A garden is like life, it takes more than just waking up to be able to appreciate the beauty that surrounds you. In order to get the most out of it and have a good chance at it being successful there are a few things you can do to increase your success rate.

• Pre-planning and research are a must
• Patience is key
• Planting or sowing at the right time makes success
• Care and maintenance are always needed

 

Tips & Tricks

Since it is spring and I’ve been using quite a bit of “tricks” in the garden this year, I was inspired to share this story it whispered to me as I was working in it.  I thought I’d leave you with a few of the tips I started using.

• I love to recycle and in preparation for this planting season I used an old accordion expanding folder binder, to organize my seeds into 2 categories, season in which they are to be planted and those that can be harvested in 60 days vs those that are harvested in more than 60 days.  This pre-planning is what I believe will make this growing season even more successful than the rest.

• Instead of creating markers for each seed I planted, I decided to mark my raised beds by using yarn and laying it horizontally and vertically to make the spaces and then use a mind mapping app to mark the spaces.  Now I don’t have to worry about disintegrating wood markers, missing markers or creating new markers.

• I recycled our grocery store paper bags and made small paper pots.  When the little plants have sprouted I can plant them in the pot and it will disintegrate into the earth, breaking down and providing nutrients to the plant all the while never disturbing the plant during transplant.  You can also do this with paper towel and toilet paper rolls.

 

• This is something I do all year, save seeds!  You can place them on eco friendly paper, napkins, paper towels and allow them to dry.  Then you can just roll it up, mark it and they are ready to plant when it’s their season.
• Many of the fruit and veggies that you purchase can be grown, either from their seeds or from the stalk, which contains the root system.  For instance, take a stalk of celery.  You can cut the stalk off about 1.5 to 2″ and place it  in a 1/2″ of water and in a sunny location.  Check the water daily and in a few days to a week you should see roots and new celery leaves.  After you see a good root system you can plant it in the ground!

 

Being a creative person allows me to think about life in a more abstract way and in this way I am to put pieces of the puzzle together .  I hope this information helps you solve your garden puzzles a little easier!  Use your new outlook and apply it to your current project or the one you’ve been waiting to start whether it be gardening or not.

Want to swap some seeds?  Check out my other post http://blog.mycocreations.com/posts/mycocreations-seed-swap-2015-true-seeds-of-the-future/

~Arminda
www.MyCoCreations.com