Here are a few tips on how to reduce your gardening maintenance chores. For a new gardener, the smartest thing to do is start small. Make a first flower or vegetable garden no more than 100 square feet, whether 10-by-10 or 5-by-20 or whatever shape is desired.
Try to spend about a half hour a day tending the yard and gardens, not including the time it takes to mow and water. I try to squeeze in some extra time on weekends.
One of the surest ways to make gardening a lot less time-consuming is to select the right plant for the site. Stick with shade-tolerant plants in the shade, acid-lovers in acidic soil and so on. Go with plants that, once established, need only routine maintenance. Most perennials need only annual feedings and occasional dividing, and many are also disease-resistant. If there is a plant in the garden that continually succumbs to disease, try one of two options: Cut it down or switch to a disease-resistant variety of the same plant, more of which are showing up in nurseries.
Another way to save time in the garden is to let plants--shrubs mainly--grow naturally rather than prune them. Switching to slow-release fertilizers for your lawn and gardens can save a lot of time and money, and in many cases one application of these products will last up to four months.
A mulching mower is a great time-saver too. Studies show that these machines can reduce lawn-maintenance time by at least 20 percent, compared with mowers equipped with grass catchers. Another benefit is that the nutrients in the leaves, and the clippings they leave behind, are good for the grass.
Watering can consume a great deal of time, especially if you deep-soak plants (as you should, with a hose-end sprayer) or if you're constantly having to move the sprinkler. An automatic sprinkler system can make the problem go away, but not everyone can afford one. Drip-irrigation hoses are pretty cheap, though, and it is simple to turn the water on and let it drip for a few hours. Water timers work well, too, because they can be set and left alone.
Common-Sense Tips
Here are some common-sense tips: Locate the garden near a faucet. Keep the compost pile close by to save lots of trips between the pile and the garden. The same is true of the garage or tool shed. Without a doubt, the greatest labor-saving gardening product ever invented is mulch. Nothing will do more to control weeds, maintain soil moisture and improve the health of plants. In other words, mulch and mulching will save time and money and make gardening a whole lot easier.
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