5 Tips to Help Your Garden Now

Winning Tip: Plant tables

I take over our terrace every twelvemonth to harden off seedlings , and I am always pick up clearance plants , many of which hold back in my private road for weeks or months until I finally plant them in the primer . Last spring we work up these simple plant table , taking inspiration from some we ’d project at a nursery . We built the stem out of pressure - cover 4x4s , then added hardware cloth to make the “ tabletop . ” Each table is 2 foot wide and 8 fundament long , and we made four of them . The tables are in a sheltered place , so I finally have a spot to lay in all my 100 of plants , and the hardware material tolerate them to drain easily . They ’re up off the ground , so we have n’t had any issues with slugs . It makes maintenance so much easier when all the plants are in one shoes .

— Hayden Brown , Hillsboro , Oregon

TLC for pine tree seedlings

There is no mistaking a pine tree diagram seedling . It is between 11⁄2 and 2 in grandiloquent and wait just like a big true pine tree with a single stem . While weed , I sometimes come across midget pine trees that the birds have planted . I carefully dig them up , protecting their roots from damage , and replant them in fertile territory in a space with plenty of sunlight . I keep the seedlings well water until new growth appear . There ’s no need to bestow them indoors during the wintertime . In a few days the plants are large enough to transplant in lasting locations , or they can be potted up and used for decorating inside or outside . Learn about pruning pines .

— Mary Crum , Holland , Pennsylvania

Easy Christmas tree removal

Dragging my no - long - brisk Christmas tree diagram outside after the holiday is a messy and wretched task in the subzero Wisconsin wintertime . One class when I cease up home alone , I brought in a white tarpaulin and my pruning lopers . With the tarp next to the stand , I foreshorten off each branch and stacked it on the tarpaulin . When I was done , I pull up the four nook and slid the tarp out of the planetary house , where the branches sat covered until I was ready to use them to protect shrubs . Then , after loosen the tree in the viewpoint , it was easygoing to lift the lightweight trunk out , set the wet base in a plastic pocketbook , and persuade it out to the kerb . This is now my standard method .

— Amy Dunlop , Sun Prairie , Wisconsin

New life for rusty pruners

Last week my married man find my pruners at the bottom of our compost pile , and they were in pretty rough physique after being there for a yr . I tried soak the pruners overnight in a 50/50 solution of bloodless acetum and water . After I scrubbed them with a brand - woollen scouring pad of paper and a tooth- brush , the trimmer cleaned up substantially than expected and veer very well . Which pruner is correct for you ?

— Linda Young , Ridgefield , Connecticut

Spray-bottle hanger

I used to rot precious horticulture time looking for my spray bottleful of this insect powder or that fungicide , only to find it upside down under the pot bench knocked over by a gust of wind or industrious squirrel . I in conclusion find a solution . I attach a remnant of grunter wire to the trim of the windowpane behind my pot bench . The hog wire serves as a ready to hand “ hook ” from which the trigger of various spray bottles hang . Now whether I need insecticidal scoop , neem oil color , or critter deterrent , the bottleful are within reach , their label well-to-do to read . See our expert ’ top garden instrument .

— Katherine Coker , McDonough , Georgia

From Fine Gardening # 197

all right Gardening recommend ware

VegTrug Classic Cold Frame

Sun Joe Cordless Telescoping Pole Chain see

Gardener ’s Supply Company Summerweight Fabric Plant Cover

Get our latest tips , how - to articles , and instructional videos sent to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Tips to Help You Squeeze More Out of Your Garden

4 Tips for Early Spring Gardening

5 Tips to Improve Your Garden Soil

Ideas to Spruce Up Your Shade

Join Fine horticulture for a detached affiance live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant pathologist as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I spotted a special sand clam cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few month ago , I bang I was in trouble . With a delightful colouring material figure …

When we only prioritise plants we want over plants our landscape pauperism , each season is sate with a never - terminate leaning of chores : pruning , lift , watering , treating , ameliorate , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be careful when you enter the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to trip on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …