10 free garden boosting activites

While sitting on an aeroplane a couple of days ago, I came up with a list of things that I could do when I got home that will not cost much to do, and will boost my garden.

Collect horse manure – My friend owns two horses, I regularly go and ‘clean up’ her paddock for her, taking home at least one ute load of horse manure to dig into my garden beds.

Rake leaves and compost them – Most compost heaps don’t have enough ‘brown’ matter in them, rake up all of your leaves and run over them with your lawn mower to break them up, then throw them into your compost heap.

Dry leafy prunings, shake leaves off as mulch – Recently I’ve began to leave the branches I prune in the garden beds. Coming back a week later I shake the leaves from the branches back beneath the  plant they came from. Easy mulch!

Burn old wood & spread cold ashes – Having old timber lying around your yard can attract termites, it can promote wood rot and is a haven for snakes to live in. Burn those old logs in a fireplace and spread the cold ashes over your garden. It will raise the pH, provide Potassium for your garden.

Collect sticks from bush and make a climbing frame or tomato frame – No need to spend money on tomato stakes, you can collect as many as you need from the forest or bush around your house.

Start a compost heap – Just in case you haven’t got one, you can build a compost heap to break down all the leaves, lawn clippings and kitchen scraps in your yard.

Make scrooge bottles – These are great for saving water in the garden. I have one beside my lemon tree, one beside my watermelon vine and one beside my passionfruit vine. I fill them up with water every three or four days, they provide water directly to the roots.

Collect rocks from the bush to edge the new garden – My new garden bed requires some edging, there is a small spot way out bush that has some great rocks for edging. Half a ute load should be enough to keep the flowers in.

Use garden fork to aerate lawn – Over time the soil that the lawn grows in gets compacted, by using a garden fork to puncture holes and break up the soil the soil can breathe and the water can penetrate deep into the root zone. Doing this will give you better lawns that require less water.

Collect cuttings from the park to propagate – While walking in my local park I occasionally snap off a small piece of plant to take home and propagate. This is a really cheap way to multiply your plant population.

Make weed tea – Lots of weed seeds can live through the composting process, instead of sending them off to landfill, take a 20 litre bucket and fill it up with weeds and then with water. Leave it sit for two weeks until it turns black and the weeds die. Dilute this brew down and pour on the soil around your plants to give them a boost.