A verdant green garden is everyone’s dream but not everyone is able to achieve this for a simple reason: most of us don’t know the basics of gardening and try random things which don’t always yield the result we want. It’s important to arm yourself with some basic understanding of what plants want and how to get them to grow before you start working on your garden. Else, you will just be wasting valuable time and money. ApEx visited a nursery in Khumaltar, Lalitpur, to find out what are some important things to consider to create a perfect green space in your home.
Understand your space
Not every plant has the same light requirements so the first thing to do is to survey your space and see if it gets a lot of light or if there is limited exposure. Most outdoor plants thrive under direct sunlight while others benefit from indirect brightness. Depending on your space, you have to choose plants that can grow there. People often make the mistake of getting the wrong plants for their space and they can never grow to their full height or bear flowers as they are supposed to. Understanding your space and the plants’ needs can help you maximize yields ensuring you have a visually appealing garden.
Till the soil
Most soil is too hard for the plants’ roots to take proper hold, especially if you have moved into a new space and there are construction materials mixed with the soil. While adding a few fresh layers of new top soil can fix this, it’s often expensive and really not necessary either if you are willing to put in some time and effort. Water the soil or wait till it rains and then till the soil using simple plowing tools that you can get at your local nursery. Mix in some organic fertilizer and plow a few more times, letting the mix sit for a few days each. This should make your soil soft and fertile over time and thus ready for plants.
Space them out
When you start planting trees and shrubs, consider how tall or wide they will grow in a few months’ or years’ time. Since we get new plants mostly as saplings, it’s quite easy to underestimate how much space they will need later on. Make sure there is at least two feet distance between small plants and at least five feet if between two trees. A common mistake is not keeping enough space between two large plants that will result in stunted growth for both or one overcrowding the other. Proper spacing allows for good air circulation and light penetration as well. It’s okay for the branches to slightly overlap when they grow to their full size as this allows for healthy competition for nutrients, water, and sunlight.
Provide timely nutrients
Though less is always more when it comes to fertilizer, especially synthetic ones, you have to give the soil in your garden a nutritional boost time and again. It’s best if this is usually done through organic fertilizers or compost. Since it’s the soil’s environment that usually determines whether a plant will die, stagnate, or thrive, it’s a good idea to ensure it’s the right quality and has the required nutrients. Ensure the soil is wet before you add fertilizer to it. Over fertilizing can do more harm than good so it’s best to be cautious and dilute your fertilizers before using them. Water soluble fertilizers are fast acting but must be used more frequently than others. Also, make sure the fertilizers don’t get on the plant leaves to avoid burns and discoloration.
Educate yourself
Gardening is part art and part science and while it might seem like some people are born with natural green thumbs, it’s a skill that can be honed. There are lots of good books and even resources available online that you can use to learn more about plants and gardening. Over time, you will come to understand plant behavior and their needs and be able to tell what is wrong by just looking at them. Even learning one small thing every day will help you maintain a pristine garden in the future.
