Looking for some hacks to help your garden flourish? These 7 clever garden hacks will have your garden producing in no time!
Everyone who has a garden knows that it can be as frustrating as it is relaxing. There’s always SOMETHING that needs tending to, and there’s always a new mysterious problem you need to deal with. These 7 clever garden hacks will help to prevent these problems from happening, and will provide tips for how to create an abundant garden.
In this post, you will be given 7 clever garden hacks that will provide you with a bountiful harvest. These garden hacks are so good, your thumb will immediately turn green. Don’t worry, it’s no cause for concern.
After reading this post, you will have a handful of garden hacks to put to the test!
This post is all about 7 clever garden hacks.
My Gardening Experience
Growing up, we always had massive gardens. Corn, pumpkins, gourds, carrots, squash… you name it, we had it! This hobby followed me throughout my young adulthood years, however I had a four year gap of not having a garden when I went off to college. I didn’t have the time or space to grow a garden, and I missed it. Every summer that went by without a garden, it felt like I was forgetting to do something. This summer, I was lucky enough to have the time and space for a garden, and I feel like I’m learning it all over again for the very first time!
I’m learning about new products and techniques, and I am going to share 7 of the most clever ones I’ve learned about this summer. From raised beds to the right soil, these hacks will give you the best gardening experience!
7 Clever Garden Hacks For A Bountiful Garden
Please note: I am no botanist. I am a hobby gardener who has learned from experience, and these hacks are things I have tried and succeeded with.
1. Raised Beds
I was always a “garden in the Earth” kind of girl. This year, since we don’t have the room for an in-ground garden, I opted for two raised beds. Let me tell ya… it has some incredible benefits that I was not expecting.
Weeds
As all us gardeners know, one of the more tedious, unenjoyable tasks of having a garden is having to pluck the weeds. Having an in-ground garden is a breeding ground for weeds. No matter how hard you try, there will always be weeds trying to take over. This can get overwhelming, and can sometimes become a lost cause. With raised beds however, the soil is more pure, eliminating weed seeds and roots. This means MINIMAL weeds growing in your garden, making weeding a breeze!
Bagged Soil
Connected to having a weedless garden is being able to use bagged soil in your raised beds. Not only does it prevent weeds, but it is super dense in nutrients and provides the plants with everything they need! Sometimes having an in-ground garden can be fruitless if the soil does not contain the right nutrients. With raised beds, you’re able to purchase soil that is specifically meant for gardens, meaning it contains alllllll the good things your plants need! (More about this to come). This means healthier plants and more fruitful harvests!
Height
Having a raised bed has done WONDERS for my hamstrings. No more leaning over and bending in funky ways to tend to your garden. Seriously, I felt like I belonged in one of those tiny boxes at the circus the way I would contort myself just to check on a plant sprout. As that’s fun and all, having a raised garden bed at standing height is MUCH better. You can inspect your plants more comfortably, and can tend to it much more easily!
2. Soil
Soil is soil… right? You’d think this part of growing a garden is fairly basic, but it’s proven to be otherwise. The soil you choose for your garden is DIRECTLY RELATED to the health and growth of your garden. For those of you who plant your gardens directly in the ground, the natural soil may be too rocky, or might lack nutrients. If this is the case, you might want to try to mix bagged garden soil in with the ground soil. This will add needed nutrients, and will provide a healthier home for your plants to grow.
If you have raised beds, you’ll want to spend some time finding the right soil. There are so many different varieties, and not all of them are suitable for raised beds. Some are potting soils meant for flowers and/or indoor plants, as some are not specifically made for raised beds. Finding RAISED BED SOIL is the key, as it has all the rich nutrients that your plants will need to grow. They make all sorts of different options with raised bed soils, and some brands even make their soil organic. When I bought my raised bed soil, we loaded the bags in my Jeep and it stunk it up for DAYS. BUT, when it comes to garden soil, my motto is “the stinkier the better!” More stink = more nutrients.
3. Pollinators
The power of pollinators is too often downplayed. Without pollinators, our gardens would certainly flop! Making a point to attract pollinators to your garden should be a priority. This can be done in many different ways, from bee houses to hummingbird feeders to planting flowers. I have both a hummingbird feeder and flowers that attract bees and butterflies. It’s so fun to watch these little insects and birds go to work and create such wonders for your garden! Don’t forget to add shallow dishes of water with rocks in it for the bees to refresh themselves with! Attracting pollinators to your garden takes only a few easy additions. When you think about it, what these little creatures do for you is unimaginably impressive!
4. Planters
My toxic trait is thinking bigger than my raised garden bed. You know how it is… you’re out seed shopping, you get distracted and high on excitement and come home with enough seeds to start a farm. And then you set your eyes on your 4 foot by 2 foot raised bed. That’ll bring you back down to Earth in a hurry. The good news is, there are ways to give yourself some extra planting space. Buying some extra large planters to place near your raised beds will provide you with more planting room. This can also prevent more robust plants from over-crowding your more fragile ones.
5. Trellises
When searching for the right trellis, I couldn’t seem to find the right shape and size. They were either too tall, too wide, or too heavy to be supported by the soil in my raised bed. So, I purchased bamboo sticks at Lowe’s in the garden center, and some twine. (You can also cut tree branches to use in place of the bamboo).
The bamboo was nice and light, and I was able to cut each stick into multiple shorter ones. I stuck them in the raised beds behind my peas, and tied twine throughout them to create my own trellis system. As you can see in the photo, it worked like a charm! My pea plants are being supported well, and their little tendrils are hanging on for dear life. This method is much more customizable to your garden, and is a lot cheaper than purchasing other types of trellises!
6. Drainage
Proper drainage is key to having a healthy garden, and is another perk to having a raised bed. When those torrential rain storms hit in the summer, it can over-saturate your in-ground garden. This leads to a mucky mess, and to over-watered plants which can lead to root-rot and other plant illnesses. When the ground is over-saturated, there is no place for extra water to go, which means your plants are sitting in an excess amount of water when rain storms hit.
With raised beds, drainage can happen more easily, since the water has somewhere to go. (Keep in mind a raised bed is different from a garden box in the way that a raised bed is actually raised up off the ground, like in the photo above. A garden box is just a frame resting on the ground.) Having proper drainage in your garden will keep your soil appropriately wet, and will discard any excess water!
If the raised bed you choose does not have drainage, you can always drill some holes into the bottom of it. If you choose to have some separate planters on the ground, drill holes on the sides to allow for water to drain. This is a very important part to having a healthy garden, so don’t overlook it!
7. Survival of the Fittest
Unfortunately, you will have to thin out some of your beautiful plants. Personally, I prefer to over-plant seeds and thin the plants out down the line. That way, it guarantees that some seeds will germinate, keeping you from having to replant. When my plants get more mature, I determine which ones are more dominant and healthier. I then pluck the others out, allowing more space for the larger ones to grow and produce veggies. Fair warning: you will wince with every plant you pull out. You just have to tell yourself it’s for the greater good.
With these 7 clever garden hacks, you will definitely be rewarded with a bountiful harvest! Pick and choose which hacks work best for your garden, and watch the magic happen!
This post was all about 7 clever garden hacks for a bountiful garden.