9 GARDENING HACKS That Actually Work

[Music] the internet sure is full of useless hacks everywhere they're there just to be clickbaits and sometimes people do fall for them now i want to share a few secret garden hacks that i have that i actually haven't told you at least not the secret part it's what i would call the pulu the cat sleep this is a brazilian saying it's the professional secret and even though i'm not a professional gardener here are some of the secret tips i've collected through the years getting plants to sprout and grow is the most important step in gardening while there is nothing wrong with buying plant starts that are ready to plant at some point you will want to grow things from seed i believe how well you raise your seedlings really dictates how good a gardener you're gonna be you might know that i do the plate germination method because it's one of the best but there is a secret to it you may have heard of this method as the paper towel or ziplock method but i don't call it that because that is exactly what i don't use if you've been watching the channel you know how much i like the plate germination method and you might have even wondered about my rather victorian cut glass germination station that i use and it's not just a stylistic choice i picked this candy dish for a dollar at a flea market when it's closed it doesn't form an airtight seal like a ziploc bag so i think it allows the inside to breathe a bit delaying mold formation part of the reason why i don't call this method the paper towel method is because i don't think you should be using paper towels you should be using toilet paper and specifically the two-ply kind of soft toilet paper i think that's the best one why because it actually holds on to the moisture but it also breaks down easier so that if you allow the seeds to just grow a little bit longer than you wanted to the roots get tangled into the paper and if it's paper towel that has resistant fiber especially the ones that are supposed to be washable and reusable that can be a problem as you remove the seedling because you might damage the root and once you damage the root that's it so the second real pulu dugatu or cat sleeve is using such a container like this and using a small plate that fits into it this way i can always have some water in the bottom and it will keep the overall atmosphere within this container moist but without letting the seeds be drowning in water because that's not a good idea by pre-germinating your seeds you save time and space in your growing trays only planting out seedlings that you know are alive my next hacks are all about the pots i grow seedlings in years ago i would use plastic cups with drilled bottoms as containers but i've been seeking plastic free alternatives that work just as well while i reuse my remaining plastic cups until they fall apart recycling plastic containers that's into the trash as seedling pots is still a viable option but i found out that container-free soil blocks are very effective for small seedlings i made my own soil blocks from scraps of a tube and a cylinder like the seasoning container to test out the concept and it works you just use a light fine texture potting mix add water until it holds its shape when compressed and you get perfect blocks to plant in for seedlings that need to grow into bigger plants before being transplanted out like eggplants peppers and tomatoes you'll still need to pot them up once they grow several pairs of leaves i decided to experiment with aluminum cans drilling holes in the bottom for drainage and cutting the tops with heavy duty scissors it is a good idea to use garden gloves on doing this leaving clean barb free edges to prevent injury these free recycled containers do work but since the cans have straight cylindrical sides it can be a struggle to get the seedlings out so i actually don't recommend this hack instead my secret pulu dugatu is that i source some new reusable and recyclable lightweight aluminum party cups with tapered sides that work like magic just stack them and drill drainage holes in the bottom while they're not free unless you're getting them from a party they are not terribly expensive either considering they could last you a lifetime just like my stainless steel restaurant chafing dishes i use this planting trays i've been using them for a decade and i highly recommend them this next hack will help you extend your growing season by protecting cold sensitive plants like eggplants it's always rather annoying dealing with late frosts when you have to plant something like eggplants or tomatoes that want a longer season to produce but they need to get into the ground as soon as possible temperatures below 50 degrees are bad for them that's why this trick should save you in a pinch i cut the bottom off of recycled water jugs that have the pop top to use as cloches these pop tops are the secret pulu dugat since you can easily open them during the day to vent them and close them at night in early spring by installing them under row covers you can give your eggplants a leg up protecting them against chilly weather closer to freezing with a double layer of protection the second pulo dugato secret is to surround the plants with recycled water containers filled with water that serve as heat sinks further moderating the climate inside the row covers they capture excess heat during the day and release it a night these hacks are great when you need to extend your season inducing earlier harvest and that is not the only secret and here's one of my favorite gardening hacks which i kind of stumbled upon by chance it has to do with growing lettuce if you want your lettuce to grow big and fast which usually do because you want to continue supply you start them indoors but instead of using the grow lights for only the period of natural daylight that you would do you let it run 24 7. you will have to water more often because the plants will be photosynthesizing non-stop they will keep growing throughout the night in about two and a half weeks you will have starts that are big enough to be hardened off outside before being planted this is faster than the normal four weeks it may take if you turn off the lights at night this will not harm the plant and should not cause any early bolting if you only do it in the first weeks after a week of getting them used to exterior conditions you can plant them because they are bigger slugs will not be much of a problem and you will be harvesting lettuce a couple of weeks sooner [Music] once you get your plants in the ground you must ensure they are well fed and watered for best results for this next hack i have to get close and personal to where all the magic of gardening happens and that's right in the ground well you may be thinking what does the lawn have to do with gardening usually you want to take lawn away and plant more gardens you can use the clippings from lawn to put over your ground as mulch so it's a fertilizer and mulch all in one you may be thinking i already know that it's common but my trick