In case you can’t tell from the number of gardening topics I’ve written about on the Stoney Creek Farm blog, gardening is something I’m SO passionate about.
In fact, one of my favorite classes to teach is our yearly Gardening 101 (without Pesticides) Class that we offered earlier this month. I had such a fun time sharing with attendees how to grow their own healthy foods without resorting to nasty chemicals.
Here’s a photo from one of our attendees that we shared on our Stoney Creek Farm Facebook page! (You can also follow us on Instagram and tag us @dirtrich.life if you want to share a photo from a class you’ve attended!)
I also love learning creative tricks and gardening hacks to better my skills.
If you’re the same way, you’re going to love today’s blog post. I’ve gathered up some of my favorite gardening hacks to share with you!
1. Love coffee? So do your acid-loving plants! This one is for anyone who grows berries, citrus fruits, camellias, hydrangeas, and roses—add used coffee grounds to the soil to supplement the acidity of your soil.
2. Create a natural tomato spray to fight fungal disease with baking soda and vegetable oil. Mix together the following:
- A gallon of water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
Stir, then add ½ teaspoon of castile soap. You can then spray this onto your tomatoes’ foliage until the fungus is treated.
3. Instead of throwing away wine corks, attach them to a stick and reuse these as cute plant label “signs.”
4. For those who love to build and create, make a potting station out of pallets! Check out the video to get design inspiration.
5. Have an empty gallon jug? Upcycle it as a watering can by poking holes in the bottle top. You can also create a “little jug greenhouse” by cutting the gallon jug in half and filling the bottom half with soil for planting and using the top half as a cover.
6. Create an easy and inexpensive seed packet organization system by using the sleeves of a photo album.
7. Cover your plants with a clear umbrella to create a small “greenhouse” to protect plants from harsh weather conditions. This is great for those who live in spring climates where the weather is unruly!
8. Here’s a cute twist on hanging plants—use colorful colanders instead of pots!
9. Clean and sharpen the edges of garden tools by storing in a pot filled with sand and mineral oil.
10. Use vinegar as a natural weed control.
11. Sprinkle crushed egg shells around plants to form a border to keep snails and slugs out of your garden—these slimy critters don’t like crossing over the shells’ jagged edges and will stay away.
12. Cats and other animals won’t disturb your garden bed if you plant your recycled plastic forks with the handle in the soil and the prongs above the ground surrounding your garden. They don’t like to be “pricked” by those forks.
For more creative gardening hacks like these, check out these articles and videos:
- The Gardening Cook’s Vegetable Garden Hacks
- Live Smarter’s 32 Gardening Hacks that are Borderline Genius (video)
- LifeHackz’ 11 Gardening Hacks that Will Blow Your Mind Away (video)
Join the Dirt Rich Online Community
“I want a simpler life.”
Is that something that you’ve often thought? Are you tired of the 9-to-5 grind and you want a life that is simpler, slower, and more peaceful?
We want to invite you to join an online community of folks who want the same things you want: a life of more joy and less stress!
The Dirt Rich online membership community will include resources on:
- Simple living
- Growing healthy food without harmful chemicals
- Becoming more self sufficient
- Developing income streams to support a sustainable lifestyle
As a member of our Dirt Rich community, you’ll have access to exclusive content and conversations about sustainable living that you can’t find anywhere else!
We’ll be sharing more information about our community in the coming weeks, but if you’d like first access to our new community, you can sign up with your email address here!
