As a seasoned gardener, Zackary Sanders is often asked by friends and family to share some gardening tips when the weather improves. If you’re one of the countless people looking to step up your gardening efforts this summer, Zackary Ellis Sanders is looking to provide some advice that can help guide you in your efforts.
Start with Examining Your Gardening Space
While Zackary Sanders firmly believes that anyone can garden, what a person is able to plant and grow successfully is largely contingent on their space. For instance, is the garden facing south or north? Where does the sun hit most directly? Do you have a certain type of soil you are starting with or do you have the option to go out and buy fresh soil? All of these questions will help guide any gardener. Zackary Sanders suggests doing a soil test to understand the acidity level of the soil. These tests are easy to do and will help determine the top flowers to consider.
Plan Before You Plant
The planning phase allows a gardener to understand not only what they should plant, but where they should plant it. Details matter in gardening. Everything from where flowers should be planted to how they should be aligned will go a long way in determining whether a garden will come back to life season after season.
Prepare for Planting
Plant day can be very exciting. Be sure that your garden is ready for plant day by weeding out the soil and adding any fertilizers before planting your seeds. There is no cookie cutter plant depth for seeds. Where a seed for a tree needs to be planted in the soil versus where a seed for tulips should be planted for optimal results will be different. Fortunately, every gardener is just a Google search away from finding out exactly where they should be planting their seeds. YouTube is another great resource. Anytime Zackary Ellis Sanders is planting something new, he checks out a YouTube tutorial to ensure he’s planting properly.
Water, Water, Water
One of the biggest mistakes of new gardeners is that they spend time watering leaves as opposed to watering the roots. The other big mistakes is failure to use feeds. Feeding plants is important in the spring and summer months. Feeding usually works best when it is done biweekly.
Knowing when and how to water plants is the difference between them living and dying. As a general rule, water the root ball rather than the leaves, as it’s the roots that absorb the water. Soaking the rootball every week is better than watering a little bit every day. Feeding is also important – generally you should be looking at feeding every fortnight during growing season (that’s spring and summer), although you will need to feed more if growing in containers.
Pest Control
In most cases, pest control will be handled by Mother Nature. There’s plenty of checks and balances within the animal community that will make sure slugs, snails and other garden disruptors are kept in check. Sometimes, buying pesticides will do a lot more to harm the garden than it will to keep things in order. If an infestation of pests does occur, be sure to check for the safest pesticides. If you happen to grow lettuce or vegetables, keep in mind that pesticides in the soil can be transferred to your lunch or dinner plate.
Prune to Keep Your Plants in Order
Pruning can be daunting to a new gardener. There’s a fear that any sort of cutting will damage the plants that the gardener worked so hard to grow. The truth is pruning – when done properly – can help plants bloom properly and extend their lifespan. Don’t be afraid to prune a plant that is looking a little worse for wear, it may just help it bounce back to life.
