Gardening can still be a fulfilling hobby even if you have a tight gardening budget. Many gardens can be started for only $100, or less. Less if you can find good quality second hand tools.
A spading fork should be your first gardening tool. It is a little bit like a pitchfork, but much smaller. It fits in your hand and resembles a three prong fork. This handy little gardening tool will help to improve the soil, aerate it and is great for digging plants you plan to propagate or share.
You will want a hoe for weeding and for cultivating your new garden. Add a long nozzle watering can to the cart as well as a round ended shovel for larger garden digging projects. Last on your budget list tools is a pair of garden shears. Make sure the garden shears fit comfortably in your hand, especially if you will be wearing gardening gloves.
Remove any layers of grass and then turn the soil. As you aerate the soil, remove any medium to large rocks and other debris to the surface. The next and perhaps most important step - establishing a balance between water holding capacity and aeration is the first key to a beautiful garden. If your soil is heavy, it should be amended with sand, bark, and / or compost material to improve drainage, and the soil should be mounded above grade to assure proper drainage. Mixing different components often provides the physical properties for optimum growth. Peat moss has excellent water holding characteristics, bark and sand promote aeration and drainage.
We cannot stress adding organic matter at every opportunity often enough.
Adding amendments such as humus or compost at planting time is critical, but nutrients leave the soil over time, and need constant replenishment. Nearly all plants grow better in soil that retains moisture, drains well, and is fairly fertile. Continually work your garden soil and plants will grow to their fullest potential. For perennial plants click on Bloomin Designs Nursery
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