One of the best hobbies that one can take up is gardening. It has been scientifically proven that people who are gardening will live a longer life than those who don’t. Even though it is a beautiful hobby, it is not a simple thing to do. Even after you have cultivated your plants and they have started growing, you still have a lot to do. Not a lot of people are aware that there is a wide variety of things that can treat your garden and destroy it. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, even if you aren’t a gardening beginner, here are 5 threats that you need to look out for.
Weeds
For some reason, most people struggle with their weeds overtaking the garden and being twice as strong and bigger than the plants you have planted. There are many ways you can approach the situation, depending on the severity of the infestation. One of the best and most popular ways of getting rid of weeds is laying down mulch. It will not only keep the soil moist and cool, but it will stop the weeds from germinating. You can take it a step further and lay down weed-blocking fabric and then put the mulch over. The mulch should be 2 inches deep and replenished once in a while.
Climate Change
An issue that many people have struggled with in recent years is extreme temperatures and soil erosion because of climate change. As plants depend on the weather as well as sunlight and rainfall, climate change will have a drastic effect on gardens. Your main cause for being concerned should be the rise in winter rainfall in contrast to a dry summer. The excess water will make your plants drown, especially if there is flooding.
But on the other hand, if there is not a lot of water your plants will die because they will dry out. That is why you need to ensure that you are carefully tracking the weather and taking care of your plants accordingly. If you are really struggling with figuring out how to make your garden stay alive, think about making a greenhouse.
Bugs
Even though many bugs are beneficial to your garden, like pollinators, there are also even more bugs that will be destructive to your garden. Those are bugs such as slugs, cutworms, aphids and they will ruin your plants in no time. There is a quite simple solution for bugs and that is either calling pest control or purchasing your own pesticides. But the only tricky part with this is that if you are growing organic produce, you won’t use pesticides. In that case, you will want to protect your plants in a different, more organic and healthy way. One of the best ways you can get rid of bugs from your garden is by just allowing the bigger predators to take care of it. Install a big bath near your garden and all the birds will catch all the bugs and save your plants. You can take it a step further and install a bird feeder.
Soil Issues
Another thing that a lot of people don’t know is that you have different types of soil. Soil is your plants’ main source of food, and if your plants aren’t thriving then that means that you don’t have the right soil for the plant you’ve planted in the garden. Your plants need to be planted in rich, well-drained and moist soil so they can thrive. Make sure that your solid pH levels and the temperature is just right. Before you even plant your plants, make sure that you have the right conditions as well as soil that works best for your plants. Another thing that you can do is test your soil so you ensure that it has the perfect pH levels for the plants that you are planning on planting.
Incorrect Planting
As we mentioned above, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind so you are not creating a threat for your plants. Not a lot of people think about how they are planning how spaced out they are. First, you need to make sure that they are spaced out enough so every single plant will have room to thrive. Keep in mind that different types of plants will need to have different spaces to thrive. Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a certain period in which you should cultivate your plants. It is one of the biggest reasons why plants don’t grow properly.
As you can see, there are quite a few threats that you need to be aware of when you are starting your own garden. If your garden has been invested, it will need time to recuperate and start thriving again.