11 Gardening Tips to Help Your Plants Flourish

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Gardening has always had its quirks, its secrets, its shocks, and so on. Nature keeps throwing new curveballs, so never think you’ve seen it all. Sometimes, the plants have their own rules, and experienced farmers and gardeners know that. However, there are still tips and tricks that will surprise even the veteran grower.

If you’ve been tending to plants for decades or you just like to get your hands dirty, these eleven unexpected gardening tips might make you think differently about your green space. These aren’t your standard recycled advice about soil and watering schedules. Instead, they are surprising, sometimes quirky nuggets but they are proven nuggets that work.

Use Epsom Salt for Greener Leaves

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This household staple has been found an unexpected home in the garden. Epsom salt contains magnesium, which helps plants produce more chlorophyll, and greener, lusher leaves. Every couple of weeks, spray a gallon of water with a tablespoon of Epsom salt dissolved and spray it on the foliage. But this is a particularly good trick for tomatoes, peppers and roses to keep them looking bright and healthy.

Natural Fertilizer With Eggshells

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Eggshells are full of calcium, which is essential to plant cell structure. Crushed eggshells mixed into the soil around plants, especially tomatoes, peppers and other veggies, can help prevent blossom-end rot. They can also be sprinkled on the surface and will break down over time, slowly feeding your plants.

Turn Cardboard Into a Weed Blocker

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Cardboard is every gardener’s bane, but it can also be weeds’ too. Sheets of cardboard are placed between the rows of plants to block the sunlight to the soil so weeds don’t sprout. Double win for gardeners too, cardboard breaks down and adds organic material to the soil. It’s a cheap, simple solution that will save you hours of weeding.

Baking Soda Sweet Tomatoes

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If you’ve ever wanted to grow tomatoes with a little more sweetness, baking soda may be your new best friend. Sprinkling a little bit of baking soda around the base of your tomato plants will lower the acidity of the soil and make your fruit a little sweeter. Don’t use too much, or it will hurt the plants.

Pest Repellent Using Coffee Grounds

Coffee Grounds
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Coffee grounds are a great addition to compost, and most gardeners know that, but they also repel pests. We love the smell of coffee, but slugs, snails and ants hate it just as much. Coffee grounds can be sprinkled around plants to form a natural barrier that will keep these pests away, without the use of harsh chemicals. Plus, the grounds provide a little extra nitrogen in the soil for plants to grow.

The Power of “Companion” Planting

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There are some plants that will grow best next to certain neighbors. For instance, basil next to tomatoes will improve flavor and repel pests. Beans and corn benefit from each other, according to a Journal of Agriculture study, when planted together, they was a 38% increase in yield. Marigolds planted near almost anything are a bug deterrent. It’s a bit like matchmaking for your garden and companion planting can help boost plant health and yield.

Boosting Flowering With Banana Peels

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Banana peels are a fabulous secret weapon for gardeners, especially those wanting more blooms. According to this ResearchGate study, banana peels are high in potassium and other minerals and serve as natural fertilizer that helps flowering. You can just bury the peels near the base of your flowering plants, or blend them into water for a nutrient rich tea. You will be thanked with a vibrant display of flowers.

“Talk” to Your Plants

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Plants react to vibrations, including the sound of human voices, a National Institutes of Health study has shown. Talking to your plants or even playing soft music can actually make them grow, it might seem silly but it can. We believe that the carbon dioxide from our breath while we talk helps plants, and vibrations can stimulate growth. Have a chat with your tomatoes, and they might just give you a bigger harvest.

Let Weeds Do Some Work

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Weeds are the enemy to most gardeners, but they can be a valuable clue. Soil pH, drainage and nutrient deficiencies can be indicated by specific growth habit of weeds. For example, if you see dandelions popping up, it may be time to aerate; they do well in compacted soil. These “indicator plants” will let you watch your soil and fix it without a test kit.

The Phases of the Moon plant

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It might sound mystical but the old fashioned farming by the moon works. The gravitational pull from the moon is said to affect the moisture in the soil, so if you plant your seed at that particular time of the moon phase, you will have better germination. On waxing moon, plant above ground crop, or on waning moon, plant below ground crop. Many claim that it results in healthier, more vigorous plants.

The “3-Sisters” Technique

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The “Three Sisters” method is a centuries old Native American planting method of planting corn, beans and squash together in a symbiotic garden. Beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and squash leaves make great ground cover and reduce weeds, and corn provides a natural trellis for beans. A beautiful planting technique that uses nature’s balance to maximize yield and minimize work.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.

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