my secret trick is to be able to get a lawn that's not just grass i happen to have here a lawn that's full of clover and clover has a high nitrogen content that means it's going to be a more powerful fertilizer for your plants the trick is to sprinkle successive layers of grass clippings so they have a chance to dry and not mat up i actually hate mowing the lawn i get asthma attacks from the gas fumes and the noise really bothers me but i finally found a tool that is perfect for me it's a big solution that comes in a small package you know i was skeptical at first but the 17-inch battery powered electric motor by likely is just what i needed it's super lightweight and can be stored anywhere even in my tiny car but don't let the size fool you i was surprised by how powerful this machine is the easy pull button start means i don't have to pull a back muscle to cut the grass this machine certainly punches above its weight it handles slightly overgrown grass as long as it's dry so i was surprised the best part is the reduced noise compared to cast engines it's like operating a large bumblebee it is way easier to handle around my raised beds because it's so lightweight and has a smaller profile the simple one-handed lever for height adjustment is very satisfying you know i was mainly skeptical about the power and stamina but this machine is absolutely perfect for smaller gardens i can cut about half to a third of my 0.3 acre property on a single charge i usually prefer to cut a bit of the lawn every three days or so to use for grass clippings so it's the perfect tool for me and it's great at collecting clippings i've been using it for three months now so i'll keep you posted on how it holds up over time but so far i'm impressed the batteries fully charge in a couple of hours if you are interested in this lightly mower i decided to add the company link in the video description in full disclosure the folks who likely did reach out and provide this mower free of charge for me to try but this is not a sponsored message and i don't get commissions from sales i just really liked the product and decided to share my experience since it has been a great solution for me and it's made cutting the grass much more pleasant experience for me by using grass's mulch you'll substantially cut down on your need for watering but if you have to water this hack will protect your plants when you're using a hose there's always a chance you're going to damage some plants that may be in outside corners as you drag the hose along so i have a hack that will solve this and you only need a few four inch pots and a metal stake you must use four inch ceramic pots that have drainage holes big enough for the 12 inch galvanized metal spikes to pass through you simply turn one pot upside down and place the other on top right side up then you drive the metal spike through the holes use a piece of wood and gently hammer it in place being careful not to crack the pots place them near outside corners of the bed to serve as guards when you drag a hose along while the terracotta color looks great you can also use glazed decorative pots in more formal areas as i did in my main ornamental bed the possibilities are endless and for the secret pulau dugatu you can fill the top pot with soil and plant out succulents like the hardy sedums they will love growing here and will protect your plants from hose damage while looking great sometimes plants need a bit of help to support themselves that's the case with this dianthus with its long thin stems once it flowers they're going to flop so i'm going to create a support that's cheap easy and it's almost invisible this is a simple hack that can make a world of difference for your ornamental displays i used wire hangers untwisted them and straightened them out since i needed a stiff heavy gauge wire to give structure to the support for the height of my carnations i cut the hangers in half and twisted one end of each piece into a curlicue this prevents potential injuries with having wires sticking out of the ground and also gives a place for easily holding the twine without having to tie it up to install it simply stick the wires around the plants and start threading green sizable willy-nilly from one to the other to form a dense web-like net the pulu dugatu trick is to do this a few weeks before your plants will start blooming as soon as they start putting out buds this will allow the plants to grow into the support and by the time blooms start opening the supports have become basically invisible the next tag helps us to keep track of our plants varieties by using trash as a resource to create garden labels that withstand the weather maybe you want to label all your plants because you're a budding botanist or you just need to label a few like dahlias so you can keep track of them any case you can reuse aluminum cans because they make for great outdoor labels that withstand the weather and are actually free using heavy duty scissors or tin snips cut out round or rectangular labels out of the size of aluminum cans making sure not to leave jagged edges with barbs that could cut you in the future using a long nail a metal instrument or even an old dried up ballpoint pen write the name of your plants by embossing the letters onto the metal make sure to place the aluminum tags over a bit of thin cardboard stacked up so that the impression will be easier to make without damaging your working surfaces because cans are printed on one side you can sand away the paint if you so desire using a nail or a drill punch a hole near an edge and twist hanger wire into supports for the labels so you can stick them into the ground in case you don't like the shiny silver aluminum and you just happen to have a bit of copper roof flashing laying around you can do the same thing with this thin material since one side is impregnated with tar i make the labels by folding over a long rectangle rounding off the non-folded corners with snips i write the plant name on one side with it open and then fold it into a neat label i then punch a hole near the top edge and hang it with the wire support the copper labels oxidize with time developing the most pleasant verdigris worthy of elegant botanical gardens i hope you like these garden hacks if so tell me your favorite one that surprised you the most down in the comments i am working on having further episodes for the cottage design master class series so stay tuned i was also honored to have my work highlighted on the wall street journal this past month by style editor allison duncan thank you so much to all of you who have directly supported this channel by buying art through my etsy shop or supporting your patreon i've also recently enabled super thanks so that's another way you can share your appreciation directly on youtube thank you so much and see you in the next video

Channel: suburban homestead

Views: 1,434,602

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Id: QXNGNjOPDEk

Length: 13min 46sec (826 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 12 2022