This article contains tip to help you cultivate a healthy garden. Don’t waste money on equipment, plants or seeds without first figuring out exactly what you need.

If you are new to gardening, be sure to keep it simple. Overplanting at first can lead to stress and a backyard that’s a mess rather than a beautiful garden. Also, larger gardens are more prone to weeds. Keep it small at first, and you will have a better experience.

Be realistic about the types of plants you can grow in your garden. If a particular plant has failed you in the past, don’t try it again. You need to right kind of climate, soil, and sun/shade ratio for certain plants. If you don’t have it, no amount of effort will make those plants a success. Choosing realistically will increase your yield while decreasing your effort.

When powdery mildew appears on your plants, you should not rush out to purchase a costly chemical treatment. Rather, you should mix a bit of baking soda with a small quantity of liquid soap in water. Spray this on your plants once a week until the mildew disappears. Baking soda is safe for use on your plants and is a gentle, but effective way to care for your plants.

Growing compost piles are a great alternative to buying traditional fertilizer. Compost piles are composed of organic material that slowly deteriorates making a nutrient-rich soil. It presents both a great way of ridding yourself of banana peels and other organic compounds, while providing your plants with a nitrogen rich mixture that will promote increased growth.

When your summer blooms have bloomed and faded away, remember to dead-head the flowers. This means pinching off the flower heads. This will encourage new flowers to bloom longer next year, and it will also strengthen the plant. Since the flower heads have seeds, you can also save the flower heads that you have pinched off for planting at another time.

Sow plants in succession to each other for a steady harvest. When growing vegetables such as corn, snap peas, and lettuce that mature on a very predictable schedule, make two or three sowings two weeks apart to lengthen the harvest season. You can also plant two different varieties on the same day with different maturation times to ensure a longer season.

In addition to enhancing the appearance of your home with flowers and saving money by growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs, you now have another reason to take up gardening. Studies have shown that stress and blood pressure levels are significantly reduced when people view nature and plants. Gardening is a great source of pleasure for many people and the end result is one that can help them live a longer, healthier life.

Use your leftover pasta water in your garden! Plants are big starch fans and thrive with water that contains higher levels of starch, like the water left over after you boil pasta or potatoes. Make sure, though, that you let the water sit until it reaches room temperature prior to watering your plants with it!

To get rid of the snails plaguing your garden, set an open container of beer on its side where you usually find them. The snails will be drawn to the scent of the beer and trap themselves. If you’d like to make this trap even more effective, try adding a little bit of brewer’s yeast to the can.

It is particularly important for new gardeners to read and follow instructions that come with tools, as well as chemicals. Failure to follow instructions can be dangerous or painful. For example, some chemicals will irritate your skin if you don’t follow safety rules. Always follow packaging directions to ensure your body’s safety.

If you order roses and they arrive in the mail, be sure to get them in the ground as soon as possible. If you can’t, be sure to keep them in a damp container and cool. They will be fine if you stick them in a bucket of water for a few days before planting. Just be sure not to let them dry out because that can kill the plant.

Pick the right plants. Certain plants will have an easier time germinating than others, and will guarantee a better harvest for the beginning organic gardener. Good choices include hardy varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, and herbs, but of course, you have to choose those plants which are going to do well in your climate.

Give your garden an exotic look with succulents. Succulents, either planted directly into the ground, or in pots, can give your garden an exotic feel. Most are grown for their interesting shapes, but quite a few have showy flowers. They require lots of light, sandy, rapid-draining soil, and modest watering during the growing season. The hardiest succulents are sedum and sempervivum. They are easy to propagate by clump division, and stems root easily when planted in moist soil.

Avoid getting an infection by not allowing dirt and other chemicals to get into open wounds. It is possible for a cut to become extremely infected if it comes into contact with dirt and grime while gardening. Instead, opt for a bandage that entirely covers your wound.

A great tip when participating in organic gardening is to always wash your containers. This is needed so that you will protect your plants from getting any diseases. You should wash them in warm, soapy water, and then rinse using a diluted solution of bleach and water. This will ensure that your plants stay healthy.

If you follow proper organic growing conditions you may find that you are better able to market your produce at the local fruit stands and farmer’s markets. Organic produce is very popular now because people are beginning to see all the health benefits of eating an organic whole food diet.

You simply need to do your homework, spend some time working outdoors, and cultivate your patience. Once your garden starts to thrive, you’ll see that your efforts were all worthwhile.