your plant soil which counteracts the acidity and yields sweeter tomatoes.
- You can plants seeds and get seedlings in an egg shell or even citrus rind or similar stuff or shells. You can also used paper coffee cups. You can plant the whole eggshell-seedling complex into the soil.
- Best use of Tissue paper card board roll to make seedling cups which are bio degradable and can be directly planted into soil without disturbing roots.
- You can build a garden trellis using pvc pipes or even wooden sticks or bamboo sticks.
- If you have water shortage, collect rain water for your plants. For this you can either collect rain water flowing out from your teres into drain pipes or you can install or build a dedicated rain water collecting system.
- Use plastic bins or containers as mini green houses or poly houses for faster seed germinations.
- Sprinkle Epsom salt or baking soda directly on slugs and snails to kill them. Rearing chicken which love to feed on these insects is another good idea if you are interested.
- In winter to protect from frost cover the plants at night with an empty pot or even a polythene shopping bag.
- Do not throw away pencil shaving from your kids – use them for Mulching which also prevents weed growth and repels insects.
- Garden vegetables that become over-ripe are an easy target for some pests. Remove them as soon as possible to avoid detection.
- Insects can’t stand plants such as garlic, onions, chives and chrysanthemums. Grow these plants around the garden to help repel insects.
- Add used tea waste or coffee grounds into your compost bin for faster composting because earth worms digest them very fast.
- You can also use tea waste or coffee grounds on flowering plants as an organic fertilizer to boost blooms.
- Healthy soil means healthy plants that are better able to resist pests and disease, reducing the need for harmful pesticides. Use neem cake bio mix in soil to get rid of many plant diseases and also nourish your plants.
- Seal the Injured end of your plant stem or the top end of you plant cutting during the process of cloning by pouring one or two drops of wax from a burning candle. This will prevent moisture evaporation and result in better results and also helps as a sealant for microbes and fungus.
- Watering seeds and seedlings carefully is very important, and watering with the regular garden can can displace the seeds and damage the seedlings resulting in bad outcome. Best way to water them is using a tray under the pot. Whenever there is water requirement, it uptakes it through the drainage holes.
- To transplant your seedlings use a spoon, dig out as much soil with it including the roots of the plant and hold the leaves of the plant and not the STEM to pull out, because this can squeeze and damage the water and food conducting tubes – xylem and phloem and plant may die.
- Use sand paper to scrape the hard seed cover of certain seeds like apple, chickoo and those with hard seed over for faster seed germination.
- There are a few bottle recycling hacks coming up in random here. You can use your plastic bottles to make simple plantars for sowing seeds or planting small plants. Its upto you if you want decorate it or spray paint it.
- Now will make a Simple self watering pot or automatic watering system using a cotton wick and cutting the bottles as shown here. The lower end of the wick should be placed in the water reservoir – thats the lower portion of the plastic bottle. Make a hole in the bottle cap and insert the cotton wick through it. And the upper portion of the bottle can be inverted with potting mix and plant in it. Whenever the soil gets dry it will suck the water through the string.
- Make your own Seedling watering can, Using a bottle, you can make this in two ways, first by popping out a nozzle by heating the cap. This really works great to water your succulents, because spilling water directly on succulents like haworthias can be dangerous to the plants. Another way is to make a simple bottle shower by making multiple tiny holes in the cap and offer shower effect to your small plants.
- Mark your garden gloves with inches or centimeters to evenly plant your seeds or seedlings and similarly if your garden is big, you can use a long stick and mark the measurements for the same purpose like if you are planting in a raised bed garden or large space gardening.
- How to know if my seeds are healthy or unhealthy – first thing you should before purchase is the packaging date and the best before date. Then pour your seeds in your hand and closely examine them and the first look itself will tell you which seeds are healthy looking and which need to be discarded.
- You can Test your seeds or even start some seedlings using the Toilet paper method. Just sprinkle the seeds on one layer of toilet paper and put another layer on top of this and make it moist by spraying water. Place this either in a zip lock bag or any container and keep in a warm place and check after 24 to 48 hours for sprouts.
- Just cut out a plastic bottle and use it as a seedling or small plant protector against any wind blowing away the plant or from animals and birds. Place this as shown here to protect your seedling.
- The same can be used as a funnel to transfer your seeds or potting mix into bags or containers.
- You can also use old forks from your kitchen and bury them around seedlings to protect them from animals.
