It’s a well-known fact that gardens make us healthy, in more ways than just providing us with a sense of accomplishment with every plant we see through to its maturity. But all veteran green thumbs know the struggles that come with maintaining a garden year-round, especially in the harsher seasons. If you’d like to make sure your green spaces stay well-hydrated through all weather conditions, follow these quick tips.
Irrigation
When it comes to propagation, consistency is key! And for those of us who don’t have a greenhouse on hand, consistent care can still be achieved through automatic irrigation. Hunter irrigation, and other similar extensive irrigation systems that come fitted with rain sensors are recommended here. This ensures that your garden beds receive water at regular intervals and that their soil stays spongy and full of nutrients (rather than bone dry or far too moist and compacted).
The advantages of automatic irrigation don’t just stop at even water distribution and combating soil compaction. Utilising automatic irrigation can also save you quite a bit on your water bills, as regular hand-watering with cans or hoses has been proven to use anywhere between three to five times the amount of water that’s actually required to keep your plants happy and healthy. An effective irrigation system will definitely see a substantial decrease in your water bills, alongside an added lushness to your garden beds. Who would’ve thought it possible?
Frost Prevention
Frost damage can kill plants in a matter of days, so it’s good to stay vigilant if you know the weather’s about to take a nasty turn. Even so, it’s no secret that keeping plants warm in the winter months can often be far trickier than keeping plants well-hydrated. It can be difficult striking a balance between keeping a plant exposed yet potentially vulnerable to frost and keeping them so warm that they’ll cook or suffocate.
Whilst it’s popular to water plants with hot water to prevent frost, this method isn’t as effective as you might think and can lead to poor roots. Even composting and mulching can have dire effects on plants during harsh colder weather, as your compost might freeze over and further the onslaught of frost. Covering your pots and shrub-like plants up using recycled materials like bubble wrap and netting, can aid in frost prevention, alongside a few other practices. It’s all about taking the time to find out what works best for you and your garden.
Weed Maintenance
It goes without saying that weeding is a necessary evil in life. Whilst it can be therapeutic, just yanking whole plants out of the ground with a worn pair of gloves and a trusty sharp-tipped trowel, manual weeding is unnervingly hard work! And weeds can be very prolific year-round, but something about the peaks of summer and winter seem to just bring these guys out!
Even though automatic irrigation can help with weed prevention too, with the dispelling of water specifically for your pre-existing plants (and nothing else!), there are some simple and cost-effective DIY weed killers like vinegar and newspaper, which you can use to help stave away our unwanted garden dwellers. Using these homemade weed killers regularly will ensure that your garden stays pest-free for longer, without having to use any nasty chemicals that may inadvertently damage your plants.
Garden maintenance can feel daunting at first, but you’ll soon realise that taking care of our plant friends isn’t as difficult as it might seem at times and it’s great to remove weeds. Humans and plants are a timelessly good combination, and we’re built to care for one another. It’s all about staying connected to your green space, and developing some horticultural habits for symbiotic harmony! Happy planting!
