A lot of people believe that gardening is difficult. However, if you have the proper knowledge, it can actually be quite simple. With the right advice, anybody can become an award-winning gardener. This article has some terrific information to help you learn how to tend your garden like a master gardener.

Before you plant anything in your garden, have the soil checked. Soil analysis costs a little money, but the report can inform you how to enrich your soil and open the door to a lush garden. Save yourself the trouble of a failed crop by contacting your local Cooperative Extension to preform the soil test.

When partaking in gardening activities, particularly in the autumn months, keep an eye on those stink bugs. Fruits, peppers and tomatoes are among the foods they love to eat. Stink bugs may get out of hand and do significant damage in your garden. It is important to take steps to eliminate them from that area.

When you are mowing your lawn do not cut it too closely to the dirt. If you leave some of the grass when you mow, the roots grow further into the ground, which makes the grass less prone to drying and other hazards. Short grass leads to more shallow roots and will result in more brown, dried-out patches.

Try to keep your plants aerated and dry, every day. Many diseases, as well as most parasites, prefer moisture. Fungi are parasites that are common in the plant world. Fungus can be handled with sprays specifically formulated for fungi control, but you must treat the area with spray before seeing any kind of problems.

Apply organic mulch generously around your vegetable plants. The organic mulch will keep moisture in the soil for a little longer. It will also dramatically decrease weed growth. You will benefit by not having to spend so much time fighting weed growth.

Good tools for the gardener include a wheelbarrow and a kneeling stool. Spending time on the ground is rough on the knees, a portable and light stool can help make gardening easier. Also, gardening can involve a lot of heavy lifting and moving items, therefore a robust wheelbarrow can make that aspect much easier.

Learn the ideal times for harvesting your vegetables. Each type of vegetables has its own ideal time for picking for the best flavor. Baby peas, for example have much better flavor if they are harvested early in the ripening process, as does zucchini. However, you get better taste out of tomatoes that have been allowed to ripen as much as practical while still on their vine. Find out what the best harvest time is for your vegetables.

You can help provide nutrients by watering your plants with room temperature water that is leftover after cooking vegetables. If you have rhododendrons or gardenias, use coffee and tea grounds to acidify the soil. Chamomile tea applied to plants can be an effective remedy for fungus problems.

If you want your garden to be off-limits to your pets, you can spray a scented perimeter around it using things like old perfumes or aftershave or a mock fence and some fitting door. Your dog will be less attracted to your garden when these scents overpower compost scents and other smells dogs like.

During the day, when the weather is hot, vegetables tend to be softer, which causes them to be damaged even if you gently pick them. Make sure to chop the vegetables off the vine, but be careful not to twist them. Twisting can actually damage the plant.

If you want to draw advantageous insects to your garden, plant some heather. Bees are drawn to heather, as heather is an early provider of spring nectar. Spiders, ground beetles, and other useful insects spend time in undisturbed heather beds. Keep this in mind and remember to always wear appropriate gardening gloves.

Prepare the ground for a perennial garden quickly and easily. Use your spade in a slicing motion to cut a flap of turf. Carefully turn the flap over, then cover the area with a three-inch layer of untreated wood chips. Allow a few weeks to pass by before you dig down into the applied soil.

Do you want to kill weeds naturally? Take newspapers and layer them for controlling weeds. Weeds require sunlight to continue growing. When you pile up layers of newspapers right on top of the weeds, they will suffocate and die. Newspapers easily break down over a period of time, and eventually become a portion of the compost. You can add mulch on top for aesthetic reasons.

In order to construct your raised beds, make use of untreated brick, stone, wood and other materials. If you choose to use wood, make sure it is naturally rot resistant and untreated. Good choices are cypress, cedar and locust. Treated wood has chemicals that can be harmful to a vegetable garden. If you have placed treated wood in your garden, line it with a coat of plastic.

Any form of gardening helps you get in tune with the environment, but organic gardening takes this concept to the next level. By engaging yourself in organic gardening, you can start to gain knowledge and better understand the full process of planting.

Try using botanical pesticide products that can keep your insect problem under control. In some cases, natural solutions are much more efficient than the chemicals you can buy. But, because they are made of natural materials, these types of insecticides frequently fade much faster.

Buy a soaker hose if you plan to plant an organic garden. The water seeps slowly out of these hoses and can be directed straight to the roots so that the leaves stay dry. Soaker hoses do not waste as much water as sprinklers but are still easier than hand-watering the organic garden.

As was discussed at the start of this article, if you have an idea what you are trying to do, gardening will come easy. When you have the correct information, gardening can be both easy and fun. The tips we have provided are a great place to start on your path to becoming an expert gardener.