Tip 9 is especially useful!
Some love gardening and other like to stay as far away from it as possible. Whether you belong to the first or second category; it’s always nice to know a few handy garden tricks that will save you time and money. We have therefore listed 21 garden hacks for you. Here they come:
1. Use a newspaper against weeds
Even for those who like gardening, weeding can be a pain. Did you know that you can prevent weeds from growing in your garden by using a newspaper?
What to do?
Place an old newspaper over an area that you’d like to weed. Wet the newspaper and cover it completely with soil, firmly pressing the soil against the newspaper. This way the weeds (under the newspaper) do not receive sunlight or oxygen, which suffocates the weeds. The newspaper paper is organically degradable too, so you don’t have to worry about pollution.
2. Use cooking spray on your lawn mower
Do you regularly mow the grass and does the grass stick to the blades of your lawn mower? You can easily prevent this by spraying the blades of your mower with cooking spray. As a result, grass sticks to the blades a lot less easily.
3. Grow your own tomatoes
You don’t have to buy tomato seeds if you want to grow your own tomatoes. All you need is a pot, potting soil and an overripe tomato. Cut the tomato into slices and fill the pot up to about three quarters with potting soil. Place the cut tomato slices in the pot and press lightly. Cover the slices with some soil and press again. Place the pot in a sunny spot and water the soil occasionally.
Once the seedlings come up, you can repot them. There is a good chance that dozens of tomato plants have emerged from the soil. If all goes well, one tomato plant can produce dozens of tomatoes. Four tomato plants are probably more than enough. Carefully repot four plants in separate pots and then allow the tomato plant to grow further.
4. Using garlic against slugs
Do snails regularly feed off your plants? There is a natural solution that you can use to chase snails out of your garden. All you need is garlic. Snails do not like the pungent smell of this herb. The moment the mollusks smell the smell of garlic, they’ll stay away from the garlic cloves or bulbs.
What to do?
- Crush two whole garlic bulbs and put them in a bowl or bucket.
- Boil 1 liter of water and pour it over the crushed garlic bulbs and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Carefully pour the water into a spray bottle (making sure the water has cooled enough).
- Spray the plants that are being eaten by snails with the garlic water and you will notice the snails start to disappear. Nice and easy!
5. Get rid of green buildup on your fence with green soap
Green buildup on the fence is a pain in the butt for many people. Thankfully you don’t have to buy expensive cleaning supplies to get all the buildup off. What will you need? Green soap, baking soda, and warm water. This combination works perfectly against green buildup, algae, and moss on your fence.
What do you need to do?
- Dissolve 50 grams of green soap and 50 grams of soda into 5 liters of water.
- Rub a bit of the mixture onto your fence and let it sit.
- Scrub the fence with a medium-hard brush. Watch out: don’t use a steel brush, this could damage the wood.
- Covered all of your fence? Rinse it off with water and your fence is as good as new.
6. Grow your own ginger
Ginger contains various minerals, fibers and vitamin C. This seasoning is therefore a must-have in the kitchen. And if you like gardening, why not grow your own ginger? Growing ginger is super easy. Every little bud on a piece of ginger can become a whole plant. Just buy a piece of ginger from the supermarket and plant it in the ground.
Watch the video below on the best way to plant ginger:
7. Grow your own garlic
While you’re busy planting your ginger, go ahead and plant some garlic too! Growing your own garlic is also very easy. Do you have garlic at home that has already sprouted a few cloves? Plant it in the ground and before you know it you’ll have a garlic plant.
Watch how to do it in the video below:
8. Use rosemary and mint to fight off wasps
Every summer they come back again: wasps. These annoying buzzers can sting badly, and you want to keep them as far away as possible. So you definitely don’t want to find a wasp nest under the roof or frame of our house. Fortunately, you can easily prevent this with the help of some rosemary and mint.
What should you do?
- Grab some sprigs of fresh herbs. Think rosemary, mint, and thyme.
- Tie the herbs into small bouquets.
- Hang the bouquet in a place where you often see wasps or in a place where you definitely don’t want wasps. For example, place the herbs under racks, canopies, play equipment, or sheltered corners.
- The strong smell of these herbs will deter wasps, keeping them far away.
- Hear more buzzing or see them flying around in a spot where your bouquet is hanging? Then it’s time for a new bouquet.
9. Use Basil to Repel Mosquitoes
Like wasps, mosquitoes aren’t fans of the strong scent of certain herbs. For example, did you know that mosquitoes don’t like the smell of lavender and basil? Mosquitoes also don’t like lemon balm, catnip, or mint. So if you want get rid of mosquitoes in your garden, it’s a good idea to plant one of these herbs in a few places in your garden.
10. Use Cinnamon to Fight Off Mosquitoes
Here’s another tip to fight off mosquitoes: sprinkle cinnamon around the plants in the garden where you see lots of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes – and other insects too – don’t like this smell. They also keep their distance from plants that smell like cinnamon.
11. Put a used tea bag in the garden
It’s a pretty grueling chore to germinate seeds in the soil – even when you take good care of the soil. You can help the process move more quickly by placing a tea bag in the soil next to the seeds. Tea leaves have tannins and nutrients that are natural fertilizers for the soil. The pouch itself is made from fibers from the stems of the abaca plant. This is a type of banana that provides fiber and is used to make tea bags. The tea dissolves easily in the soil, creating a healthier growing environment for your flowers and plants.
