Tips & Tricks Archives - Page 2 of 3

Want some quick tips & techniques? All gardeners love sharing their best tips to save money, how to grow beautiful functional & edible gardens and just to swap ideas on what works well.

17 Garden Goals for Your Health and Wellbeing

Do you want to improve your health and wellbeing? If you want a garden that feeds your mind, body AND soul, what should you focus on? Want to avoid repeating the same mistakes from last year? Start fresh with these easy goals!

The process of setting your garden goals each year is easy, fun and rewarding.

A New Year is always a good time to look back, reflect and plan ahead. But you can do some planning at any time of year.

Setting goals can help you:

improve your health and wellbeing;
learn from your garden as you grow;
make more sustainable choices; and
find greater enjoyment.

Whether you’re a beginner gardener or experienced, there is always so much to learn. A garden is a great teacher! I call my garden ‘Nature’s Classroom.’ Every year there are new lessons and discoveries. I hope these goals will help YOU plan an edible garden you really enjoy.

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Anne Gibson2020-01-16T10:58:54+10:00Categories: Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, Health and wellness, Problem Solving, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Beautiful gardens, garden plans, pollinators, sanctuary, small garden design, small garden design ideas, Soil, tools, watering|6 Comments

3 Steps to Prepare Your Garden for Planting

Do you ever wonder why your plants don’t grow well? Or just survive instead of thrive? Sowing seeds or plants into ‘dead dirt’ just won’t cut it if you want to grow a healthy garden! If you’re a beginner gardener, there are some basic principles to learn so you succeed every time.

You don’t need to spend much time, but a little effort every season to revive your soil in pots and garden beds will reap BIG rewards.

Just like we thrive on a nutrient-dense diet in a stress-free environment, healthy plants need food and a happy home to live in too!

“If you meet the ‘needs’ of your plants, they will flourish, blossom and produce a bountiful harvest.” – Anne Gibson, The Micro Gardener

Are you:

Getting ready to plant new season crops in an established garden?
Planning to sow seeds in new soil?
Trying to revitalize tired container gardens?
Building a garden bed from scratch?

If so, then follow my three steps to boost your soil and help your garden thrive:

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Anne Gibson2020-01-26T08:09:44+10:00Categories: Container Gardening, Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, How to Grow, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Clever design ideas; Tips & Tricks, Fertilisers, garden maintenance, Getting started, Healthy soil, how to grow, planting|12 Comments

Design Tips for a Productive Kitchen Garden

Do you ever feel frustrated when pest insects damage your plants? Wish your kitchen garden was more productive? You’re not alone! Even the healthiest gardens struggle with a few ‘unwelcome visitors’ at times.

If you have limited space for your food garden, then losing precious crops, can be even more disheartening.

The good news is there are design strategies you can use to:

Maximise your space;
Minimise pest insects;
Enhance the beauty; and
Even improve some of your harvests.

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Anne Gibson2020-10-29T16:52:21+10:00Categories: Clever Design Ideas, Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, Grow Your Own Food, Plant Selection, Problem Solving, Tips & Tricks, Vegetables & Herbs|Tags: Clever design ideas; Tips & Tricks, Companion plants, grow your own food, how to grow, Pest management, Problem Solving, small garden design ideas, Small kitchen garden, vegetable & herb gardens|17 Comments

6 Tips for Abundant Edible Container Gardens

Struggling to grow food successfully in pots? Would you love to have abundant container gardens? Overflowing with delicious, healthy, colourful food? Fruit and vegetables that nourish your body? Give you joy to grow, cook and eat? If you think this is in the ‘too hard basket’ read on for my tips …

Grow an abundant harvest of home grown food in edible container gardens | The Micro Gardener

This is the kind of food I love helping people learn how to grow.

A continual abundance of organic vegetables, herbs and fruits that sustain you with good health can be yours to enjoy.

When I first started planting edibles in micro gardens, I made a LOT of mistakes. I wasted so much time and money. There were plenty of ‘dried arrangements’ (dead plants!) as a result. I struggled with poor harvests. Over the years I’ve realised container gardening requires a different set of skills to growing directly in your garden.

Delicious nutritious vegies are easy to grow at home in edible container gardens

With some basic knowledge, delicious nutritious vegies are easy to grow at home in container gardens.

These are 6 key techniques you can use to maximise your harvests. Grow a continual abundance of delicious home grown organic food. Tuck in!
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Anne Gibson2020-04-09T10:39:54+10:00Categories: Container Gardening, Grow Your Own Food, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Benefits of container gardens, Container gardening, Flowers, grow your own food, how to grow, Micro gardening, Pots & containers, seedlings, Small kitchen garden, vegetable & herb gardens|15 Comments

Top Tips for Wet Weather Gardening

Don’t you love it when it rains?

… and hate it when it rains TOO MUCH!

All gardens need adequate moisture but periods of heavy rainfall, storms and runoff can bring you a truckload of challenges. These include:

waterlogged plants;
leaching of soil nutrients;
erosion; and
pest and disease problems.

11 Wet Weather Gardening Tips

Want to minimise these common issues? Dig into these wet weather gardening tips to learn how.

I’m into ‘designing out’ problems whenever I can – both in my own garden and for my clients.

