For many beginners, getting the right information makes all the difference in their gardening venture.
While some opt to wing it while learning through experience, others opt to do further research. By doing this, they get answers to gardening questions and discover how broad and exciting gardening can be.
But overall, gardening takes years to perfect and even then, there are more questions than answers. Still, experience and implementing what you learn along the way helps to fill most of these gaps.
Furthermore, it’s best to ask questions and discover ways that make gardening more rewarding.
Table of Contents
Gardening Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
1. How often should your garden be watered?
Any gardener, even a beginner, understands how crucial watering is for their garden. By getting watering right, a garden can thrive from the start. On the other hand, getting it wrong often leads to over or under-watering.
It begs the gardening question— how often should you water a garden, and how much water is enough?
The best answer to this is it depends. All plants in a garden don’t require the same amount of water. Some like cacti can thrive even when water is scarce, while vegetables require frequent watering.
Apart from this, there are other factors to consider when it comes to watering plants. For example, the weather in your area; does it rain often? If it does, then frequent watering isn’t necessary. If it doesn’t, it’s best to bust out the hose.
Apart from this factor, also the positioning of plants is crucial. Indoor plants require less watering than outdoor plants. While indoors, plants only need watering a few times a month, depending on species. On the other hand, outdoor plants get thirsty faster and need frequent quenching.
2. What is the best solution for raising soil pH levels?
It’s another vital gardening question, and the best solution for raising soil pH levels is using the granular form of lime. To achieve perfect levels, apply it at the rate of 5 pounds/1000sq feet. After that, wait half a year and repeat the process with the same ratio.
You don’t need to worry about applying lime when crops are in season. The reason being lime doesn’t burn plants but instead benefits them. Once you complete the application, wait for a year to check on the progress. The best way to check if the lime was successful is by getting the soil tested.
3. Where can you get the best gardening design ideas?
Achieving the best design is every gardener’s dream. However, it’s an uphill task to craft a garden from scratch into a masterpiece. Hence the reason many gardeners seek inspiration and ideas.
When seeking the best garden ideas, take a look at what the industry professionals are doing. They have vast experience in this field, especially those who major in garden architecture. Watching their work can help ignite a multitude of ideas that help you create the perfect garden.
By researching such works, you learn firsthand what works or doesn’t. You can also take the research further and take a class on garden design to solve this gardening question. Many of these professionals offer such courses.
4. What is the best way to utilize patio space?
Patio spaces come in numerous sizes and designs. The best way to utilize such areas satisfactorily is to have an idea of what you want before you start. If it’s an open space, do you want it to remain open or be enclosed? If the area is small, will it fit all plants or you intend to have some furniture?
Since patios are cemented or have tiles, the best way to create a garden is by using containers such as flower pots. Have a look at some patio garden designs to help you get inspiration before getting started.
Such research helps you to find the right type and size of containers to use. Additionally, you get a clear view of the kind and size of plants to have in your patio garden.
5. Is regular fertilizing good or bad for your garden?
Applying fertilizer plays a significant role in overall plant health and wellbeing. It’s because fertilizers provide plants with crucial nutrients that help them thrive. With that in mind, it’s best to know when to fertilize a plant and when to leave it alone.
It all boils down to how much fertilizer a plant requires for sustenance. Some plants are heavy feeders, while others can thrive with fertilizing once a year. So, in short, learn the type of plant from the start to get a fertilizing schedule in place.
Besides learning how much fertilizer a plant needs, the type of fertilizer is also a crucial factor. Why? It’s because some plants require a particular type of fertilizer to thrive. For example, there’s a special fertilizer only formulated for fruit trees.
Additionally, another factor to keep in mind when answering this gardening question is the fertilizer’s purpose. For vegetables, seek out fertilizers that help increase production.
6. Where is the best place to establish your garden? Is it on the ground, raised beds, or containers?
Plants can thrive on containers, the ground, or in raised beds. Therefore the best answer here is it depends on what you prefer. Some gardeners, even with ample space for a ground garden, they like container gardening.
All in all, most plants thrive in containers, raised beds, or the ground with good care. Also, it might be best to check on the climate of your area. Container gardens are best in areas with winter that require all plants to head indoors.
Still, this isn’t to dissuade anyone who wants to plant on raised beds or the ground. You can use all three successfully and design one grand garden which satisfies this gardening question.
7. Which is the best place to buy plants? At the garden center or supermarket?
Today, supermarkets have shelves full of plants that attract many buyers. However, many people are skeptical of how long such plants can survive.
The truth is if a plant is healthy, then when it’s well taken care of, it will thrive. At the end of the day, a plant’s welfare depends on its owner.
