Easy Gardening with the Right Supplies

Any well-maintained and well-planned garden requires adequate garden supplies. Without them, a gardener has a tough time developing his/her patch of green, so if you are wondering why your garden refuses to thrive after all the backbreaking effort you put in, it is probably owing to a lack of the right garden supplies.

What exactly do you need to make your garden supplies kit complete? Well, you can always ask your local nursery for help in the matter, and you can buy your stuff either locally or on the Net, but don’t buy supplies from dealers that strike you as dubious, because they will flood you with supplies that may do your gardening more harm than good. So here’s a look at the more essential garden supply items that you will need:

Gloves: Though some of you probably wouldn’t mind getting your hands and nails dirty mucking around in soil, why do so when you have perfectly decent gloves available? Actually, garden gloves also protect your hands from chapping or bruising while you work. Usually, they are made of nylon for durability as well as minimum friction against the skin. Lycra spandex gloves are also an option, because they provide good fit, flexibility and comfort. The idea is to use fabrics that breathe and are durable. However, you don’t really need to invest in too advanced gloves if you are going to spend only an hour in your garden each day. Leave those types for commercial gardeners!

Pest Control: Though a lot of you probably think of chemicals the minute someone mentions pest control, it is advisable to use as few chemicals in your garden as possible. Instead, go for pesticides and insecticides that contain natural ingredients, such as neem oil, an excellent aphid and mite repellant, but one that can be used to keep away a lot of other pests as well. Neem oil is extracted from the neem tree, which grows wild in almost all parts of India and a few other parts of south Asia. If you read up on the tree, you will realize that it is vulnerable to almost no pests, and Indians have used it for thousands of years as a natural insecticide.

If you don’t have immediate access to neem oil, try putting up a garlic barrier, an odorless and natural insect repellant.

Soil Enrichment: Leaf mulch is the best way to enrich the soil, with earthworm casting a close second, so stock up on both.

Compost: You can use either plain manure-based compost, or buy the varieties available at your local garden supplies store. Make sure you have adequate and appropriate storage space before you buy.

Seeds and plants: This may sound like stating the obvious, but you need a good supply of seeds and plants to make your garden supplies kit complete. It is not enough to just dump the seeds anyhow and scatter them around when you have the time. You must store them well so they don’t catch the damp, and preserve them for next season’s planting.