Irrigatia’s top ten gardening hacks

Our very own George from Irrigatia is here to give you his top hacks to make your most loathed part of gardening, the most loved one!

As the seasons change, it gets more difficult to take care of blossoms as shrubs get weaker or blossoms get bald inside. August is said to be a good month to give your summer shrubs some recharge by splitting them into spring and summer flowering shrubs. Dividing the plants into parts by digging the shrubs out with a spade or a fork will remove weak and withered root parts and the bald spots. The division should take place in such a way that the new locations will help the shrubs get back to its full bloom.

Leaf-raking is a dusty business so cover up, and put on some protective eyewear! Wearing gloves can also help in preventing blisters. Using a large tarp to collect leaves can not only cut your workload but also make the job easier in the long run by reusing it multiple times. Of course, the dream is to use a vacuum shredder to collect the leaves, which then shreds them into a bag ready for easy composting.

People run away when they hear the word cleaning, or dusting, but if it is done right then it is easy-peasy. People usually make the mistake of running tools underwater before cleaning it with a dry cloth, but instead, using a damp cloth (not a wet) makes the process faster and much cleaner than following a two-step routine.

One of the tactical jobs in gardening is trimming hedges. Buying plants slow-growing plants such as Taxus baccata can mean spending less time on trimming and more time on something else. Also, why not invest in a rechargeable battery-powered trimmer which can make it easier to cut without being tied down by a cord, they generally feel lighter and are also less noisy.

You might find yourself complaining about this a lot while gardening! Make sure you’re regularly standing up and stretching during tasks, performing easy backbends from the waist every 5 to 10 minutes.

Pests are one of the things gardeners fear the most, and even the healthiest gardens face pests at some point. By using methods like setting up barriers, crop rotation, organic pesticides and keeping the soil healthy, your plants will be fit for a longer period.

Deadheading – you either love it or you hate it! Either way, it does lead to a neater and better-looking plant which produces healthier blossoms, so it’s definitely worth taking the time. We recommend starting to deadhead your flowers in the spring at the first sign of petals falling off, and do it little and often rather than letting it all pile up – and remember, not every plant needs deadheading so don’t make extra work for yourself!

Of course, the solution to your watering woes is installing a solar-powered Irrigatia watering system which uses weather responsive SMART irrigation to automatically water your plants. Take a look at our products.

Happy gardening!