It’s often said gardening is good for mental health, but in reality people see it as a chore, a battle against weeds, slugs, the weather. It’s backbreaking. It costs a fortune. Let’s turn those horrors on their head. If you see it as a chore, it will be. If you’re breaking your back digging, you’re doing it all wrong. DONT DIG. EVER.
Clear the weeds
If you need to clear ground of weeds, remove as much top growth as you can, and leave the debris where it is… then cover the ground with as much cardboard as you can get, cover that with bark mulch, and leave – the worms will do the rest! Any weed shoots that pop through, just pull them out and leave on top. It might take a year or so, but gardening isn’t an instant destination, it’s a journey to be enjoyed. Bare soil is an open invitation to weeds, so cover it up with plants or a natural mulch.
Plant close
Crowd the weeds out! Weeds are just plants in the wrong place, and all plants need light on their leaves, so take away the light and they will starve and die, leaving you with the stuff you want. You don’t need bare soil, so get those plants in close to smother (or hide) the weeds. One of my favourite old gardener’s sayings is, “Never let them see a Monday”. Keep on top of weeds, little and often…once a week in the growing season go round and tweak them out. I find a cuppa or a glass of wine helps, take time to look at the other stuff too.
Many weeds have a place in my garden, although the real “thugs” may need to go. I let dandelions flower then whack them out. The herb Robert is one of my favourite wildflowers. Plant those horticultural thugs, they are tough and easy. How many times have I heard, “Never plant mint in the garden, it will take over”. Meh! Let it take over, make mint tea and watch the bees.
Wildlife!
The garden belongs to wildlife, love it, all of it, even the ‘pests’. The garden is an ecosystem, leave it to fight the battles. Never use nasty chemical killers in the garden. I grow perfect hostas without slug killer, the more pellets you put down the more you need to put down. Let your ecosystem deal with them (trust me it works).
Squish aphids and lily beetles. Encourage the worms and soil mini-beasties by feeding the soil with compost. Give the slugs other stuff to eat, if you pull out a weed leave it on the soil (never call it ‘dirt’) and the slugs will eat it. Be part of nature: if you try fighting nature you will lose; if you work with it, you will reap the rewards. Fighting isn’t good for mental health – being outdoors, touching nature and watching it flourish is the key.
Garden on a budget!
It doesn’t have to cost much; I don’t use any mechanical tools. Ok, I got rid of the lawn, so I don’t need a mower. I use hand tools for everything, all nice and quiet and gentle. I make my own compost (I’m obsessed by my compost bag; one-tonne gravel bags work perfectly), and I don’t use pesticides. I sprinkle a few organic chicken manure pellets in spring. I don’t buy expensive garden centre plants, swap plants with your friends, the ones they have spare are the ones that are tough and easy.
Gardening should be a joy and a delight. If it’s not you’re probably doing it wrong!