- It’s a good habit to always label your plants and sown seeds. It can really create confusion if you do not label them.
- You can make your own labels with pop sticks / candy sticks, plastic bottle strips, larger pebbles, windows blinds curtain strips, etc.
- You can Pick small seeds for sowing with a stick or tooth pick dipped in water.
- You can do perfect seeds spacing for Tiny seeds like spreading them apart in a row on toilet paper – for better visibility and even spacing and sowing. You can make a seed tapes either in a row or a square or round seed board specially for carrot seeds for even spacing and better growth and ease of harvesting.
- Before sowing seeds, soak them in luke warm water for 24 hours specially for certain seeds like beans, peas, okra and others.
- Another Hack for seed soaking is using Epsom salt solution for soaking like 1 teaspoon in 100 ml of water. This results in faster germination and healthy seedlings. You can also spray on Epsom salt solution on your seeds and seedlings for healthy outcome.
- Make your own trowel with a bottle by cutting a used plastic bottle like am showing you here. Try to take a harder bottle for making this. You can use the same as a funnel to transfer your potting mix, seeds and things like that.
- Egg trays can be used as seed germination trays. Either the card board ones or if you are using plastic egg storage container, you need to make few drainage holes.
- You can also use egg shells to sow seeds and directly transplant into soil.
- Similarly you can make your own biodegradable seeds starting cups using used tissue paper roll card board. THese can be directly transferred into the soil along with the seedling.
- You can also make seed pots by rolling newspaper and even this is bio degradable and similarly you can directly transplant with the pot into the soil or into a larger container.
- You can use small containers like these from your kitchen and make Mini Green houses and place your seeds inside them for faster germination.
- Tit bits or tic tac or any small containers like this can be used to store your left over seeds.
- If you want to professionally start vegetable gardening, You can use a Garden planner software at growveg.com or any other similar software.
- Once baby seedlings come out of the seeds, Gradually introduce your them to sunlight, once the leaves have come out. Like 1 hour a day for 3 days, 2 hours for next few days and then gradually to full sunlight. This process is called Hardening Off.
- Using a Seedling heat mat or a heat source from a high watt bulb will also help you create a spring like atmosphere for your seeds to germinate faster.
- Scrape your nails into a soap before working with your garden soil or potting mix, if you do not want to use gloves. This helps in cleaning your hands easily later on and also the dirt wont enter into your nail beds.
- Make a Cello Tape Trap. Wrap the cello tape in reverse on your fingers and use the sticky part to touch on leafs infested with pests like aphids and whiteflies.
- Use Dirty aquarium water to fertilize you plants. When you are performing a periodic clean-up, do not throw away the water and the filter waste, just pour small amounts of it to your plants. It contains helpful bacteria and trace nutrients that can help your plants.
- Similarly Use Cooking Water to Fertilize your garden. When you boil or steam some vegetables, do not pour the water in the drain, instead once the water has cooled, water your plants with it. Its contains many essesntial nutrients for your plants.
- Mix some mineral oil mixed with a pail of sand and insert your garden tools after use to keep them sharp and rust free.
- Sprinkle fine Cinnamon powder on your seeds and seedlings to protect seeds and seedling from rot.
- For Acid loving plants like Azaleas and Roses, use Alum 5gm in 500 ml of water once every 10 days and this will boost the growth and flowering.
- Remove Clay Rich Soil using this simple Hack: When you bring your plant from a nursery and start repotting, most often you find they have stuffed the plant in a clay-rich sticky soil. You can remove this soil without damaging the roots by soaking the root ball in water for few minutes till this soil dissolves. Then you can repot this plant in a well-draining potting mix.
- Do not forget to water this newly repotting plant with Epsom salt – about 1 teaspoon in 1 liter of water to counter this Transplant shock.
- Loosen up your roots: When you remove the root ball for repotting, loosen up or free up some roots at the bottom and sides.
- Use a Table cloth or any large bedsheet to drag heavy weight like your potting soil bags, and any large heavy garden items.
- Use this Universal Organic Formula To Deter Most Rodents and Animals from your Garden and even pests: If you have already experienced rodent and animal attacks on your garden, you will definitely realize the importance of this tip. Add 1½ teaspoons of chili powder to 1 liter of water + Add 3-4 drops of liquid dish soap to help the spray adhere to surfaces. To make it more potent add 1 or 2 pieces of crushed garlic or even paste + few some crushed chopped onions pieces. Mix it well and leave it for 24 hours. Do a patch test on a leaf and check the leaf for wilting if any so that you can dilute this accordingly and use it on your plants safely.
