Gardening is a fun, rewarding, and healthy past-time for anyone who loves to be outdoors – but keeping your garden in bloom can be a lot of work!
Anyone who has ever had a garden knows that there is always something to be done. In the spring, you are busy planting and preparing the soil. In the summer, you are constantly watering and weeding. However, if you take the time to care for your garden properly, you will be rewarded with beautiful blooms all summer long. Here, we will talk about some tips to keep your garden in bloom throughout the season!
Water Regularly & Deeply
Watering your garden is obvious – but it’s important to consider how regularly and deeply you are watering. Not only does watering your plants allow them to flourish, but it also keeps the soil around your plants alive and keeps all the beneficial organisms that live in the soil healthy.
It’s a good idea to deeply water, especially when you are first planting your garden. This helps ensure the roots systems are getting enough water and are encouraged to reach for ground water. This is important for larger plants, shrubs, and trees that have greater water requirements. Once plants have reached this maturity, they are considered established, are more drought tolerant, and need less attention and constant watering
Use Fertilizer & Bone Meal
Many gardeners choose to fertilize their plants in order to encourage healthy growth and bountiful blooms. Fertilizer provides essential nutrients that can be lacking in the soil, giving plants the boost they need to thrive. However, it is important to use fertilizer sparingly, as too much can damage your plants.
Bone meal is a great addition to the garden as it aids in plant cell division, seed growth, and root strength. Bone meal is natural and easily absorbed, making it safe and easy to use. You can add bone meal while planting a new garden. First create a hole, water the hole and let it drain, and then add a sprinkle of bone meal before placing your plant in and covering it back up with soil. Bone meal is phosphorus-rich and works well on flowers, but can be a great natural additive to your vegetable garden too.
Encourage Health & Growth
If you’re a gardening enthusiast, you probably already know that deadheading flowers is an important part of keeping them in bloom. If you’re not totally sure what deadheading is, it simply means removing spent flowers from the plant. This can be done by cutting them off with scissors or pinching them off with your fingers.
Why bother? Well, after a flower is pollinated, it produces a seedpod. Growing the seeds expends energy that could be otherwise used for growing more flowers. By removing the spent flowers, you can help the plant redirect its energy to producing more blooms!
Another important concept to keeping your garden healthy is knowing what time of day is perfect to water your plants. Watering in the morning is generally best, as it gives the plants time to absorb the water before the heat of the day sets in. This can help to prevent wilting and sunburn. Watering in the evening is also an option, but be sure not to water too late, as this can encourage fungal growth. With a little trial and error, you should be able to find a watering schedule that keeps your plants healthy and in bloom all season long!
We hope that our suggestions and tips will help you keep your garden healthy, strong, and blooming throughout the summer season. If you’re looking for more tips and tricks, visit any of our Urban Roots Garden Market locations, and don’t hesitate to ask any of our knowledgeable staff about products and procedures that will aid in your beautiful garden.
