Gardening is a great hobby that can be very rewarding in many ways. It does not matter if you grow vegetables or flowers in your garden, growing and caring for the plants in your garden can provide a meaningful and rewarding experience for you. This article lends a hand and gives pointers about growing plants and gardening.

For the fall season, plant a few fall edible plants in your garden containers. Beautiful selections of kale and mustard greens, have lovely shades of greens and purples and offer different textures to the arrangement. Add a few edible pansies to bring color to the green textures. The combination is fetching and will last well into the winter.

Choose plants and flowers that complement the colors of your home. Flowers that are pink or fuchsia, may go very well with your burgundy shudders. Tying in the colors of plants and flowers that you choose to harmonize with your house, will save you a lot of time at the garden center by simplifying your plant choices.

When dividing or transferring a plant, make sure you keep the roots cool and moist. Roots are the most fragile part of a plant and are extremely sensitive to light and heat. Put a dark plastic bag over the roots if you plan on not transferring the plant right away.

A key element to having a great garden is to fence it in. In many areas the wildlife will consume the fruits and vegetables as soon as they sprout, yielding little or no harvest. A good fence will not only keep out the wildlife, but it will keep out the neighborhood children from playing ball and pets from digging.

Buy Diatomaceous earth as an alternative to toxic pesticides or adding predatory insects to your garden. Diatomaceous earth is natural, organic, and non-toxic as well as inexpensive and easy to find. It is a green way to keep pests under control. Sprinkle over the surface of soil and water as normal.

Slide your fingernails against a bar of soap to prevent dirt from getting under your nails. The dirt doesn’t necessarily hurt you, but you will save time and effort when cleaning your hands later. Instead of having to dig underneath your nails, you can just use a nailbrush to quickly remove the soap residue.

If your tomato plants have long branches that are not flowering or producing fruit, go ahead and pinch them off. It won’t hurt the plant, but will actually help. Pruning back the branches that are not producing fruit, allows the plant to focus its energy and nutrients on producing larger and more flavorful fruit.

When growing potatoes, make sure you choose a variety with a starch content that corresponds with the way you’ll be cooking them. The more starch there is in a potato, the drier and flakier it will be when cooked. Potatoes that are good for mashing have approximately 7% starch. These potatoes cook quickly and retain a high moisture content, so they’re easy to mash. Baking potatoes have a starch content between 15% and 18%, and frying potatoes have the highest level at 22%.

Agricultural

Have your soil analyzed by a laboratory for a small fee so that you know which nutrients you need to add. Many college agricultural departments or cooperative extensions will provide this service for just a few dollars. Once you have the report, head to a farm supply company and buy what you need.

Natural or agricultural-grade diatomaceous earth is a gardener’s friend. You can spread this over the soil in your flower beds to keep pests away. Slugs in particular are cut by the tiny, sharp granules. This causes them to quickly dehydrate and will end their existence in your garden. Reapply after any good rain storm.

Gardening is a hobby that is healthy for you and a hobby that is truly rewarding. You could make your home look better, get fresh vegetables and flowers. If you use the advice from this article, you will see the benefits taken to the next level.