Stems are drooping wearily, leaves have got a case of old-fashioned consumption – or look browner and crispier than a Hollywood starlet – and a horde of bugs you don’t feel comfortable with are rushing to occupy every vacant piece of organic property.
Your permaculture garden is slowly dying, and you don’t know what to do about.
Take heart: we’re here to help! This happens at one point or another to everyone embarking on their organic gardening journey. In this post, we’re going to share our most effective gardening tips for how to bring that lush, glowing green back to your garden.
Step 1: Mulch.
Soil should never be naked. Mulching keeps it damp, healthy and an even temperature. It also helps soil to retain and produce nutrients. If you haven’t mulched your garden yet, start your garden revival by mulching everything.
Step 2: Fertilize.
Fertilizers are incredibly potent servings of plant nutrients, so give your plants a pep shot with some organic fertilizer. You can make your own by installing a compost bin and turning your household’s biodegradable waste into compost.
Step 3: Water.
As crazy as this sounds, your plants might not be getting enough water. We know you water your plants faithfully (at least we hope you do), but do you know when they’ve gotten enough? Here’s the most basic, but also the most effective, test: push a finger a few inches into the soil. If it’s damp all the way down, you can switch off the taps.
Step 4: Get rid of pests.
Pests flock to an unhealthy garden, and contribute to make plants sick. Break the vicious cycle while staying eco-friendly by eliminating pests the natural way.
Step 5: Move plants around so they can live their best life.
Some plants like to chill in the shade. Others enjoy a good sunbathe. Relocate plants who look like they aren’t loving their current environment. Basic test: if it’s looking brown and burnt, it probably needs more shade. If it’s looking stunted with small, pale leaves and a fragile stem, it’s most likely craving more sun.
Step 6: Prune.
All that some plants need to get a fresh burst of luscious growth is a hearty pruning. Cut back old growth on plants like these, and watch them spring to life.
If you’d love your kids to enjoy some outdoor playtime while you garden, why don’t you ask them to help out with your garden CPR? You can inspire them with this adorable children’s garden tool set, so that they can improve their fine motor skills and pick up some simple gardening techniques while soaking in the fresh air and sunshine.
Written by Rifke Hill
About the Author
Rifke Hill was raised on the sort of farm your grandparents told tales about – milking cows, gathering eggs, hoeing the soil, and building fires to heat water. She now spends part of her time copywriting online as a freelancer. The rest of it is spent nurturing and teaching her four energetic children, growing vegetables, baking bread, reading voraciously, having coffee with the neighbors, and enjoying the sunny slopes of the smallholding where she lives, in the Garden Route, South Africa.
