5. Grass Clippings

Raking up old grass clippings and spreading them around the garden can add more nitrogen to the soil. You’ll have to check to see if the plants you are spreading the clippings around will benefit from this or not. Some plants are sensitive to too much nitrogen and grass clippings might end harming them instead.

4. Manure

Manure from cows is the most common sold in gardening supply places. This manure has been heated to kill any weed seeds that might be lurking, so you don’t have to worry about any strange plants appearing in the middle of your garden. Fresh cow manure is too harsh for plants and will burn them up if applied directly to them.

3. Mulch

Most mulch is made up of shredded bark or chips and comes from cedar, pine, or cypress trees. This is purchased in bags at nurseries and garden supply stores. Spreading this around plant will keep weeds from growing and sucking all the nutrients away from your plants.

2. Fertilizer

There are liquid and granule forms of fertilizer that are applied to the ground around plants to help them get any nutrients they might be lacking. There are specific formulas for fruit trees, flowering shrubs, vegetables, and flowers. Each type of fertilizer is geared towards adding specific nutrients back into the soil, such as phosphorus, nitrogen, ammonia, or another nutrient that is needed.

1. Compost

The best part about compost is that you don’t have to go out and buy it. Gathering up dead leaves, grass clippings, shredded newspaper, vegetable scraps, and a variety of other organic materials is how compost is created. Place all these in a bin and keep turning it every now and then. Eventually they will become mixed together and begin breaking down. This concoction adds tons of nutrients to any soil type. It’s best to add this before placing any plants in the garden.

Adding compost and manure to a garden before planting begins will help prepare the soil. Spreading mulch around the plants that are in place will keep the weeds down. And an occasional dose of fertilizer and/or grass clippings can give plants an added boost when they start producing flowers or fruits. What do you use to get your plants to grow better?

Top Photo Credit: Dan4th