1.Use honey to propagate cuttings
Honey contains enzymes that promote root growth, and you can use it as a ‘Rooting-Hormone’. Honey help plant cuttings in setting roots and they propagate easily, it also saves them from fungal-problems.
2.Epsom salt when transplanting
Use Epsom-salt when you transplant your plants to save them from transplant shock. When planting seedlings or new plants, dig a hole and place about 1-tablespoon of Epsom-salt in the bottom of the hole and cover with a thin layer of dirt, place the plant in the hole and finish planting.
3.Use cooking water to fertilize plants
When you boil or steam some vegetables on the stove-top, don’t pour the water down the drain. Once the water has cooled, pour this vegetable water in your plants to fertilize them instead of wasting it. You can also do the same with your boiled egg-water.
4.Pinching, deadheading, and pruning
Pinch the tips of young plants for bushier growth. Deadhead spent flowers from your plants to promote more blooms and remove top shoots and emerging flowers of your herbs to help them have a healthy growth and prevent bolting. Also, most of the new gardeners avoid pruning their plants but it is important too and helps in rejuvenating the growth of plants.
5.Smother the weeds
If weeds are surfacing in your garden do this: Before you put a layer of mulch on your planting-beds, cover the garden-bed with newspapers and then drop a layer of mulch to smother the weeds.
6.Check soil pH at home
Check the soil pH at your home. It’s true you are not going to find out the exact value from this test, but it will tell you whether your soil is acidic, neutral or alkaline.
Take a meager amount of soil in a mug and then take two spoonfuls of ‘vinegar’ and mix in it. Now take a look at it, if you hear a bubbling noise and the mix stirs up, this means your soil is Alkaline.
If your soil type is not Alkaline, then do this again take some soil in a mug and add two spoonful of ‘baking-soda’ in it. Mixed water in it to make it muddy. Now see, if you hear a bubbling noise and the mix stirs-up then your soil is Acidic.
7.Use hydrogen peroxide to help plants
Hydrogen peroxide can be so useful for your plants, it can save your plants from root rot and many fungal diseases. It also helps to sprout seeds for new plantings. Use a 3% hydrogen-peroxide solution once a day and spritz the seed every time you re-moisten. You can also use a mixture of 1 part hydrogen-peroxide to 32-parts water to improve your plants’ root-system.
8.Cinnamon powder on seedlings to prevent diseases
Cinnamon has some anti-fungal qualities, and it smells great as a bonus. Use it to prevent and stop diseases on seedlings.