Gardening Tips for Residents of El Monte, CA

If you love gardening, you’re not alone. There is nothing better than getting outside and seeing what you can bring to life with just a little dirt, sunshine, and water. If you’re gardening in El Monte, California, it can be particularly rewarding to keep a garden green and thriving amidst the hot summer days. To help you do so, our team at Longo Toyota has curated some tips to get your garden flourishing this year. 

Make a Plan

Image via Flickr by akfoto

While it may be tempting to buy all the most eye-catching seed packets at the store, it can be extremely helpful to take a moment to plan your garden before you begin. Just a little planning can go a long way in helping you create a thriving and successful yard. First, consider what type of soil you have, your garden’s access to sunlight, and its access to water. El Monte in the summer is often hot and dry, so you might consider planting drought-tolerant plants. 

A few drought-tolerant flowers include the California Fuchsia, the California Redbud, and the California Yarrow. Drought-tolerant vegetables include quinoa, lima beans, corn, and okra. You can also consider what kind of plants you’ve successfully grown in the past. It can be a good idea to plan your garden this year with a mixture of reliable garden staples you know are likely to do well and new plants that might serve as a fun adventure or challenge. Next, decide how you plan to lay out your garden, then purchase the appropriate seeds and any other tools you might need. 

Use Compost

Composting can be a great way to help both your garden and the environment. Instead of throwing old food waste into the garbage, start a compost bin in your yard. You can make your own compost bin by filling a plastic storage bin with a base of mulch and leaves, then drilling holes in the top of the bin. Fill it with worms and some dirt, then toss in your food waste, turning it over occasionally. You can also purchase a compost bin set from a local home or garden store. 

Once you have your bin set up, let your food waste break down over the course of the year, then use the nutrient-rich compost that results in nourishing your garden. Adding worms can help speed up the process of decomposition. Once it’s ready, just spread the compost around the base of your plants with your dirt. This helps to balance the soil density, provide important nutrients, and help the plants develop healthy roots. 

Feed and Water Well

For each plant you add to your garden, make sure you research the proper amount of water to use. It can be helpful to group your plants by the amount of water they need. When you water, it is often helpful to water at the base of the plant rather than sprinkling the leaves. As California summers can be particularly dry, it’s a good idea to water your garden with plenty of water one or two times every week. 

You can also introduce plant food or fertilizer to your garden. This can help supplement the nutrients in your garden soil and help your plants grow strong and healthy. You can start adding fertilizer to your soil even before your plants emerge. Throughout the summer, it’s a good idea to keep a regular feeding schedule. How often you should feed them may depend on what type of plant you grow. For example, tomatoes, peppers, and many other vegetables might benefit from plant food every one or two weeks, while some flowers require fertilization only every couple of months. 

Look Out for Pests

As a gardener, it’s important to keep on the lookout for pests that might otherwise eat all your hard work. Larger pests, like deer and rabbits, can eat large amounts of plants from a garden at one time. Smaller pests, like slugs and snails, can infest garden plots and gnaw holes through your plants. In the El Monte area, small pests like ants, aphids, hornworms, spider mites, snails, and slugs are common. You might also contend with larger pests like gophers and rats. 

You can help protect your plants by taking preventative measures against garden pests. Consider using netting around your most appetizing vegetables, instituting floating garden beds, or using organic pest control substances on your flowers. You can include certain herbs in your garden that naturally keep away certain pests. For example, you can repel aphids with chives and coriander. You can repel ants with tansy and bean beetles with rosemary. You might do some research on the best options to repel the pests common in your neighborhood. 

Know When to Prune

Pruning can sometimes feel counterintuitive. After all, you’ve worked so hard to grow the plant; why should you cut some of it off? Appropriate pruning can, however, be highly beneficial to your plant’s health. By cutting off dead parts of your plant, you can help the plant focus its energy on the living areas. This may lead to a more flourishing garden in the end. If you’re not sure which plants to prune or when to prune them, you can research each one and find how-to training guides to help.

Start Delicate Plants Inside

If you are growing plants from seeds, the unpredictable outside conditions and changing temperature might be threatening in those vital first few months. For this reason, it can be a good idea to start some delicate plants indoors when you intend to grow them yourself from seeds. You can set up pots with seeds on windowsills or under heat lamps. As the seeds begin to grow, you can transfer the pots outside and, eventually, replant the plants into the ground. 

We’ve just listed six wonderful tips for gardeners in the El Monte area. If you’re a gardening aficionado, we hope these tips will be helpful to you. Speaking of helpful, if you need car assistance to get to the garden store this summer, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 626-377-9741. Whether you’d like to schedule a service visit, or browse our exciting collection of new cars or used vehicles, our friendly staff will be happy to help.

Tags: Compost, Gardening
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