Toms Gardening Tips
If you find yourself with a glut of green tomatoes at the end of the growing season, try putting a few in a kitchen drawer with a banana to encourage them to ripen.
To water your plants on hot days get a carrier bag with holes, make a few more if you need to. Put some ice cubes inside the carrier and then tie the top of the bag in a knot. Then rest the bag of ice on the surface of the pot container/window box first thing in the morning. The heat of the day will slowly melt the ice-cubes and keep your plants watered for longer.
To water hanging baskets – just drop a half dozen ice cubes onto the surface of the soil daily. Because the ice melts slowly, the soil has time to absorb the moisture as needed, without the risk of messy overflow.
Put some iron nails around your plants and over time they break down and form rust which is excellent for plants that need iron such as rhododendrons and azaleas. Or put a Brillo pad into a bucket of water and leave for a few days, then use this rusty water to water your plants to add iron.
If you buy watercress with the roots still attached, you can cut off the watercress part, and then plant the roots in the garden. Water them and they’ll grow back! You don’t need a stream or pond – anywhere will do.
Don’t throw your old banana peel away! Bury your banana peel under your rose bushes because they love the potassium. There is no need to dig down and bury them deep. Just move away a little surface dirt and leaves, throw down the peel, and then cover it with the soil you pushed aside.
Copper tape wrapped around the rim of any pot or used on a border at ground level will keep slugs and snails at bay.
Use your coffee grounds to feed your plants, especially nitrogen-loving ones like camellias, hydrangeas, and roses. Not only will you have healthier plants you’ll also save money on fertilizer.
Planting vegetables intermixed with aromatic plants like garlic, chives, or marigolds can repel many problem insects. Try rosemary, basil, and peppermint, too.
If you’ve bought a particularly delicious bunch of tomatoes at a farmers market, you can plant an entire tomato to start your own plants.