Best Practices For Maintaining Plant Health

Best practices for maintaining plant health. Whether putting in your first vegetable garden or revamping a flower bed in your garden, healthy plants are critical to your success. The tips below will help you take the best actions for maintaining plant health, from houseplants to herbs.

Best Practices For Maintaining Plant Health

Start With Healthy Soil

If the soil in your yard could be in better shape, you can amend it as you plant, year after year. For example, if you have been digging a new flower bed and find the soil challenging, you may have clay soil. Adding completely broken-down compost is an excellent way to improve the ground. You can also mulch your flowers with an organic product that will

• suppress weeds
• reduce moisture loss
• break down and be ready to turn over again in the fall

If you see no earthworms on your first dig, look for them in the fall. Earthworms are a barometer of sorts and indicate that your soil is improving.

Avoid Planting Too Early

It can be very tempting to put out plants early. However, if the soil is too cool, your plants may be susceptible to fungi or bacteria that will limit their growth habit and shorten their blooming season. One of the top methods of maintaining plant health is to put them in the ground at their ideal time. Warm soil is kinder to new roots.

Buy the Best Plants

You may notice racks of bargain plants at your local garden center. They may have been exposed to frost, over-watered, under-watered, or left in the sun too long. Never buy bargain plants with the idea that they will be top producers. Instead, buy them with the eye of a gambler. If you take excellent care of them, they may still die. If you’re lucky, they will thrive.

New gardeners will do better to buy top-quality plants from local nurseries. You have a much better chance of getting a great plant. You can gain much expertise from committed gardeners who make plants their business.

Clean Your Tools

If you cut back one sick plant with a pair of shears, you can carry the disease to the rest of your garden. Get in the habit of knocking off all dirt and debris from your garden tools. Ensure you also clean, dry, and oil them to prevent rust. Rust makes for dull tools and may tear plants rather than cut them.

Water Wisely

The best time to water your plants, once they’re established, is early in the day. Do your best to water close to the roots. Not only will this avoid wasting water, but the pressure of your sprinkler won’t batter your blooms. You can invest in soaker hoses that you can run down the length of your flower bed before you add a layer of mulch.

The combination of mulch and water is critical to a healthy garden. While many gardeners only use a straw to mulch vegetables, flower beds will often appear neater with a layer of uniform mulch. Unless your soil is excellent, don’t invest in a permanent mulch that will never break down. A mulch that will improve the ground as it breaks down is a good investment in all stages.

Observe

One of the most critical actions to maintain plant health is addressing anything that shows signs of disease. If your neighbor’s pine trees have all died, get yours treated for invasive insects or illness. If your newly planted tomatoes are thriving, but one is shriveling no matter what you do, pull it out and discard it.

Best Practices For Maintaining Plant Health – Conclusion

Separate diseased plants for destruction. Do not compost anything that appears to be infested with pests. If you notice white spots, black mold, or other signs of disease, wrap it up and put it in the trash. Maintaining plant health is often about quickly culling sick plants.