8. Is mulch the same as compost?
While mulch and compost are crucial to successful gardening, they aren’t the same thing. It’s a common mistake that many gardeners make since compost is used in place of mulch.
Mulch is an organic or inorganic material that’s spread on top of the soil to prevent soil erosion or weed growth. Also, it helps the soil retain water. On the other hand, compost is a decomposed organic material that gardeners mix into garden soil to add essential nutrients.
9. What types of weeds are common in lawns?
Weeds affect lawns no matter where you are in the world. Yes, there are different types, but the problem remains the same.
The best way to eradicate weeds is to prevent them by growing a thick and healthy lawn. What such a yard does is avoid areas with bare soil that encourage the growth of weeds.
To better answer this gardening question, common types of weeds to look out for include:
- Grassy weeds like crabgrass
- Broadleaf weeds like dandelion
In case your lawn is affected by these weeds, use herbicides to keep them in check. For the health of your soil, opt for organic herbicides. Also, keep in mind that weeds like crabgrass spread their seeds in winter to germinate quickly in spring. To prevent this, opt to use pre-emergent herbicides to kill off the seeds once spring arrives.
10. After mowing the lawn, must you collect the clippings or leave them as they are?
After mowing the lawn, it can be tempting to leave the grass clippings as they are. Yes, they can serve as nutrients for the grass underneath. But this positive is defeated by the fact that such clippings are known to suffocate the grass beneath.
You end up with patches on your lawn where the grass under the clipping dies off. Therefore, the best thing to do after mowing the lawn is raking the grass clippings. It’s best to find other ways to fertilize the lawn, like using fertilizer, which does more good than harm.
11. What type of pruning shear works best for your garden?
Once a garden is mature enough to require pruning shear, getting the right type is crucial. There are only two kinds of pruning shears, namely scissors and anvil.
Although these two work well in all kinds of gardens, many gardeners prefer scissors to the anvil to solve this gardening question.
Why do many prefer scissors? It’s because anvil tends to crush the stems of plants. It takes years to master using anvil without risking the stem. However, a good pair of shears serves as a gardener for a long time. Additionally, shears are easy to mend and find parts when in need.
12. Why is well-drained soil so crucial for plant health?
Water is an essential part of plant health since none can survive without it. Still, too much water ends up affecting plants leading to rot and death. It’s why getting well-drained soil is crucial.
By planting in well-drained soil, water logging is no longer a cause for alarm. Plants benefit from just the right amount of water while the excess drains away. For the most part, loam soil meets the criteria for well-drained soil.
13. How can you choose the best shade trees for your home?
Shade trees play an essential role in gardens and can help them thrive. When you decide to plant a shade tree, there are several factors to keep in mind.
One is the area that needs shading in your garden. If it’s a small area, one or two trees will suffice. If more, you might need to plant many trees.
Two are the climatic conditions in your home area and how conducive it is for their growth. Some climates support their development while others hamper it.
Three is the growth rate of the shade tree. It’s best to pick out a tree that grows faster.
14. What flowers are known to thrive in a shade garden?
At times it can be challenging to bloom flowers in a shade garden. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
One solution for this is using perennials known to bloom with the right amount of watering and light. Also, check out annuals that thrive in shaded areas provided you water them regularly.
For example, you can opt for shade-tolerant annuals such as impatiens, wax begonias, coleus, sapphire flower, and sweet alyssum.
15. How can you keep your annuals thriving on a hanging basket all through summer?
When you purchase hanging baskets, what attracts you most is the full bloom. However, you start to notice that this fades, resulting in fewer flowers and dry soil during summer, leading to the above gardening question.
What happened is the small amount of soil in such baskets heats up and dries out quickly during summer. It’s why daily watering is necessary to keep the soil moist. Also, regular feeding with a liquid fertilizer helps feed the plant and keep the blooms coming.
Finally, regular grooming gives the plant more room to provide those beautiful and mesmerizing flowers.
16. Why is it important to prune your trees?
Many gardeners know it’s essential to prune trees, but why is it so?
Pruning trees not only add to the beauty of your garden but also promotes their health. During late winter, the sap rises in trees, and pruning helps it bleed out. What this does is allow the tree to heal faster and prevent disease.
Final Point
Asking the right gardening questions is the difference between a thriving and struggling garden.
Learn as much as you can, and you’ll reap the rewards.
Posted by:Gwen
Gwen Johansson began gardening as a side hobby while working two jobs at around ninety hours a week. Spending Sunday mornings in the garden was her vice for the hectic week, and after helping neighbors with their gardens and being asked numerous questions, she decided to make her own free resource for others to enjoy. She now spends more time in her garden than at work, and strives to help you understand your fragrant outdoor space more than anyone else.
