5 Important Garden Care Tips for the Monsoons - Black & Decker, India

The monsoon season can be a time for a lot of new life in your garden, and it can be very exciting to see the changes every day. Though a lot of aspects like watering are taken care of if your plants are outdoors, this doesn't need that they don’t need care at all. Here are some tips:

Well-drained soil: The most common cause of losing plants during the rains is if the water stagnates in the pots. Make sure the soil is draining well without blockages, and free any blocked holes if any to improve the flow of water. In case of some succulents and cacti that don’t need daily watering, you can try to keep in a sheltered area at this time too.

Pruning: Ensure that the dry leaves and branches have been pruned well before the rains start. This ensures that the plant can concentrate its energies on the new leaves and shoots, and the growth will be much better.

Support: Plants with weak stems may be affected by heavy rain and wind, so make sure that these are staked and supported well. In case you feel the plants are too exposed, you can think of a temporary shelter during this season too (Try some DIY with B&D tools!)

Diseases: If leaves remain wet and don’t have enough air circulation, you might find an increase in some fungal diseases like leaf spot or powdery mildew. Try to ensure a good aeration so that the plants don’t remain damp, as well as apply some organic fungicides to control this problem.

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Plan according to the season: You cannot sow a sun loving plant during the monsoon season and expect it to do well. Try out plants that are known to do well in semi-shade, you will find even herbs like pudina/mint and parsley will fit this bill.

B&D provides you with cordless garden tools to make landscaping and garden care easier. Do check out more details at our website: http://www.blackanddeckerindia.in

Top 5 Garden Care tips for summer - Black and Decker, India

Those of us who have gardens at home might have already started seeing the effects of the increase in temperatures. This is all the more important in case of container gardening, where the plants are completely dependent on the water and nutrition we supply to them. Here are a few tips to help care for your gardens in summer:

Mulch, mulch, mulch: The main issue with the heat is that plants seem to need more water, but this is always tough to balance with the worrying water situation. The best way to resolve this situation is to use good mulch, whether your garden is on the ground, or in containers. Straw or dry leaves can make very good mulching material, and you can get most of this from your garden waste itself.

Watering: Once mulching is done, it is easier to assess watering needs. The mulch will conserve the surface water from drying up too soon, and in some cases even watering once in two days might be sufficient. Do check your plants twice a day though, because some plants might need extra care due to the high heat.

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Weeding: This is always an ongoing activity in any garden, but in summer you may find quite a few weeds coming up and crowding out the space. In some cases, you might be pleasantly surprised to find many edible weeds like clover and purslane that seem to grow out of nowhere and you can just pluck regularly and put them into your dal. Some weeds though have extensive roots that drink up all the water, and these need to be pulled up along with the root as soon as you notice them.

Pruning: In a season where plants find it difficult to get water and nutrition, pruning dead or dying leaves and branches is a good way to help the plants thrive. By doing this, the plant does not need to waste energy on the older branches and leaves, and will look fresher and flower or fruit much better.

Nutrition: This is something that’s important in every season, and especially in the case of kitchen gardens, some additional inputs during flowering and fruiting will give good results.

On the subject of gardens, we cannot help but mention our great range of gardening tools from Black & Decker that can be of use in home as well as landscape gardens. Please see our webpage for more details: http://www.blackanddeckerindia.in