You can also use tea bags to prevent other pests.
12. Keeping pests away with a tea bag
Used tea bags, as well as coffee grounds, help keep pests away from your flowers and plants. Most pests don’t like the smell of coffee and tea. Place a used tea bag near your prized plants to prevent them from being eaten.
You can also throw a tea bag in your compost. The acids in the tea can accelerate the decomposition process of the compost. This means that you can use the compost for your garden much sooner. You and your garden will both be happy!
13. Use aspirin to give your plants a boost
Did you know that using aspirin is a miracle worker when it comes to keeping pests away from your plants? Dissolve one aspirin in four liters of water and water your plants as you normally would. The aspirin water also ensures that your plants get a ‘health boost’, so that they will not get sick quickly.
14. Keep neighbor cats out of your garden with lemon peels
However sweet your neighbor’s cat(s) may be, you don’t necessarily want them in your garden. For example, it can be pretty annoying if the neighbor’s cats do their business in your garden. Fortunately, there is an animal-friendly trick to keep cats at bay. Cats don’t like the smell of lemon. So just put a few lemon peels in places in your garden where cats might go to the bathroom. There’s a good chance you won’t catch the cats there anymore.
15. Get rid of green buildup on your deck with vinegar
Lots of people have tried using chlorine water or a pressure washer to get the green buildup off their decks. This might work, but a pressure washer can also damage your tiles. Thankfully there’s another way to clean the tiles without damaging them, that is: vinegar.
What do you have to do?
- Sweep your deck or patio thoroughly. Try to get your tiles as leaf and filth-free as possible.
- Fill a bucket with equal parts vinegar and water (for example, a liter of vinegar and a liter of water).
- Spread the vinegar water across the tiles and scrub it in with a broom. Let the vinegar water sit and don’t rinse it off. After a few weeks you’ll notice the green buildup disappearing.
16. Use vinegar against weeds
When we think of gardening, we often think of the nice things. Think planting seeds or potting vegetables. Unfortunately, weeding is a big part of gardening. Sometimes you can easily pull it out of the ground but if it’s growing between tiles, it can be a real chore to get it out of there. Thankfully there’s an easier way to get rid of these weeds. You can make your own de-weeding mixture with vinegar.
What do you need?
- 480 milliliters white vinegar
- 140 grams of salt
- A splash of detergent
- Large spray bottle
What should you do?
- Place the white vinegar, salt, and dish soap in a spray bottle. Let the mixture stand for a while so that the salt dissolves as much as possible, otherwise the syringe could get blocked.
- Then spray the mixture on the weeds. Note: do not spray the mixture on your flowers or plants, this could cause them to die.
- Is your spray bottle getting clogged? Then make the mixture with 240 milliliters of water and 240 milliliters of vinegar.
17. Control aphids with cold water
Struggling with controlling aphids? You don’t have to turn to purchasing expensive chemicals to combat aphids right away. Cold water will go a long way. Put cold water in a watering can and pour it over the plant that has aphids on it. The cold water doesn’t harm the plant, but it will wash away the aphids.
18. Use a banana peel against aphids
Aphids don’t like the smell of banana. So don’t throw away your banana peel the next time you eat one. Cut the peel up into pieces and then place the peel next to the plant that has aphids on it. Chances are they will be gone a few days later.
19. Use matches to get rid of aphids
Matches can also be used to chase off aphids. Put matches upside down in the ground. The sulfur in a match keeps the aphids away. In a small pot just one match will do the trick. In larger pots or in the ground you should to put one match every 10 to 15 centimeters in a circle around the plant. You’ll have to replace the matches once a month; rainwater will cause the sulfur to dissolve.
20. Help bees with a spoonful of sugar
The British biologist Sir David Attenborough recently shared that the world’s bee popular has declined by a third in the past few years. The repercussions are much larger than you’d imagine because if bees disappear then humans will only have about four years left to live. This has to do with their essential role in the pollination of crops, from which we reap the benefits. Thanks to the bees, we can grow apples, strawberries, tomatoes, berries, peppers, and other fruits and vegetables.
The biologist is asking people to sprinkle a spoonful of sugar in the garden. What’s the best thing way to do this?
“Bees can become tired and they simply don’t have enough energy to return to the hive, which can often result in being swept away. An exhausted bee can regain strength with a mixture of sugar and water. Mix two tablespoons to do so. White granulated sugar with a tablespoon of water and put it in a place that is accessible to the bee,” the biologist shared on Facebook.
He finishes off by saying that he hopes that this will make people aware of these important findings. So from now on just sprinkle some sugar in the garden!
21. Gardening is good for your mental and spiritual health
To finish we’d like to give you a final reason why you should do more gardening. Research shows that people who spend more time gardening are generally healthier and feel happier. They are apparently happier than people who don’t spend any time gardening.
Gardening doesn’t just mean your garden looks nice, it gets you moving and distracts you from your thoughts. Bye-bye stress. Plus the sunshine will give you a boost of vitamin D and with a bit of luck you’ll get a nice tan, too!
More than enough reason to garden more often.