- Another simplest way to repel Some animals like cats, dogs and rabbits – is to soak a some pieces of cloth with vinegar and stuff them in some areas of your garden. These animals cannot withstand the smell of vinegar and may not return if you repeat this process for few days.
- To Promote more blooms and growth of your flowering plants, do not hesitate to perform these three tasks: a. Pinching (that is cutting the growing tips of stems and branches to promote more branching), b. Deadheading: that’s is removing the dried or drying flowers along with the twig from your plant. C. Pruning the plant promotes more growth and makes the plant bushy.
- If you do not have the chemical rooting powder – that’s indole butyric acid, You can Dip your cuttings in Honey, Cinnamon Powder, Fresh Aloe vera gel and even your Saliva or Spit!
- Discover a Free Seed Germination station: That is the Top of your Refrigerator. You can place your Seed trays on top of a refrigerator to get the heat and produce faster germination of your seeds.
- Picture-Perfect Seed Storage: Organize unplanted or left over seeds in the sleeves of an old photo album.
- Easy method to check Viability of your seeds: Pour the seeds in a bowl of water and If the seeds are floating, this means they are dry and not viable. Discard them and use only those seeds that sink to the bottom.
- Another method to check viability is using a wet toilet paper method which I have already shown in part 2 edition of Gardening Hacks.
- You can use Silica Gel packets which I am sure most of us have seen. Instead of throwing away these tiny sachets, use them for in your seed storage container as dessicants which can increased your seed life and protect them from fungus.
- Similarly Silica gel packets can be used to preserve powdered gardening stuff like bone meal, fungicide powder, rooting hormone, etc Just tape the sachet to the underside of the container lid and that’s it.
- Use 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (5 ml in 1 liter of water and spray on the seeds once every 2 – 3 days to get faster germination and healhthier seedlings. You can also use a mixture of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 32 parts water to improve your plants root system by watering with this solution weekly once.
- You can make a Humidity Tray by using Small pebbles installed in a large tray surrounding the plant and pour some water in the tray. This really helps to maintain humidity levels and help your plants grow.
- If you do not have perlite or vermiculite, you can also use red brick powder. This helps to make a well draining soil.
- Do not throw away Kitchen left overs: Grow plants from left over veggies and fruits like onions, pineapples and so on.
- Now About the Universal Organic Pesticide – In 1 litre of Water, Mix 1 tsp chilly powder, 2 -3 pieces of crushed garlic + some onion chops + some aloe vera gel + 5 drops of liquid dish wash soap as a surfactant and spray weekly twice on affected plants to kill aphids, mealy bugs, white flies and other pests. This also keeps away some animals and rodents.
- Use liquid dish wash soap in any pesticide you make, to act as surfactant and coating on the plant leaves and branches. You can also use any handwash liquid soap or any soap solution.
- Use unwanted or old plastic forks or plastic spoons to label plants with a marker if you do not have professional markers.
- Use some herbs like Citronella, catnip, basil, marigolds, eucalyptus and many other plants to deter mosquitoes. You can watch my video on a big list of mosquito repelling plants from link in the description and also here at top right corner of this video. But first lets complete this video.
- Take any straight stick and mark with inches or centimeters to evenly plant your seeds or plants specially useful if you are planting in a raised bed garden or if you do large space gardening.
- Do not throw away banana peels, Bury them around flowering plants into the soil to provide potassium content to the plants and improve flowering and overall plant health. You can also make a banana peel liquid fertilizer using these peels.
- Do not throw away your Broken umbrellas, you can make a garden trellis with the umbrella frame to support your plants.
- Tobacco is an age-old natural organic pesticide for Aphids, Whiteflies, Spider mites, Leaf miners and many other worms like slugs and caterpillars. If tobacco or tobacco leaves are not available your can use this hack. If you are a smoker, or anyone in your family or friends, You can make a Cheapest Tobacco Pesticide Spray for your plants from Left over Cigarette Butts. To prepare this Nicotine Pesticide Spray, take half a cup of used cigarette butts and add to one litre of water. Mix well and and crush if necessary and leave this for one hour. Then strain out and discard the solid stuff. Take the liquid portion and optionally add few drops of some dish wash liquid soap and also 1 teaspoon of garlic paste into this to make it more potent. Then load into your spray bottle and use it on the affected plants. Repeat after a week if necessary or use in conjunction with neem oil spray alternately if you wish. One point to note is: Tobacco spray is natural but still dangerous to beneficial insects of your garden.
