Great For The Garden
And Good For You, Too
With so many of us enjoying gardening these days, it’s important to review some great gardening basics for ecological and psychological health.
Whether you’re a container gardener or plant acres of vegetables, you know the benefits of growing your own food or having fresh flowers greet you from your deck. Reaping those benefits doesn’t have to be complicated and with a few little tips you’ll love what you sow.
Know Your Garden
It’s important to know when to plant, what to plant where and what plants do best in what kind of light. Take some time to develop a garden plan. What colour flowers would you like? What will grow well in the shade? Would you like perennials or annual flowers?
Do Without Chemicals
For the good of the garden and your own health, it’s wise to switch from pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides to more natural and organic solutions. Preparing the soil with organic compost is the best choice for restoring necessary nutrients. Make sure your soil holds water well and drains easily. It shouldn’t have standing water after a rain, but should stay damp just below the surface. Never try to wipe out every pest in your garden; just reduce pests to an acceptable level. Many of the creatures in your garden are harmless and even helpful. Chemicals destroy the good guys and the bad guys.
Water Wise Tips
Watering your garden used to be a daily ritual. But lately municipalities and conservation groups have called for “water-wise gardening”. If you feel you must, and sometimes we must, it’s wise to limit your watering to early mornings. Late day watering encourages mould and mid-day watering is a complete waste of precious resources.
Help improve the water-retention capabilities of your garden by adding peat moss replacement substances such as fibre, compost, rotten manure or other organic matter. Peat is a precious, very slowly renewable commodity and should be used very sparingly.
Redirect eavestroughs and downspouts into your garden to reduce the need for sprinklers and hoses. Rain barrels are becoming more and more popular for water conservation.
Grass And Ground Cover
Keep grass tall – at least 4-5 cm. The most important note to remember about caring for your lawn is not to cut it too short. You can then leave the clippings on the lawn which will help the soil. Water your grass deeply, but not too often.
Your local nursery or garden supply store can be an invaluable resource for all you’ll ever need in your backyard or on your balcony.
2600 John Street, Unit 207, Markham, ON L3R 3W3 T: 905.475.5222 F: 905.475.6369
