Easy DIY Garden Plant Care

Do you want easy DIY plant care? Here are some tips on what I do for easy do-it-yourself garden plant care.

I’m trying my hand at straw bale gardening this year, and for those of you who missed it, you can find the tutorial about Gardening with Straw Bales Set Up, and Vegetable Garden Ideas

Easy DIY Garden Plant Care Video

Can you use hay bales instead of straw bales for gardening?

The quick answer is yes. When I asked my farmer if these were straw bales he said yes, but it turns out they were actually hay bales. You can see as the sprouts of the crop are showing up in the bale as they are being fertilized. It’s not a big deal, they’ll dry up on their own and won’t hurt the crop. You can easily spray the greenery with some vinegar to clean it up if you want but be sure not to spray it on your vegetable plants as you will kill those as well.

How do I get rid of weeds in my garden permanently?

As you can see here the weeks are sprouting up like crazy in my garden beds. I would need to manually pull these, or spray them with vinegar without spraying my garden plants. My straw bale garden doesn’t have any weeds in it (with the exception that I received hay bales not straw that are growing greenery that won’t hurt the vegetable plants).

I have a post on what to use to get rid of weeds that might help you – Keep Pests and Weeds Out of Your Garden

Some of my seeds are sprouting right up.

My carrots are the only thing that didn’t make the transplant. I bought some more seeds since it is early in the season, and I planted them in the soil.

Why does my garden soil have white mold?

The white mold is often actually a fungus and beneficial soil fungus. This can grow in your garden soil naturally and shows it’s rich in organic matter. It is showing up in my bales as well.

Are mushrooms bad for your garden?

Most mushrooms that grow in your soil (or in my case my straw bales) are beneficial. They break down decaying and organic matter. They won’t damage anything, and they will often go away when things dry out.

My trees from the neighbor’s yard are already sprouting up everywhere in my garden and I’m so glad not to fight this battle this year.

We are having a bad bug year because of our wet spring. If you look closely at this picture you’ll see that the leaves on this tree sprout are shiny. This is a sticky residue left behind by aphids. This sticky residue will attract wasps, ants, and other natural predictors.

Besides aphids, we’re having a large amount of spider mites too.

I’m grateful for the natural predator’s for eating all of the pests. I have lots of dill that grows wild at this point in my garden and I’m grateful for it as it will attract ladybugs who will eat aphids as well.

Do ants eat garden plants?

The ants in my garden were attracted by the aphid residue. I removed all of the tree suckers to help deter them. Although ants are a healthy part of our soil ecosystem, they are attracted to sweet sap and chew on a plant’s trunk which can kill it.

How do I get rid of mites in my garden?

How do I get rid of aphids in my garden?

You can spray water on your plants to blast them off, or you can use a mixture of soapy water to kill them. You can find more about those kinds of sprays in my other post Keep Pests and Weeds Out of Your Garden

I’m also a big fan of Garden Safe’s Organic Fungicide 3 and Neem Oil. With there being so many bugs this year, I knew the natural predictors just weren’t going to keep up with the fast multiplying. I followed the instructions on the bottle and sprayed my entire garden.

I also trimmed off any attached and dying foliage from my plants.

How do I keep bugs and animals out of my garden?

I use a variety of defenses against animals and bugs. Everything from garden sprays, a fence, solar lights, wind spinners, and more. You can find them in my post How To Get Rid of Garden Pests

I’m really pleased to get some rhubarb out of my garden and I made a rhubarb sorbet with it.

Easy DIY Garden Plant Care Video

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Please check out my amazing friend’s garden posts!

9 ways to protect your plants from extreme heat – Shiplap and Shells

Earily Summer New Jersey Garden Tour – Bricks and Blooms

Gathering Seeds – Life at Bella Terra

Here we’re talking about gardening but houseplants or indoor plants have some of the same needs.

Things to consider with plant care tips:

• fertilizer
• fresh potting soil
• right amount of light – shade, low light, or direct sunlight
• repotting
• the right amounts of drainage or drainage hole
• watering schedule, and excess water
• humidity levels
• root rot
• fungus gnats, insects, infestation
• pruning
• are you growing in the ground or pots

What are some typical indoor plants that are easy to care for?

• succulents
• snake plants
• cacti
• African violets

Not everyone has a green thumb, and I have a post that might help beginners as well.

• Vegetable Garden 101 A Fabulous Journey From Start To Finish
• Easy DIY Flower Gardening for Beginners with Video