These Outdoor Plant Parenting Hacks will ensure that your green friends stay healthy and thriving without spending much money.
Taking care of and maintaining your garden can be challenging and expensive, particularly if you are new. To make it easier and more affordable, here are some interesting Outdoor Plant Parenting Hacks!
Here are some quick hacks to save dying plants
Outdoor Plant Parenting Hacks
1. Aerate Soil with a Chopstick
Plant soil can become compacted and heavy over time. Use chopsticks to gently poke around the soil to loosen it up and give space to the roots.
Doing this will also promote better air and water circulation in the roots, which will boost the growth of the plant.
2. Use a Pot to Grow Invasive Plants
The best way to keep invasive plants like honeysuckle and English ivy from taking over the entire garden is to grow them under a pot by removing the bottom section of the container.
This way, the pot will keep them contained, limiting their ability to spread.
3. Bury an Underwear
Burying underwear in the soil is the best way to determine its condition. In soils with higher biological activity, the cotton underwear will get more disintegrated as the organisms feed on it, indicating they are active in the soil. We have a detailed article on it here.
4. Use a Movable Tray for Bigger Containers
If you have big containers in your yard, get a little tray with wheels. This way, you can simply keep the large pots on the caddy and move them around easily, changing the location of the plants from time to time.
Find out some fantastic portable garden bed ideas here
5. Use Diluted Lemon Water
If you want acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, holly, and gardenias to do really well, then using lemon water is best. Dilute one part of lime juice with eight parts of water. Use this solution to water the plants, or you can also use it as a foliar spray.
This will result in bigger flowers and lush foliage but don’t apply it frequently.
6. Collect Rain Water
Tap water can be laden with salts and chemicals that can build up around the roots of the plants, which limits their ability to absorb moisture and nutrients.
Using rainwater is the best way to cure this problem. It also helps to flush the soil off these chemicals, which improves the health of your plants over time.
7. Use Expired Medicines and Supplements
In research on the use of expired multivitamins, it has been found that expired vitamins and calcium supplements, in moderate amounts, can be used in the garden in the form of manure, or you can dilute them in water to feed your plants.
It will promote lush and better growth!
Check out our article on using expired medicines & supplements in the garden here
8. Use Chopstick to Support Plants
Chopsticks can provide the necessary support to your small outdoor plants and seedlings. Insert them into the soil and gently tie the plant’s stems around them using wire or plant tape.
9. Fill Large Planters with Crushed Soda Cans
Place 3-6 crushed soda cans at the bottom of large planters, and they will help enhance the air circulation, helping with the drainage.
Note: Make sure the cans are super clean before you start.
Take a look at some of the best baking soda used in the garden here
10. Use Eggshells and Banana Peels as Fertilizer
Banana peels and eggshells are also some of the best organic ways to feed your plants, unlike buying readymade fertilizers. They both are rich in phosphorous and potassium, which help in the growth of foliage, flower, and fruit production.
Mix a handful of crushed eggshells and banana peels in the growing medium and water well. You can also bury these into the soil when planting for best results.
11. Use Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which makes them great for a plant’s growth.
Mix 2-3 teaspoons of coffee grounds into the growing medium once in 6-8 weeks and see your green friends thrive!
12. Place Coffee Filter at the Bottom of a Pot
If you are worried about soil flowing out of the containers’ drainage holes, you can just place a coffee filter at the bottom of the container.
It will prevent the soil from leaking out from the container with water.
13. Use an Empty Egg Carton
Use an empty, clean egg carton rather than using small containers for sprouting seeds.
It is an efficient and money-saving way to grow seedlings and you will also be able to place them in the built-in sections nicely.
14. Use Vinegar to Clean Clay Pots
Add 1 cup of white vinegar to 3-4 cups of water and soak containers in this solution for 30-40 minutes. Then, use a soft brush to gently scrub the pots to make them look like new again!
Try these amazing vinegar uses in the garden here
15. Water With Eggshell Tea
You can use the water from boiling eggshells in a gallon of water after it is cooled to feed your plants. Eggshell tea contains 3 % phosphorous, 3 % magnesium, copper, iron, sodium, zinc, manganese, and potassium, which can grow healthy plants.
16. Water/Wine Bottle Hack
Another handy outdoor plant parenting hack is the water bottle hack that can save your plants from dying when you are on vacation.
Take a clean bottle and puncture holes in the cap. Fill the bottle with water, place it upside down, burying it in the pot. The water will seep down as the soil will get dry.
Check some amazing wine bottle feature ideas here
17. Use Bathwater to Water Plants If There is No Water
The University of California states that if the bath and rinse water from dishes and laundry does not have too much detergent and soap, then it can be safely used to water the plants as compared to not watering them at all.
Soapy water from dishes or laundry will help keep plants alive in an emergency but you should only use it when you don’t have any option at all.
18. Add Kitty Litter in the Soil for Succulents and Cacti
Succulents and cacti love fast-draining soil and mixing cat litter will not only make the growing medium well-draining but will also make it organically rich.
For best results, use two parts of kitty litter for one part of each soil and horticultural grit. You can also mix styrofoam balls to improve soil structure!
19. Use Ice Cubes to Water your Plants
You can leave 3-4 ice cubes on top of the soil of outdoor plant containers once every 3-5 days. This will help you save it from overwatering and can be a great way to keep delicate leaves from getting wet.
You can use this simple hack on plants growing in hanging baskets, too.
20. Use Boiled Pasta or Vegetable Water
Boiled vegetable and pasta water is nutritious for plants. Let it cool down and use it to water plants once in 2-3 weeks. It will promote better foliage growth.
21. Use Honey to Root Plant Cuttings
Dip new stem cuttings in raw honey before rooting them in the garden. It will help the cuttings fight against any bacterial or fungal problems.
