13 Martha Stewart Gardening Tips That Defy Every Rule You’ve Heard
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Gardening is a meticulous art, replete with rules and passed down techniques. But when Martha Stewart, the lifestyle DIY queen herself, enters the garden, her tips can turn conventional wisdom on its ear. For years, Stewart has been experimenting, bending, and even breaking some of the ‘golden’ gardening rules. It’s not about being rigid with the script, rather, it is about turning a dial to what your plants and your soil really needs.
If you enjoy digging in the dirt, and are willing to give a more laid back approach a try, these are her gardening tips for you: less about perfection, and more about joy and creativity.
Embrace Imperfection
Martha doesn’t mind a little chaos when gardening can often be about having a pristine landscape. A few weeds or unplanned growth can help characterize a garden. She says gardens shouldn’t look like they’re stamped out of a catalog. Most of the real magic happens when nature is allowed to be just a little bit wild.
Plant Herbs With Flowers
According to conventional gardening wisdom, the kitchen garden belongs to herbs and the decorative beds hold the flower. Martha however defies this. She mixes herbs and flowers in her beds, instead. This adds texture and fragrance and assists in natural pest control as well. For example, some basil near tomatoes will repel pests, and certain insects will avoid lavender and rosemary. Plus, you get a great cottage like look to your garden.
Skip Overly Fertilizing
Fertilizer is the workhorse of any gardener’s toolkit, but overdoing it can turn into a problem, warns Martha. Rapid, weak growth, and damage to the roots of your plants can occur if you over fertilize. Many plants actually do fine with less fertilizer than we think. Martha suggests composting or using organic matter to slowly nourish the soil overtime. It’s a much more natural way of feeding your plants without drowning them.
Don’t Follow the Standard Calendar
A planting calendar is adhered to by many gardeners, but Martha suggests that the best method is to pay more attention to the climate in your area than any standard scheduled planting time. If able to plant a bit earlier or later, depending on the weather that year, plants have a better chance of getting their roots in and growing strong. In many cases, trusting your own observations of the seasons works much better than following generic gardening schedules.
Talk to Your Plants
Who would have thought this tip was a good idea, but Martha encourages it with all her heart! She says talking to plants is a way to connect with them. A study found surprisingly that plants actually responded to the sound of human voices, and even grew a little faster. Giving your plants a little bit of conversation whether it’s with singing a little tune or offering some encouraging words can be both therapeutic and beneficial to them.
Sometimes Water in the Middle of the Day
To save on water, we’re told to water our gardens either at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day, to avoid evaporation. However, Martha waters in the middle of the day, if it’s extra hot or if the plants look stressed. She says it’s her occasional midday watering that helps her catch wilting early and hydrates her plants when they need it most. But don’t make this a habit, as too much midday watering can be harmful to some leaves.
Coffee Grounds Should Be Used With Caution
Coffee grounds are often touted as the perfect plant food, a natural fertilizer. Too much will disrupt the soil’s pH balance, Martha warns, as she suggests using them sparingly. An overuse of coffee grounds will result in overly acidic conditions, as they are high in nitrogen. Martha’s advice? A little sprinkle here and there works like magic, but piling them on will not do you any good.
Do Not Be Scared to Combine Various Soil Types
For the most part, gardeners stick to a type of soil for each plant. Martha prefers her soil types mixed up though, mixing in different combinations to give her plants different conditions. For instance, a bit of clay soil added to areas of sand will help retention of moisture, and sand to clay areas will improve drainage. She said sometimes experimenting with different soil combinations can help your plants be the best they can be.
Skip the Sprays and Let Nature Run Its Course
Martha is a fan of a little laissez faire when it comes to pests, but if you prefer a chemical spray, there are plenty of varieties available. A few pests won’t kill a garden, as they will attract their own natural predators and restore balance. For example, ladybugs like aphids, and spiders are good for many small pests. It’s a more natural way to do things and you end up with a healthier garden altogether.
Farmers Rotate Their Plants, and You Should Too
Farmers rotate crops to keep the soil healthy; most home gardeners don’t even think about it. Martha suggests that every several seasons, you rotate plants in your flower beds to avoid soil depletion and disease build up. The same as crops, rotating will keep your garden fresh and keep certain pests from taking over one spot.
Prune With a Light Touch
Martha prefers a lighter hand, but the rule of thumb is to heavily prune in order to encourage growth. It is possible to over prune (stress) plants, especially young ones. She doesn’t trim everything down to just the right shape; instead, she trims just enough to keep plants healthy. She thinks this approach allows plants to grow more naturally and in a less ‘manicured’ but a much healthier garden.
Rake Less, Mulch More
Raking is another staple of traditional gardening, but Martha says the best thing to do is mulch and let nature take care of the leaves. With some fallen leaves left, you’re contributing to the soil with organic matter, which will ultimately become a natural mulch. It not only conserves moisture, it also feeds the plants, since decomposed leaves are loaded with nitrates.
Start With the Easiest Plants, not the Hardiest Plants
When most people are asked about starting out, they will tell you to start with hardy, low maintenance plants like succulents or pothos. However, Martha thinks it’s best to begin with the plants you really adore. If you’re a total newbie, it’s smart to start with hardy varieties, but you can’t go wrong picking a few favorites that might be a little finicky. Martha says she thinks gardening should be about passion. If you’re psyched about your plants, you’re almost certain to do what it takes to nurture them, even if they take a bit more work.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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