In the garden...

Watching our parents tending a large vegetable garden and seeing the results on the table for dinner is a dim memory for many people today. How about recreating those scenes on the balconies of our apartments or the patios of our townhouses?

Essential tools for gardening

The essential tools you need will depend on how big an area of garden you have and what you are going to do in your garden.

If you are gardening on a patio or balcony in pots you will need:

• Trowel (small spade)
• Short handled fork
• Secateurs ( for cutting flowers and dead stems)
• Gardener’s ties ( for tying long stems to stakes or railings to prevent wind damage)
• Scissors
• Watering can

In a larger garden you will also need:

• Spade
• Long handled fork
• Hoe
• Rake
• Leaf rake (for cleaning up piles of weeds and dead leaves)
• Large plastic bags or bins for carrying weeds to recycling receptacle
• Hose and nozzles and/or sprinklers for watering

Option extras include

• Wheelbarrow
• Hose reel
• Loppers (for trimming small branches on trees)

Making compost

Compost is made from a collection of organic material that breaks down into rich earthy fertiliser that your garden plants will love. …Read more

No dig vegetable garden

A “no-dig’ vegetable garden is developed by raising the level of the soil above ground level so you get a good depth of soil without digging down below the lawn or other such surface.

You can create a no-dig garden …Read more

Preparing your new garden from lawn or bare ground

If you are lucky enough to have enough space to be able to dig up some lawn to create a garden, …Read more

Gardening 101 – Choosing your garden tools

Selecting your garden tools is most important.  When buying garden tools go for the best you can afford. They will last for many years if you look after them carefully.  …Read more

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