Helpful Hacks to Nurture Your Garden

Spring has sprung—you can see it in full bloom in home gardens across the country. According to the National Gardening Association, about 1 in every 3 U.S. households owns a garden. This includes kitchen gardens (consisting of indoor potted herbs) up to a full yard of plants. If you’re thinking of dipping your toes into the garden game—or already have one and looking to hone your skills—you can use these tips to nurture your green thumb.

Garden Hacks

Spring has sprung—you can see it in full bloom in home gardens across the country. According to the National Gardening Association, about 1 in every 3 U.S. households owns a garden. This includes kitchen gardens (consisting of indoor potted herbs) up to a full yard of plants. If you’re thinking of dipping your toes into the garden game—or already have one and looking to hone your skills—you can use these tips to nurture your green thumb.

Garden Hacks: Give new purpose to egg shells

Give new purpose to eggshells 

Using water that has been soaked with eggshells in your garden can help strengthen the various plants you’re growing. According to research, the eggshells act as natural calcium carbonate, which lends integrity to the cell walls in plants, providing a sturdier and more resilient structure. Thus, the next time you’re scrambling eggs for breakfast, save the shells and soak in water until needed for watering plants/garden. Another option: Break eggshells into small bits and place them at the base of the plant stems in your garden. Eggshells are compostable so there’s no need to remove them later.

Garden Hacks: Feed your plants a cup of Joe

Feed your plants a cup of Joe

Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, which helps feed the bacteria in the soil that turns organic matter into compost, according to researchers at Oregon State. Coffee grounds also have the ability to reduce gas emissions and can kill weeds naturally, making your garden healthier in the long run. Note: This isn’t a quick fix—the grounds act slowly. Coffee grounds are kind of like a natural fertilizer and have a similar ratio of carbon to nitrogen (20:1) as manure.

Garden Hacks: Upcycle your veggies

Upcycle your veggies

Save some green while being green. This tip enables you to reuse scallions and garlic. Replant the roots of scallions and garlic (you know, the parts we typically discard). To do this for scallions, take a scallion and cut it right where it starts to turn from white near the roots to green. Save the white part that has the roots attached and replant it in your home garden. Similarly, you can replant a single clove of garlic in your home garden and it will grow a long stem that smells like garlic and can be used just like garlic in recipes.

Garden Hacks: Create a DIY mini greenhouse

Create a DIY mini greenhouse

Give new life to plastic water bottles by cutting them in the middle and placing the top half (remove the cap) over a pot of the same size or right in your garden bed. That helps protect the plant from insects while also trapping enough sunlight and heat inside to keep the plant warm. Leaving the cap off, especially if the plant is outside, will prevent overheating of the plant as heat gets trapped inside. Two tricks: You can water the plant through the cap-less top. And cut waste by using the bottom half as a pot for indoor plants. Mini greenhouses can be used on both indoor and outdoor plants.