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Learning new ways to be a smarter gardener will save you money and back pain. Don't be fooled into thinking that gardening will get easier. Instead, learn new ways to be more efficient that will give you more time to relax and enjoy your garden. Take the time to learn new ways to be a better gardener with these helpful tips.

Protect your seedlings from frost with clay pots. Early spring is a perilous time for a new garden. You want to get your plants going as soon as possible to ensure plenty of grow time, but a single frost can wipe out your fragile seedlings. To protect your tiny plants from frost at night, simply place a small, upside down clay pot on each seedling. They will insulate from the cold and protect from the wind.

If you want a patch of green in your garden, consider planting a ground cover instead of a lawn. Lawns require a lot of water and maintenance. On the other hand, a ground cover usually uses less water, and certain varieties discourage weeds from growing. Many varieties of ground cover have the green color comparable to a lawn. You can save time and money with a ground cover.

Test your soil before purchasing fertilizer. Fertilizers provide essential nutrients to plants, such as phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. However, fertilizers can be very expensive. By testing your garden soil to see which nutrients it is lacking, you can avoid spending extra money on a complex fertilizer, and instead purchase a fertilizer containing only the nutrients that your soil requires.

If you can't get mulch for your soil, use wet newspapers. Damp newspapers around the base of your plants will help hold moisture in the ground and protect your plants' root systems from heat and sunlight. Newspaper is biodegradable, so it will eventually degrade and actually add more nutrients to your soil.

Try to fill your garden with a variety of plants instead of just a few types. A garden with a wide variety is more resistant to garden pests. It attracts more beneficial insects that eat the bad bugs. This will cut down on the need for pesticides. A garden with just a few types of plants will sustain more damage from pest invasions.

Draw your fingernails across a bar of soap, to seal the undersides of your nails off. Doing this will prevent dirt from becoming trapped underneath them while you are gardening. When you are finished in the garden, you can clean your nails with a nailbrush to remove the soap.

When starting your organic garden, a great tip is to figure out which vegetables you should pick to plant in your garden. Some vegetables are better suited for home germination than others are. Some great vegetables to consider planting include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, peppers, onions, tomatoes, basil, and more.

Whether you are working toward a garden that will survive throughout the year, trying to save money on gardening costs or just wanting to cut down on the work it takes to build a garden, learning how to garden never ends. At the end of the day, as you sit down to relax, you will reap the benefits of viewing the beautiful garden that you worked hard for.