Watering Your Plants Fertilizing Plants Soil Lots of Mulch Supporting Plants Thinning Your Plants Bugs, Bugs, Bugs! Keeping a Garden Journal
Good care starts with a question: what is the plant telling you?
- Feel soil below the surface before watering.
- Identify a pest, disease, nutrient problem, or weather injury before treating it.
- Use a soil test before fertilizing.
- Keep mulch at the right depth and away from stems.
- Support plants before wind or fruit weight bends them.
- Thin to the crop's mature spacing.
- Record weather, work, and results so next year's decisions improve.
Healthy plants do not require constant intervention. Sometimes the best job is to observe a bee, leave a harmless insect alone, and close the garden gate behind you.