Tips & Tricks

Five garden hacks to try in your garden covering fertilizing, tool maintenance, peonies, and strawberries.

1. Fertilizing Dense Bushes

Fertilizing bushes or other dense plants requires getting the fertilizer to the base of the plant, so I use a length of 2″ PVC. Slide one end down to the plant base and pour the fertilizer into the pipe. Cut the top of the pipe at 45 degrees to give yourself a larger opening to pour in the fertilizer. – Gordon R. Watson

2. Use Mineral Oil and a Pot of Sand for Your Tools

This hack ensures your tools are always ready and clean. Find a pot or small bucket and fill it with clean sand. Take several of your most-used landscaping tools and stick them into the sand – they will stay upright and easy to grab this way. When finished for the day, spray your tools with a quick coat of mineral oil and put them back in the sand. Over time, the combination of mineral oil and sand will help clean your tools and keep them from going dull as fast.

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Family Handyman

3. Longer Peony Blooms

When your peony bush starts to bloom, cut a few stems to store in the refrigerator.  They'll last there for up to a month, and at any point until then you can pull one or two (or more) out of the fridge and put them in water to bloom for up to seven days.

4. Strawberry Container Made from a Pallet

Strawberries are the most awaited fruits of the season, and that is a known fact – however, growing your very own strawberries is certainly a much more challenging task than you might think, and you need to take your time to create a sturdy and durable support system that will keep them in place. Strawberries tend to be quite sensitive, even to the slightest environmental changes, this is why it is important to care properly for them and to make them a good support system. Here is how you can do that by simply using a strawberry pallet!

Tutorial at Lovely Greens

5. Banana Peels to Improve Soil Quality

The fertilizing and nutritive nature of banana peels makes them perfect as a soil amendment substance for preparing the garden beds. Just chop them up and toss them into the tilled soil. They'll boost microbial growth and enable the beneficial worms to aerate and improve the quality of your soil.

Learn more ways to use banana peels in the garden at Balcony Garden Web

Happy gardening!