As an avid gardener for many years, I will be the first to admit that gardening is often messy, time consuming and just plain hard work! But over time I’ve grown more and more fond of the less-than-glamorous aspects of gardening, and now I actually look forward to getting my hands dirty in the garden (even if it leaves me a sweaty, gooey mess.) 😉
Another thing that holds Made gardening more enjoyable I am looking for useful tips and tricks that can make the process easier. And since planting time is right around the corner, I thought I’d share some of those helpful gardening hacks with you in today’s post!
So here are 13 hacks you can use in your own garden, and they can make this growing season your most enjoyable ever! 🙂
13 of the most creative and useful gardening hacks
1. Make your own seed tape
Planting one seed at a time can be time-consuming and backbreaking labor. Make it quick and easy by Making your own seed tape Before planting – it’s a fun project And You can sit back while you do it! 😉
One nice thing about seed tape is that you keep all the spacing while making it. So when you’re ready to plant, all you have to do is dig a narrow trench to the right depth, roll out the tape, then cover it and water it! Simple.
2. Prevent insects with peppermint oil
Not only does peppermint repel ants and spiders, but it can also help keep away aphids, beetles, caterpillars, and mice. To use this to your advantage in the garden, add 15 drops of peppermint oil to a small glass spray bottle, then fill the rest of the bottle with water.
Spritz your peppermint spray around the perimeter of your garden or around the outside of your pots. Shake the bottle before each use and reapply often, and your plants will thank you for it!
3. Save space with container gardening
You don’t have to have a lot of extra space at home to grow things. Even if you only have a few square feet of space outside, you can grow potatoes in containers (and it’s surprisingly easy!).
Related: This natural homemade weed killer is the cheapest and easiest way to kill weeds fast
4. Use a milk jug as a watering can
Can anyone drink water? No problem! You can make one from an empty milk jug in about 30 seconds.
Just wash the milk jug and use a craft knife to make several small holes in the cap. Fill a clean jug with water, screw on the cap and drink!
5. Save your eggshells
Instead of throwing away empty eggshells, save them to use in your garden! Eggshells make an excellent fertilizer because they are rich in calcium and other minerals that your plants need.
Sprinkle crushed eggshells into holes before planting or sprinkle around the base of established plants every few weeks. You can also scatter crushed eggshells around your vegetables and flowers to ward off common garden pests such as slugs, snails and even stray cats!
Read more: 8 Smart Reasons You Should Save Your Eggshells
6. Create a multi-purpose tool holder
It is important to keep your garden tools clean and sharp. But why do the hard work when you can make a self-cleaning, self-sharpening garden tool holder that will do it for you? 😉
Use a bucket or pot and coarse sand. Layer the sand in the pot, adding a little mineral oil to each layer. (If you add too much, it will be too thick.) That’s it! To use, brush dirt off your garden tools, then drop them into oiled sand. They will come out clean and slightly oily, which will make them last longer!
7. Use water twice
No matter what type of plants you grow, they all need water! And they are not picky about where that water comes from.
Save the water you use when you boil or steam vegetables, pasta, eggs, etc. and use it to water your plants! (Just make sure to let the water cool to room temperature before using it—you don’t want to boil your plants!)
8. Pamper your hands
There’s something undeniably satisfying about working in the dirt with your hands, but the cleanup afterward? Not so much…
…Unless you mix in my jar Gardner’s Hand ScrubThat’s it! I highly recommend it to anyone with a garden or flower bed, as it’s one of the few hand scrubs I’ve tried that cleans and exfoliates my hands. And It also keeps them moisturized.
9. Use a cardboard tube to start the seeds
We could all stand to reduce, reuse and recycle a little more, and gardening offers many opportunities to reuse household items. One such opportunity is to start your seeds in Empty toilet paper tubes.
Once your little sprouts are ready to be transplanted into the garden, saturate the cardboard tubes with plenty of water before placing them in the ground. Damp cardboard will break down quickly in the soil so it won’t stunt the growth of your young plants.
10. Use a milk jug to protect plants
Cut the bottom of the Empty milk jug And use it as a “mini greenhouse”. Set it on small, tender plants to protect it from frost in the early part of the growing season. You can also use it to keep bugs and insects away from those attractively tender leaves of young plants.
11. Keep your seeds organized
Having a hard time keeping your collection of seed packets organized? Try storing them in photo album sleeves instead!
Not only does the album make it easy to keep track of your packets, but the sleeves will also help keep the packets closed so their contents don’t spill all over the place.
12. Put a sponge in your pots
Over-watering and under-watering are two of the most common problems that can affect the health of your potted plants. But luckily for us, finding that sweet spot for watering is as easy as adding a few sponges to the bottom of the pot before planting!
If the soil becomes too wet, the sponge will help absorb excess moisture while maintaining air flow which will help prevent root rot. And if the soil starts to dry out, saturated sponges can act as water reservoirs to help keep plants hydrated.
13. Clean your harvest with a produce wash
Before you chow down on the fresh, delicious produce you brought in from your garden, clean it with a produce wash first! And you can make your own product wash at home using simple ingredients you may already have on hand: antibacterial white vinegar and sanitizer. Lemon essential oil.
Once you’ve washed your produce, all you have to do is spray your produce, give any hard-skinned fruits and vegetables a quick scrub, then rinse everything under clean water and pat dry. Easy! 🙂
Get the full recipe and detailed instructions for washing your own produce here.
Do you have any clever hacks you use in your own garden?
