The Secret to a Well Kept Garden

It's almost spring, and with it comes along a time when we love to enjoy the first beams of sunlight. Normally at this time of the year we would be sitting on the terrace or enjoy a picnic in the park with all of our friends, but due to COVID-19 this is not possible. If you want to catch the first rays of sunlight, you can probably only sit in your own garden. But what if your garden is one big mess? Well get yourself ready to sweat and make your hands dirty, because in this article we will give you some handy tools and resources that will make the job a piece of cake. Bonus: all these tools and resources are completely natural! 

Coffee grinds

If you are a big fan of coffee, you have probably thrown away many bags of coffee grinds over the years. If your coffee grinds still contain some caffeine, you can use them as a fertilizer for your plants. Place a bucket next to your coffee machine where you can leave your coffee grinds and let them dry before you make use of them. Wet coffee can grow fungus and that is not what we are trying to accomplish here...

Salt

Salt is not only a great tastemaker when it comes to food, it's also a great resource for your tiles. For what purpose exactly? Well, salt can help you get rid of weeds. If you sprinkle some salt into the joints of your tiles on a regular basis, you will see that weeds will struggle to grow any further. Make sure that you don't use too much salt, about 20 grams of salt per square meter is more than enough. Be careful though that you do not sprinkle any salt on limestone, because it can cause some damage. And sprinkle the salt only on your tiles and not on your plants or hedges - it can have a deadly effect on them.

Nematodes

Have you ever heard of nematodes? Nematodes (Dutch: aaltjes) are multicellular insects that you can use to control soil pests and larvae or grubs. These insects are a natural remedy to deter pesky pests and therefore completely safe to the environment. You can buy nematodes at almost all gardening centers - just don't forget your mask and disinfectant (Dutch: ontsmettingsmiddelen) if you go shopping in an actual store!

Plants

Buying plants to keep other plants safe from snails? Absolutely! There is no need for using chemicals to combat snails in your garden. The way to go is to strategically mix some plants with a strong scent, such as thyme, cone flower and spurge, with plants that are sensitive to snail damage. And voila! 

These resources will hopefully make your garden upkeep a piece of cake!