I was a huge gardner when I lived in Los Angeles. I had a vegetable garden to die for. I had the earth tilled and enriched every year, and the result was a bumper crop every year. Since living in the San Diego area, my garden has NOT been something I'm very proud of. Part of the problem is the soil. It's very hard, dry and needs ammendments. I recently read a magazine that gave me several good tips for the home gardner, and here I share them with you.
1. Use empty eggshells as pots, to get seeds or seedlings started. Then, when they're ready for the ground, simply place them in the ground. The egg shell will protect the plant and provide much-needed nutrients to your young, tender plants.
2. Use cayenne pepper and pre sifted flour on and around plants to keep bugs, especially worms, off your plants.
3. To get rid of gophers, take ammonia soaked dryer sheets and drop them in gopher tunnels, then seal them off.
4. When planting vegetables in containers, add the following recipe to a half and half mixture of good commercial potting soil and compost. You'll get a harvest that will make you proud. 1/2 c. Epsom salts, 1/4 coffee grounds (rinsed clean), 1T. instant tea granules, 4 eggshells 9dried and crushed to a powder) per 2 gallons of soil.
5. Use a mixture of 1c. of hot pepper sauce and 2 T. of baby shampoo in 1 gallon of water. Pour this solution into a handheld sprayer bottle, then apply to any of your troubled plants to the point of run-off. It will keep pest away from your garden.
6. To help prevent snails and slugs from climbing your citrus trees, smear the following recipe on the trunk of the tree: 1 1/4 c. petroleum jelly, 1 c. castor oil, 3T. each of cayenne pepper and hot peppersauce. Your visitors will go somewhere else in a hurry.
These are just a couple of tips to keep your garden, both plants, trees and vegetables happy and healthy. I hope some of them work for you.
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