So, here’s what I do to keep it healthy and producing plenty of vegetables.
A bit of milky water poured under tomato plants and sprayed on leaves to combat blight.
Slow release
Every 3 months sprinkling slow release onto the soil boosts potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen.
Epsom salts
Great for putting sulfur and magnesium back into the soil. If you see the leaves turning yellow, try sprinkling some Epsom salt around the base, then water them. This can be done once a month, or every three months depending on the overall health of the plant.
Coffee Granules
Using used coffee granules is becoming rather popular, and I’ve noticed a lot of garden stores have them available to pick up for free. I tend to keep my leftover coffee granules from filtered coffee, let it dry out a bit, and sprinkle under the plants.
Ideally, mixed into the soil, however once plants are in the pots, sprinkle on top of the soil and water them regularly.
Coffee granules are a particularly good source of nitrogen, a crucial nutrient to encourage high yield, and allow for better absorption of other nutrients.
Egg shells
Egg shells are ideal for putting calcium back into the soil for building strong ‘bones’ for the cell walls of the plant.
Watering regularly.
Admittedly, this can be harder to do when there are water restrictions on.
I got a few water saving tips for you. When running the water for a shower, put a bucket under the water until you get to the temperature you want. For some showers this might not take long, for others (like mine) I get a whole bucket of water in the morning before it is hot enough to have a shower.
This is dependent on how close your shower is to the hot water cylinder.
Do you have any drips, holes or gutters that water drips out of? If so, put some buckets under them. This is especially effective when it rains. Not only do you save on water, you also get rain water to water the plants, a much healthier option without the chemicals.
Some people are even getting small water tanks in, so when it does rain they can utilize that water.
Tinfoil and cucumber
My mum puts cucumber skins on top of tinfoil or a metal can lid, and puts this around her plants like cabbages. Seems to do the trick at keeping the snails and slugs away.
Strawberries can also benefit from this tip.
Comment below your gardening tips or questions you may have. Having a garden has been quite handy with raising food prices.
I grow a lot of my things in buckets, so even if you don’t have much space, grab some buckets, drill holes in them, put a few rocks, and fill with potting mix. Growing in buckets can be useful if you need to move your plants around a bit to get enough sun.
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