Top 20 Gardening Tips passed on to me from old Uncle Joe

Category: organic gardening | Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:08 am

Top 20 Gardening Tips

1. To prevent animals from digging up and eating your bulbs before you plant them, wrap them in a thin layer of steel wool.

2. Liquid soap makes a great insecticidal soap when you mix it with water. Take 1 to 3 tablespoons of liquid soap, mix it into 1 gallon of water, put it in a spray bottle and spray the entire plant.

3. Cut fresh flower stems at an angle, it creates a larger surface area for the flower to draw up
more water and remember to put your flowers into water immediately, if you don't, air pockets will form in the stems and cause the flowers to droop.

4. When planting trees bury some old garden hose alongside the roots, when you fill in the hole, leave the other end of the garden hose out of the ground. This allows you to water the roots directly.

5. A bit of gardening advice is to use bubble wrap to line the pots of container grown plants. It will keep them warm during the winter months

6. Use old knitwear or newspapers for a low cost hanging basket liner.

7. Make sure you get a level edge when pruning garden hedges by fastening a length of rope to two points across the top.

8. Salted boiling water makes an excellent weed killer on paths and driveways.

9. Stop cats climbing into your garden by spraying your wooden fences with surgical spirit.

10. Deter dogs with unwanted perfume and aftershave and liberal sprinklings of pepper.

11. If you plant seeds in a straight line, you'll be able to spot weeds as they come up.

12. Use a length of garden hose or drainpipe

to sow seeds if you have difficulty bending down.

13. This gardening tip will give your plants an instant pick-me-up. Give them a drink of non-diet
coca cola.

14. Always water your lawn in the evening. This allows time for the moisture to soak in overnight and prevents burnt spots.

15. Cut up old margarine tubs and use them to create plant labels.

16. Keep your drainpipes and guttering clear by inserting a ball of galvanized steel wool into
the opening. It acts as a filter and prevents the pipes from becoming blocked.

17. Bring a sparkle back to your greenhouse windows by rubbing them with scrunched up newspaper dipped in water and vinegar.

18. Don't use cold water straight from the tap to water your houseplants. Fill your watering can the night before so that the water is at room temperature.

19. During a long spell of hot weather, leave grass clippings on the lawn to act as mulch.

20. Garden boots and wellies starting to smell? Cut an orange into two and place one half in each overnight. It works great.

Uncle Joes is no longer with us, but his spirit lives on through this page. I can still hear him yelling at us kids for sneaking into his garden. Uncle Joe kept a Gardeners Diary of everything he had done in his garden and his lawn.

I will share these with you as time permits. Please note that some of these tips I have not tried or endorse, all I can tell you Uncle Joes had the best vegetables and best looking lawn in the neighborhood.

Last edited: Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:31 am

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Comments

eileen wrote on Sat Feb 28, 2009 10:42 am:

Some very useful tips. Thanks for posting them for us.

Netty wrote on Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:10 pm:

Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to hear more about Uncle Joe :)

bsewnsew wrote on Sat Feb 28, 2009 3:03 pm:

Excellent advice.

b

kuntrygal wrote on Sat Feb 28, 2009 6:56 pm:

Love the tips, especially #5 about using bubble wrap. They are all good. Thanks for sharing.

Droopy wrote on Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:50 am:

Nice list, some good gardening sense there. :)

cajunbelle wrote on Sun Mar 01, 2009 3:39 pm:

Thanks for sharing Uncle Joe's tips. Please never use pepper of any type to ward of animals, if it gets into their eyes they will claw them out to stop the burning.