To make a summer cottage look beautiful, you have to work hard. But you can make your life easier if you approach the solution of routine tasks with imagination. The Novate.ru editors have collected 10 interesting ideas that every summer resident should take note of.
1. Effective fertilization of dense bushes
It can be difficult to feed dense and tall bushes so that the fertilizer gets to the base of the roots, since the stems interfere with getting there. There is a simple and elegant solution to the problem - use a long plastic tube with a diameter of about 5 cm. They are inexpensive and easy to buy at a plumbing store. The upper end of the tube should preferably be cut at a 45 degree angle. This will enlarge the hole and facilitate the infusion of the fertilizer. Or you can cut off the top of a plastic bottle and use it as a funnel. The lower end of the tube is brought to the base of the bush, and fertilizer is poured through the upper end.
2. Smooth lawn edging
A flower garden or lawn looks more beautiful if its edges are perfectly flat. This can be done easily with a long board. They put it on the ground and, holding it with their foot, drive the shovel into the ground exactly along the edge of the board. If necessary, the board is moved and so they get an absolutely straight line of the lawn or flower beds.
3. Plastic bucket: 2in1 - toolbox and chair
Large plastic buckets from putty and other building mixtures are a very necessary thing in the arsenal of any summer resident. Usually weeds are collected in these containers. They can also be used as a box for storing and transporting instruments around the site. If it rains, the cover will reliably protect your inventory from moisture. And, which is especially convenient, a covered bucket can serve as a portable chair on which you can take a break from work or sit down while trimming a bush.
4. Micro greenhouses for seedlings
Plastic bottles are a real find for savvy summer residents. If you cut off the bottom of the container and put on a stalk or seedlings, then it will work like a mini-greenhouse, creating an optimal microclimate. The plastic dome retains heat well, perfectly retains moisture, and perfectly transmits sunlight due to the transparency of the walls. Bottles can be used to cover seedlings in pots or directly in the beds.
Useful advice from Novate.ru: Plastic boxes with lids, which sell cakes, cookies and other products, can also be used as mini-greenhouses for seedlings. Before planting seeds, holes are made in the top of the container for ventilation. In the lower half, they pour earth, plant seeds, water them, close the lid and put the box in a sunny place.
5. Mobile flowers
After the flowers have grown and bloomed, many summer residents have thoughts that the composition is not pleasing to the eye and they would like to plant the plants differently, in a completely different order. There is an easy way to fix this problem without waiting for the next season. Before planting flowers, a couple of pots are selected for each plant so that one becomes in the other. Plants are planted in a smaller container and inserted into a larger pot dug into the ground. Now, when you want to change the composition of the flower bed, it will be enough just to swap the pots.
6. Tarpaulin is a faithful assistant to the summer resident
A sturdy, sturdy tarp is a great investment for your home garden. It can serve as a light alternative to a wheelbarrow: it is convenient to fold and transport branches, leaves and other not too heavy loads on it. The tarp is also useful for covering plants or building materials.
7. Self-degradable seedling pots
For germinating seedlings, it is very convenient to use cardboard sleeves that remain after paper towels or toilet paper. When the seedlings are ready to "move" to the beds, they can be transplanted directly in a cardboard pot, because paper easily decomposes in the soil. Another great option for such improvised seed pots is the peel of citrus fruits: oranges, grapefruits, lemons.
8. Drainage from improvised means
Gravel is usually used for soil drainage, but there are many other filler options. For example, empty aluminum beverage cans or pieces of plastic bottles can be placed on the bottom of large deep pots. This will create air pockets for better aeration and healthier soil. Another advantage of this type of drainage is that the pot becomes lighter. Cans and bottles help reduce the volume of soil and are light on their own.
9. Drip irrigation of a tree
In order for the trees to undergo transplanting well and take root in a new place, it is very important to prevent them from dehydration. Watering should be slow and old plastic buckets work very well for this purpose. Four small holes with a diameter of 3-5 mm are drilled in their lower part. The holes are closed with dowels of suitable size, the buckets are filled with water, placed around the trunk and the plugs are removed. If possible, you can simply put empty containers near the tree and then fill them with a hose. The water will drain slowly through the small holes and the root ball will absorb every drop.
Useful information: Improper watering can lead to the death of the transplanted tree. This is due to the fact that usually the clod of earth with which it is transplanted differs in structure and density from the surrounding soil. Therefore, if you just pour water under the trunk, then it will quickly go through the loose ball and as a result, the central part of the root system will remain dry.
10. Belt planting of seeds
Planting small seeds right in the garden is a tedious and time-consuming task. You can speed up this work many times if you attach the seeds to a paper tape, and then place this tape in the ground. Then the lines of the beds are even, and the seedlings are uniform. Such lenses are made very simply. You can use paper towels or regular toilet paper to make them. A paste is boiled from flour or starch (a full tablespoon in a glass of cold water) and, after cooling, is applied with a brush to paper. Then the seeds are spread on top at an even distance, the tape is folded in half and rolled into a roll. You need to spread it in small pieces, as the paste dries quickly.
And this method allows you to pull the weed out of the garden.