4 Amazing Gardening Hacks That Really Work

I’ve never seen gardening as a chore; in fact, I find it quite therapeutic and I’m looking forward to when spring rolls around so that I can dig out my Cath Kidson gloves and get cracking with tackling the weeds.

I find myself nodding when people say that they feel a certain kind of peace when surrounded by nature in their garden, as well as helping them unwind and relax from their day-to-day workload.

And one of the most fulfilling moments is to see flowers, plants and crops grow – especially when it’s all down to your creativity and perseverance. If you’ve just recently started gardening, or would like to learn tricks on how you can be a more efficient gardener, here are a few weird, yet amazing gardening hacks that really work…

Nappies as fertilizers

Used nappies are not particularly nice to handle and no doubt you’d usually look to dispose of them pretty swiftly. However, if you have young toddlers, instead of throwing away their used nappies, you can use them for your hanging pots.

Believe it or not but the waste in nappies can effectively enrich the soil, which leads to your flowers and plants blossoming faster and more beautifully. What you need to do is place the nappy at the bottom of the hanging pot and cover it completely with soil. Once you’ve filled the pot with soil, start planting in it like you’d normally plant a seed.

If you need to see how it’s done, visit Sand Paper and Silly Putty, which posted the original idea in its entirety.

Use cooking spray on your lawn mower

If you’re all set to use your lawn mower and you want to keep tufts of grass from sticking to your mower blades, apply cooking spray on them before using it. This really works!

Take note that if you’re using a mower that runs on petrol, empty the tank first before turning the mower over to apply the spray. Otherwise, the petrol may spill out, and it’s pretty difficult to clean that when mixed with cooking oil.

If you don’t have a suitable mower to cut your lawn with, then it might be advisable to purchase one that runs off a battery instead of petrol. Leading hardware retailer Screwfix showcases a range of lawn mowers that are powered by lithium ions that can be detached upon cleaning the mower.

Just to be safe, remove petrol tanks, batteries and any other components that can be detached from the lawn mower before spraying the cooking oil on the blades.

Make your own weed killer

Vinegar has various uses apart from its true purpose as a condiment. Aside from its use as a home cleaning agent, it can also be used as weed killer.

Pests dislike the strong odour emitted by vinegar, so you can take advantage of this by creating weed killer with vinegar.

Use Apple Cider Vinegar, which is eco-friendly and keeps flowers, plants, and crops safe and sound. To make a homemade weed killer, you can check out the instructions at One Good Thing.

Put extra herbs into your freezer

If you find yourself being overwhelmed by herbs in your garden and want to plant something new in your pots, you can put your extra herbs in an empty ice tray, fill it with water or olive oil, and freeze them!

Frozen herbs can keep their freshness for months when stored in a freezer. If you need to use them, all you have to do is defrost them.

These hacks will not only save you time when gardening but could also save you money in the long run.