One Big List of Gardening Tips!

Last year, we ran a competition to get some great tips from gardeners, and the results were fantastic! With so many tips to share, I created a big list full of tips for safety, design, pests and more! Worth a read before you start your spring gardening!

As promised, I have gathered all of the answers from our competition on Facebook and created one big list of gardening tips!

I’d like to thank everyone for taking part. I have learned a lot, so hopefully this will help some others! And you get your moment of Branded Value fame! That’s a thing… See if you can find your tip below!

It seemed there were a few hot topics for gardeners out there, so I have categorised the responses. The list is big, but worth a read!

Safety

Look out for frogs and the like on the first grass cut of the season – Tim

Always wear gloves! Will stop endless thorn pricks – Beth, Pamela, Joanne, Karen Lou

Don’t cut the grass when it’s wet!- Claire, Marilyn

Money Saving Tips

Have a go at growing from seed if you’ve never done it before. It’s so much cheaper and satisfying – Ophelia

Keep wooden lolly sticks as seed markers, and shower caps as mini seed cloches – Gill

Buy rescue plants that are ‘past their sell by date’ from florists & garden centres , they soon perk up with some T.L.C. – Lynne, Michelle

My husband embarasses me every year – when he lifts the bulbs after they have flowered in Spring, he hangs them on the washing line in my old tights on warm, dry days to dry out before storing them until planting time again -Karen

If you have any mildew on the plants, do not go out and buy anything. Mix a bit of liquid soap and some baking soda into water -Claire

Use a compost bin – Sue, Julia

Save money on plants by swapping with friends – Diane

Plant “cut and come again” types of veg that will keep giving you more throughout the season, curly kale is one example of this but there are many more – Louise

Take cuttings from friends plants and strike them with some rooting powder for lovely cheap plants – Teresa

Buy a mag with free seeds on then you can grow loads of plants and have a good read too – Jackie

Join plant share scheme – if you’ve got room plant own vegetables – Jo

Use cut in half plastic drink bottles as mini cloches – Ian

Collect rain water in plastic drinks bottles by just removing the tops – Birdy

Grow your own herbs- it’s easy and they are really expensive to buy in the shops – David

You can use cut up pieces of nylon tights as plant ties – Diane

Pests!

If you are growing vegetables and have trouble with slugs try growing inexpensive lettuce seeds around the edge of your plot (especially useful for raised beds) the slugs will feast on the lettuce and hopefully not attack anything inside (there may even be enough for you as well!) – Gerri

Plastic guttering on the inside of a greenhouse creates an abundance of growing space for strawberries and out of the way of slugs , birds etc. – Charmaine

Dig and expose the soil so that the birds eat the slug eggs – Peaches

Use crushed up eggshells around small plants to deter slugs and snails – Emma, Vicky, Renee

Love planting assorted veg in pots, smear vaseline around the middle pot, stops slugs and snail getting to the plants – Ian

My grandpa used to collect the slips from the drop trays at his local pub and use the beer to drown slugs and snails

Grow runner beans, not only to eat, but the leaves are really good to put on the garden to attract slugs (which you can then dispose of as you see fit.) – Sare

Some beer in foil cake cases helps take care of slugs – Chris

Use old tights and stockings (cut off top and bottom to form a tube) to cover the branches and fruit on cherry, blackcurrants, etc. to stop the birds eating them – Maureen

Grow lettuce on your windowsill so you can harvest when needed and the slugs don’t get to it – Elaine

Put egg shells or salt water in tray to stop slugs, fill clear bottle with water to stop cats – Elizabeth

Wild Slugs shrivel in cider! – Gary

Put pepper round plants to keep cats away – Mary

Build a small pond in the garden which will attract newts,frogs and toads which will eat the slugs and snails – Jo

Grow garlic around the base of roses – keeps the aphids and whitefly away – Jenny

Mix washing up liquid and water in a spray bottle to kill greenfly – Wendy

Build a small raised bed for carrots in order to attempt to beat the carrot fly – Allen

Use a mulch of pine tree needles around plants to deter slugs – Peter, Chris

Time Saving

Do little and often – Sarah, Jean, Jess, Becky, Iain, Susan, Sophie, Tracey, Christine, Deb

Getting your family involved can be fun for them too. More hands make light work. – Jeanette, Sharon, Jane

Dead head regularly and prune to stop plants getting out of control + they’ll keep making more flowers – Rosie, Adele, Karen

Dealing with Weeds

Just keep weeding – do little, but often to keep on top of things – Donna, Jane, Brenda, Katie, Robert, Ann, Jane, Lia

Use bark chips or gravel around plants in your borders, it deters weeds so means a lot less work, it looks very effective too – Laura

Wait until weeds have a flower before culling that way they have expended most of their energy – Gareth

Keep on top of weeds over winter so they slow down better for the coming spring – Andrew

Use weed suppressant to get down on weeding – Claire, Leanne

Clear out bramble as soon as you see it – Mark

Design.