- Then finally strain out the liquid using a cloth and your compost tea is ready. To use this as foliar spray and to water your plants dilute it further like 1: 10 and use once every 15 days and spray in early morning hours when the leaf stomata are open for best results.
- Easy Compost Tea Spray for Your Plants: Add one or two handful of compost like vermicompost or decomposed cowdung powder or both together per liter of water and allow it to brew for 3 days before use. Make sure your stir it deeply few times everyday to add oxygen in it which is very important.Soaking flower bulbs in dilute compost tea before planting them speeds up germination time by providing them extra energy boost from compost. Soak for max 6 to 12 hours, not more than that.Lighten up your pots by filling the bottoms with peanut shells and similar stuff like this, specially if your pots are more deeper. You can make a partition to this layer and the soil by placing a piece of cloth or even left over green net pieces and then pour your potting soil. You can also use this stuff for mulching in summer to prevent moisture evaporation.Mulching with Sea shells: Specially if you are staying near a coastal areas, they are easily available in plenty. These sea shells not only prevents weed growth and mulching benefits but also provides slow releasing calcium source to the plant over a period of time. This also gives an attractive look to your garden. But one point to remember here is do not use colored or dyed sea shells for mulching.
- Protect your plants from scorching summer heat. The best way to do this is use atleast 50 percent green shadenet. But if you do not have this, just use any large cloth or an old bed spread and tie the corners with a string and cover the plants. This way your can protect your plants from the noon sunlight which is really strong and bad and can burn your plant foliage.
- Make a Vertical Garden and Save Space. Simplest of this is by using taut strings on a wall and hang some vertical pots with hooks. If you do not have these pots, you can also make your own using scrap like plastic bottles. You can also use your fence mesh like this and hang pots to build a vertical garden.
- Keep your hand clean by using disposable surgical gloves for gardening. This is a cheap use and throw alternative to garden gloves. I use these most of the times and this is really helpful to me because this saves my time from cleaning the regular garden gloves everytime after use.
- No Wheelbarrow to move garden stuff? Do not worry, the cheapest alternative is a large cloth or an old bed sheet. Just load on the heavy objects and drag it along. Its actually a childs play as you see in the video.
- Use an All in one All-purpose Mixed Fertilizer Recipe Powder to save time. This universal fertilizer contains almost everything your plant needs to grow and produce flowers and fruits. It’s a complete plant food to be used once every 15 days or a month depending on your plant requirement. Watch complete video on how to make this from this endscreen link in the circle.
- Hack for removing salt deposits: Many of the times the slat deposits gets appeared on the clay pots. No need to worry after looking them. You can remove them easily. You may start combining the ingredients like white vinegar, add little alcohol and the water and pour all of these ingredients in to the spray bottle. Now stir up the bottle very well. Now you may spray up the liquid on to the pot and start rubbing the pit with a plastic brush. It will make your pot really neat and clean.
- Use anti-fungal: You can use chamomile while soaking the seeds as an anti-fungal agent. It prevents the plants form that of the horticultural diseases
- Boost up growth time by inter-plantation of compatible crops: There are so many crops which when grow under the shade of the other plants grow really well and immediately. Just like, when you keep the tomatoes plant under or the carrots plants along with the reddish plants then the slow grower also takes the immediate and quick growth.
- Avoid the fertilizers high in the nitrogen: You may avoid the use of the fertilizers. As the most of the fertilizers con- tains the nitrogenous components and can create toxicity as well.
- Never avoid maintenance: You must not avoid the maintenance of your garden. Just keep on growing the plants on and on can never be a wise task. You must give maintenance to the garden.
- Apply properly: The studying of tips and tricks is not enough. You must have to apply them properly. Keep in mind the basic instructions and apply them properly. 65. Patience is must: You know gardening is really the work of patience. You must have to keep patience during the time when your plants are under process of production. The above are the 65 hacks with astounding tips and tricks which you can use for sake of making your gardening belter. These are all the tips and tricks that can guide you for the whole process of gardening. From start up to an end, the guide is true for you. You can come to know how to sow the seeds, how to soak the seeds before sowing them, what watering system you have to use. How to use the tools and the techniques and how to get highly germinate plants and vegetables.