GARDENING HACKS 2

Corbett, Builders buyer:

pets and animals

Keep Your Greens Cool In Hot Temperatures

South African summers are known for their hot temperatures, which is not ideal for thriving plants as it can cause heat stress.

Thankfully, there’s a way to keep your plants cool during the hot weather.

Create a mulch layer over your plant bed to avoid your beautiful flowers wilting and your vegetables shrivelling under the scorching sun. A mulch layer of organic or inorganic material applied to your garden’s surface lowers the temperature of the soil so that there is less water evaporation. You can make your own mulch from pruned plant material or grass clippings. Alternatively, you can use tree bark chips, gravel, pebbles, and even stones, all available from Builders’ garden nurseries.

What Grows Up Takes Up Less Space

Gardening is about making the most of the area you’ve got to work with, including compact spaces that wouldn’t ordinarily be home to a traditional landscaped garden.

Thanks to vertical gardening, you can grow your plants, vegetables or fruits in compact spaces using vertical modular planters stacked on top of one another. Depending on your area, this setup can be a loose-standing unit or a wall-fixed unit. Hanging baskets, pots, wooden planters, and grow tables are also great for growing your edibles or ornamentals.

The benefit of a vertical garden is that you’ll cultivate healthy and beautiful plants without having to maintain a large gardening space.

PREVENT WATER-LOGGED AND COMPACTED SOIL

Excessive rain can lead to water-logged and compacted soil, which can be detrimental for plants as it deprives the roots of oxygen, significantly reduces nutrient take-up and causes root rot.

To prevent this, feed your soil with mulch and compost to boost the micro-organisms that make the soil a living, functioning system that naturally resolves compaction and drainage issues.

You can also raise your planting areas by piling the soil into a ridge or creating raised beds with sides. The latter is a quicker solution to resolving water-logged and compacted soil. These increased levels will be the first to drain once the dry weather returns, ensuring your plants aren’t standing in muddy ground.

PUT YOUR PLANTS ON A BALANCED (SLOW-RELEASE FERTILIZER) DIET

Feeding your plants organic or chemical fertilizers ensures your plant babies receive all the natural goodness they need to grow. Organic fertilizers are the best choice for edibles as they are entirely natural and boost the amount of organic matter in the soil to encourage microbial reproduction.

On the other hand, chemical fertilizers are very effective when used in flowerbeds and lawns. You can select the exact nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium variants to suit your needs, whether it is boosting your flowers, lawn, foliage, or fruit. This fertilizer is also predictable and has a rapid effect on plants.

It’s important to note that excessive use of chemical fertilizer can damage or burn your plants, so stick to the recommended application. Alternating chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers will keep the pH of the soil balanced and improve microbial activity, which is reduced when using chemical fertilizers.

Ideally, you want to develop and maintain a soil structure that’s springy, open, and free-draining, but also hangs onto moisture when it matters. To achieve this, you should nourish your garden with organic matter. This can be anything from well-rotted manure to leaf mould.