October 7, 2025
I’ll be perfectly honest; I’m a lazy gardener. I am always trying to find the easiest ways to tend to my garden. Either by putting everything in one spot or close to the door. Unfortunately, my garden has grown. Now I have to find things that make it easier to water, weed, mulch, and fertilize. I even saw something to make seeding easier!
I don’t grow a lot of things. However, I do have several dwarf fruit trees: nectarine, plum, peach, and apple. I also have blackberry bushes (3). Additionally, I grow herbs: oregano, sage, St. John’s Wort, and Comfrey. Those are my perennials. I also grow an annual garden. This year I tried watermelons, cantaloupes, and pumpkins. The Spring here was completely backwards, and my melons didn’t do anything. I also planted bell peppers and Anaheim Chilies. They did pretty well. We just didn’t have a long enough growing cycle. Here in SW Idaho, the warm growing season isn’t as long as most.
I was able to lessen my work watering everything by using a timer my sister gave me. I bought another one, because it worked so well. You can set it for how much water and how long you want to water. It’s great, and it’s easy! I don’t have to worry about going out and turning it off after I’ve forgotten all day. Now I just need to get one that turns them on! I haven’t tried the soaker hoses for the trees yet, but I think that will be my next investment. Watering is the most important thing you do for your garden, next to feeding it. Yes, you can water it too much.
Right now, I’m working on putting my plants to bed. I’ve picked all my peppers and chilies and put them in the freezer. I had a not-so-great strawberry year, so I’m working on fixing the soil in that bed.
I used my soil tester and found the soil was more on the alkaline side. Strawberries like acidic soil, and theirs was more on the alkaline side. I needed to add some acidic properties. There are several options for adding acid to your garden. Some are chemically made, but there are several on the organic side.
I added some Lime and coffee grounds. Not a lot of either. There seem to be arguments over using coffee grounds in your garden. You just need to be cognizant of not using too much. They are nutrient-rich and full of phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. How could you go wrong with free fertilizer? Coffee grounds have also been known to keep pests at bay, limiting the need for chemical pest control.
Then I covered that with my last year’s manure. I have goats and sheep, so their manure isn’t too hot. After putting the manure on, I will run the rototiller through to mix it all together.
Over the years, I’ve learned an important lesson. Just because things are growing in your chosen garden area, it doesn’t mean what you want to plant will grow there. The right conditions are crucial. You need to test the ground to make sure it has the nutrients your new plants need to flourish. There are several soil testers out there to do the job. From testing moisture to light, pH levels, and more. Just throwing any fertilizer out there isn’t necessarily going to fix what ails it.
There are also companion plants you can plant that will add the nutrients needed for a certain area. These are a few of the more popular and easy ones: Legumes, Marigolds, garlic, comfrey, nasturtiums, and basil. This is probably the easiest if you don’t like messing with additives.
I hope you enjoy gardening, and maybe I have given you some easier ways to work in your garden.
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