Gardening ideas to get your plants growing

Gardening is one of my favourite pastimes. I remember, as a child my mother and I would spend hours in the garden, pruning and potting new plants, waiting for Dad to come home from work.

Some aspects of caring for plants might come naturally but often people may find themselves wondering where to start or if they are even doing it right?

Here are some handy hints about gardening that might help:

• Removing salt deposits from clay pots

To remove any salt deposits that may form on clay pots you can combine white vinegar and rubbing alcohol in equal parts and place it in a spray bottle. You will simply need to spray the mix onto the pot and scrub with a brush until it comes off. Make sure you allow your pot to dry before you plant anything else in there.

• Stop dirt from getting under your fingers

One of the least appealing parts of gardening is getting soil stuck under your fingernails. To stop it you can run you fingernails across a bar of soap. This will form a seal so dirt won’t stick to your nails. When you are finished in the garden you can use a nailbrush to remove the soap.

• Make your tools into measuring sticks

Use your long-handled gardening tool as a measuring stick by placing it next to a tape measure and marking the centimetre along the handle. When you are planting next you can easily tell how far apart you will need to place each one.

• Garden twine dispenser

Make sure you always have garden twine handy by placing a ball of twine in a small clay pot, turnig it upside down and pulling the end of the twine through the drainage hole.

• Mark your plants or herbs

Easily remember what each plant is by writing the name of it in white marker on a stone and placing that stone in front of the plant. This is a great way to teach the grandkids about herbs and plants too!

• Use left over tea and coffee grounds for fertilisers

Your leftover tea and coffee grounds are a great way to acidify the soil of plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, gardenias, blueberries and any other acid loving plants. Sprinkle half a centimetre over the soil ever month to keep the pH acidic.

• Use left over water from boiling vegetables

When you boil or steam vegetables next, save the water for your potted plants on the patio. They will love the extra nutrients in the water.

Do you have any gardening tips?