3 natural ways to keep your plants healthy – With 64% of British people finding growing plants therapeutic to watch, Spring gardening is the perfect way to engage with nature and get the most out of your garden!
With this in mind, Savoy Stewart shared top tips for growing seasonal vegetables this spring as well as natural ways to keep your plants healthy. Tips on garden furniture cleaning and trends have also been shared, ensuring your garden can thrive in the most relaxing environment!
- Using cinnamon – £65p
Cinnamon may well be a staple in your kitchen, but it also has multiple purposes when it comes to your garden. Scientific studies have found that it can be used to treat mould in plants. For instance, white mould usually infects plants in the early Spring period, meaning it can develop unnoticed for quite some time.
To use cinnamon to treat plant mould, you should take 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 5 litres of warm water, and let it sit for a few hours. Your cinnamon fungicide will be ready once this is complete. Cinnamon also helps protect seedlings against rot, which can also accelerate growth! For seedlings, you don’t need to prepare the solution, just simply sprinkle some ground cinnamon directly onto the seedlings, and let it get to work!
- Using coffee grounds – £1.99
Coffee is a part of many of our daily routines, but it can also become an essential part of your plants’ lives. Plants such as roses and tomatoes thrive best in acidic soil, and coffee grounds can help to achieve this. You can either sprinkle the used grounds over the surface of the soil, or you can make coffee and pour it onto your soil. Soak up to six cups of used coffee grounds for up to a week to make garden coffee, then you can use it to give your plants some care.
- Using eggshells- £1.69
Alternatively, if you have plants which prefer less acidic soil, such as lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans, eggshells could be your best option. Eggshells help lower the acidity of your soil, as well as provide plants with calcium, an essential nutrient. To use eggshells, simply clean them out in your kitchen, crush them, and they will be ready to use in your garden.
The Eden Project’s Living Landscapes Manager Julie Kendall told Savoy Stewart:
“Now it’s the time to start sowing crops. Some harder crops, such as carrots and peas, can be sown directly into the ground outside. Tender crops, like sweetcorn and courgettes, will do better in a greenhouse, shed with windows or sunny windowsill. You don’t necessarily need to have a dedicated vegetable plot if space is limited. Vegetables, fruit and herbs can be mixed together along garden borders, like a potager garden, and many can also be grown in pots, such as salad leaves and radish.”
3 top tips for growing seasonal vegetables this Spring:
- Bell peppers
When growing bell peppers, it is very important to use the right fertiliser. In this case, a fertiliser which is low in nitrogen should be used, in order to ensure the rate of growth isn’t harmed.
Companion plants can also be crucial to plants thriving, and bell peppers reportedly thrive well around cucumbers and carrots, but less so around cabbage family plants.
- Potatoes
Potatoes prefer slightly cooler weather, which is why they are best planted in Spring. It is important to make sure you are planting certified seed potatoes, to avoid starting with any diseases in them.
Ensure you are watering them consistently with about 1 to 2 inches per week, and grow them in acidic and well-drained soil whilst in full sunlight. Additionally, ensure you are covering the potatoes with soil or mulching heavily so that the skin does not turn green.
- Carrots
Carrots can take up to 3 weeks to germinate in moist soil and begin as very small seeds which should not be planted too deep. The best way to plant carrots is to sprinkle the seeds on the surface of the soil, and lightly brush the soil up with your fingers.
Once growing, ensure you thin the sprouts, removing any extra sprouts so that each carrot has 1 to 2 inches of space around it. If this is not done, your carrots may grow smaller.
How to clean your garden furniture this Spring:
With leaves falling off in Spring, it is recommended to use a brush to get leaves and moss off before actually cleaning your garden furniture. It is important that you vacuum any excess that you could not initially get off.
Next, mix washing up liquid with warm water, and use a soft cloth to wipe down your furniture, ensuring it gets in all crevices. Allow this to soak in for a few minutes. You should avoid using bleach, to avoid discolouration to your furniture. After that, rinse with a hose on low pressure, using a pressure washer could damage furniture, and allow this to dry thoroughly.
Popular garden furniture trends this Spring:
Gardens for mental health:
With 34% of people spending time in the garden for mental health and well-being reasons, the physical benefits of gardening and being outside are clearly things we value. As a result of this, our garden styles are reflecting a more flower-filled space, to create a relaxing atmosphere amongst nature, rather than a plain minimalist effect.
Furniture trends:
It is predicted that 2023 will bring garden furniture trends such as pop colours. These colourful items of furniture can be used as accent pieces, to brighten your garden space.
Secondly, lightweight furniture is predicted to be popular, as it gives your garden a breezy, light feel. This type of furniture is particularly suited to smaller spaces such as vegetable gardens or terrace gardens.
Thirdly, a material expected to see increased popularity is teak. This is a particularly good material for withstanding all weathers, whilst being low-maintenance, with no need for painting or vanishing.
Planting colour trends:
It is predicted that plants with plummy or darker stems such as bronze fennel, will be positioned as a backdrop for lighter-coloured plants, such as meadow flowers. It is also thought that smokey purple and grey hues in flowers will be highly sought after this Spring.
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