Massachusetts Homeowners: Tricks To Help Your Garden Flourish

After a long winter here in Massachusetts, most homeowners are excited to get out into their garden. Now that spring is here, it’s time to think about yard work and planning your garden for another season of flowering plants.

But how many times have you prepped your garden and planted seeds and seedlings only to have it taken over by pests and weeds? This year, get a jump on these garden nuisances and be ready with a few tricks of your own before you have to call in a landscaping professional for advice.

Use these tips for natural remedies to protect your plants and help your garden blossom and flourish:

1. Prevent Fungal Disease with Cinnamon Powder

Small seedlings can quickly develop fungal problems before they have a chance to fully take root and grow. Cinnamon can be used as a gardening treatment to prevent fungus from killing your small seedlings. To use, sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon powder onto the base of stems before potting or planting in fresh soil.

2. Provide More Nutrition with Coffee Grounds

Those coffee grounds you’ve been throwing out can be used in your garden to provide more nutrients and fertilize the soil. Rake a layer of grounds into the top layer of dirt to add copper, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium to the soil.

Coffee grounds also make good mulch for your garden and improve the texture of the soil. Mixing the grounds directly into soil can help seeds germinate and protect mature plants from bacterial and fungal infections.

Looking for professional garden services? Call a landscaping contractor in Massachusetts.

3. Boost Calcium Content and Keep Pests Away with Eggshells

Crushed eggshells mixed into gardening soil can improve the calcium content of plants. This added calcium will help your plants thrive and encourage both flower and fruit blossoms to last longer without rotting and falling off.

Eggshells can also keep slugs and snails away from your plants. Place crushed eggshells around plants to deter these pests while at the same time providing the roots with a natural fertilizer.

4. Control Mosquitoes with Herbs

Planting herbs in your garden isn’t just a great way to enjoy their fresh flavor in cooking. Herbs can also help you control those pesky mosquitoes that show up each year. Plant one or more of these herbs throughout your garden or in patio pots:

• Artist Purple ageratum
• Catnip
• Citronella geranium
• Lemon Gem marigolds
• Lemongrass
• Lemon thyme

5. Kill Bothersome Weeds with Vinegar

Once weeds take root, it doesn’t take long for them to take over your garden. If you’re concerned about using chemical and toxic weed killers, try vinegar as an environmentally friendly alternative.

Mix household vinegar with a cup of salt, two tablespoons of dish soap, and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Place the mixture into a spray bottle and mist over weeds. Be cautious when spraying. You want to avoid applying the vinegar mixture on the grass and dirt around the weeds or you may reduce the fertility of the soil.

6. Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Prevent Plant Infections

Hydrogen peroxide is beneficial in preventing disease in your garden plants, such as fungal problems, mildew, and black mold caused by aphids.

Diluted to the right concentration with water, hydrogen peroxide can also be used to water plants and encourage them to sprout new plant shoots. For best results that won’t harm your plants, use a 1:35 ratio of hydrogen peroxide to water.

For weed control and other landscaping projects, contact a HomeAdvisor contractor in Massachusetts for professional service.

This Patch article is sponsored by HomeAdvisor.