Good observation, a bit of thought and planning can help reduce the impact of water-based problems. These are some of the strategies I use to help avoid these issues. (more…)

Anne Gibson2021-03-22T11:04:26+10:00Categories: Clever Design Ideas, Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, Problem Solving, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Anaerobic soil, Clever design ideas; Tips & Tricks, Drainage, Fertilisers, Mulch, Pest & disease, Problem Solving, Rain, watering, Waterlogged pots, Weather|7 Comments

How to Choose the Healthiest Seedlings … and NOT buy duds!

If you’re serious about saving money in your garden, then growing plants from seed is definitely the smartest choice. It’s about 10 times cheaper than buying seedlings!

You can save at least 3-6 weeks time by starting your garden with seedlings rather than seeds – perfect if you’re impatient or have a short growing season.

The reality is though, we’re often busy and don’t always have the time, knowledge or space to raise plants from seed. If you DO buy seedlings, how can you avoid wasting money on unhealthy ones or those that are destined prematurely for the compost?

I’ve made my fair share of mistakes and been seriously cheesed off after ending up with ‘dried arrangements’ not long after planting what appeared to be ‘healthy’ new seedlings!

Dead plants give a new meaning to 'thin & crispy'!

I hate wasting money and time on plants that cark it with no warning – especially when I give them my usual love and attention.

I figure ‘failures’ are just learning opportunities! So over time, I’ve done some digging to find out what contributed to my unplanned compost additions. I hope sharing my experiences will help you avoid ‘dried arrangements’ at your place … (more…)

Anne Gibson2018-05-21T09:30:34+10:00Categories: How to Grow, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Save money, seedlings, tips & tricks|10 Comments

How to Grow More Plants for Less

If you’re serious about saving money in your garden and still want beauty and abundance without it costing the earth, there are some clever ways you can grow your garden for free.

Frugal gardening is about ‘thinking outside the square.’ With some basic skills and knowledge, there’s no need to spend a cent at the nursery to grow your edible or ornamental garden!

Save money by learning some simple skills, developing neighbourly connections and working with nature for an abundant garden.

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Anne Gibson2020-12-22T14:51:24+10:00Categories: Frugal Gardening, How to Grow, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Frugal gardening, how to grow, Plants for free, Propagating, seeds & seed saving|2 Comments

The Benefits of Moon Gardening

I’d like to share a secret I use in my garden to get great results. Strong, healthy happy plants. This ‘secret weapon’ saves me a LOT of time and money. It’s moon gardening or planting by the moon!

OK, ‘moon gardening’ may sound a little strange if you’ve never heard of it before! Stay with me and I’ll reveal the secret in more detail and how YOU can use this to your advantage.

Learn the Benefits of Moon Gardening and how to work with nature’s moon cycles to boost your success

You are probably already familiar with your climate zone and are planting in the right season for your location. One easy way for you to maximise your gardening success is by working with nature’s lunar cycles. By that, I don’t mean getting outdoors with a shovel in the middle of the night! Moon planting has been practiced by farmers and gardeners who were in tune with nature’s patterns. In our busy modern world, many gardeners have lost sight of this age old science-based technique.

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Anne Gibson2020-11-15T12:04:26+10:00Categories: Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, How to Grow, Problem Solving, Tips & Tricks|Tags: how to grow, Moon gardening, planting, tips & tricks|17 Comments

Planting in Season for your Unique Location

One of the biggest challenges in gardening is learning WHAT to plant WHEN. To save time and money and get the best results, it’s wise to plant in season. That simply means that you work WITH nature to sow or transplant when the weather and season is most favourable to growing what you want to plant. Learn more with these free resources.

What to Plant When - Zones, Calendars and Guides

Ever had poor seed germination? A seedling or plant die shortly after planting? Sick of failures? Your climate zone and time of year can play a BIG role in gardening successfully. Let’s take a look at zones, calendars and gardening guides to help you make the best decisions.

How to Determine What to Plant and When

Know your zone – Climate zones are generalised because seasons can change quickly. They can arrive early or late – or not at all! If you are not sure already, find out which climate zone you live in. This will help you choose the best plants for your area and learn the correct sowing time. (more…)

Anne Gibson2018-08-22T06:08:16+10:00Categories: How to Grow, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Calendars and guides, Getting started, how to grow, Planting tips, Seasonal gardening, Timing, tips & tricks, Zones|4 Comments

Thrifty Ways to Buy, Sow & Plant

These are a few tips from my personal experiences to help you get the most out of plants you grow and cost you less.

Be Prepared: Prepare your garden bed or pot before choosing the seeds, seedlings or plants that suit your climate zone. Check the amount of space you have available before planting. Some plants need more ‘personal space’ than others so avoid buying more than you need or have the space to grow. There’s nothing worse than coming home with an armful of seedling punnets and watching them become ‘dried arrangements’ by the front door because you weren’t ready to plant them! I’ve learned my lesson by composting too many ‘mistakes’!

Shallots are the lead actor in this edible micro garden - I prepare my potting mix first before rotating the food crops I grow in this productive small space.

Consider the space you have to work with: I chose shallow rooted edibles like tatsoi, parsley, baby spinach, marigolds and skinny chives and spring onions which could all share this pot comfortably!

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Anne Gibson2018-04-19T14:48:20+10:00Categories: Frugal Gardening, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Frugal gardening, planting, seedlings, seeds & seed saving, tips & tricks|1 Comment

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