Get astro turf so you can spend more time taking care of the prettier parts of the garden – James

Metallic markers for pots – Amy

Concentrate on a small patch of your garden instead of the whole garden then it is a manageable task – Linda

Do your own hanging basket, it works out a lot cheaper than a shop bought one and you can design it how ever you like – Kirsty

Grow runner beans up your fences, it saves space and looks amazing once the beans start flowering – Julie

To achieve the best and most natural effect, never plant bulbs in a row. Plant them in clumps of at least five, seven or nine – Roger

Nip the middle out of small plants, this will help them to spread – Susan

If you use plastic cartons of juice drinks or milk cut them in half and put over seedlings they act as like a cloche then and will help keep seedlings out of the frost – Mari

Extra Tips.

Make a funnel from a drinks bottle, put it in your hanging basket and fill with ice cubes for when you go away, the sun will melt it and your baskets will get steadily watered as the day heats up – Angi

When the soil is hard and dry, digging is difficult. Use your saved rain water to wet the soil thus making it easier to dig – Chapaklal

Lift your lawn mower blade for the first cut of the year – Paul

For plants that have wide spreading roots plant them in a plastic pot with the bottom cut off, and then bury the pot. It keeps the roots contained but allows them to grow deeper into the ground so the plant will still flourish – Alexandra

Water plants in the evening when it’s cooler otherwise the water just evaporates and can scold the plants – Chris

Start early and prepare your soil, if planting early , protect with cling film if no covers available – Caroline

Use a pair of snips for deadheading, so much easier than scissors or pruners – Shelagh

Don’t walk on frosty grass, you’ll kill it – Serena

Don’t put plants out until all risk of frost is gone – Janet

Use toilet roll tubes to plant out seedlings plant them 3/4 into soil then as the seedling grows, the tube decomposes into the soil. In dry weather you can use clingfilm and rubber bands to cover each top and act as mini greenhouses – Kim

Cut a piece of carpet sample and place around the base of newly planted tree, shrub etc to protect from frost etc – Kate

Use a fleece to cover the delicate plants to keep them alive and thriving – Linda

Water your lawn by watering can, not hose as the grass grows better this way! – Natalie

Research before you start – Laura

Use quality equipment – Janet

Keep tools clean and oiled for best performance – Fudge

In spring give all parts a little loosen up with a fork and mulch well to keep moisture in the soil, and weeds out hopefully – George

Save your egg shells and crush them for plant food -Tara

Keep chickens, they fertilise the grass and eat the slugs – Sam

Put banana skins around the base of roses, they love the potassium – Sal

Mix very small seeds with a bit of sand before sowing. This prevents them from being sewed too thickly – Jane

Plant rhubarb in a shady area, feed with manure, it forces stronger growth as plant likes to grow towards the light – Andrea

Clean out the greenhouse as soon as possible before you put in the new plants – John

Cut your sweet peas regularly to encourage new flowers – Karen

I add broken pots and mugs to the bottom of pots to help with drainage – Hayley

Keep fingernails clean while working in the garden by scraping them over a bar of soap before heading outside; tiny slivers of soap prevent dirt from caking under your nails and wash out cleanly – Angela, CJ

Stev Rigby Remember if you have to dig a hole it only gets deeper if you keep removing soil – standing looking at it does not help!

Raised beds are brilliant. Makes gardening so much easier -Liz

Don’t throw nettles away-put them in a bucket of water for a few weeks and you get a perfect nutritious drink for your plants – Stephen

If you’re not sure if it’s a weed or not don’t pull it up until you’ve checked – Kevin

So there you have it – a giant list of tips from people who actually use them!

We even have some things to help you out: tools, propagation, garden accessories and decorations.

Do you have any tips to add?

Disclaimer: I am not a gardener, I I have not tried these tips, but they seem to work for some! These are tips from our community and I am happy to be sharing, but Branded Value does not take any responsibility for these tips should they not work for you. Feel free to correct me or comment with anything you are thinking.