Pro Tips are everywhere, especially on social media - how to clean more efficiently, cook meals faster, and bargain for a new car purchase. Recently, as a Delaware Master Gardener, I began to wonder what tips I could gather from my fellow Master Gardeners and how they could help all of us enjoy our gardens this season. Who else could inform you how to garden with ease, save effort and reduce time better than Master Gardeners with their combined education and decades of experience? Here’s a sampling of pro tips to get you motivated!

Tools: Let’s start with some good tools for the job!

• Small spades for digging, a “cobra head” weeder, multi-purpose garden snips, good clippers (for pruning small woody stems), soil cultivators for digging weeds and spreading mulch, a “ratchet lopper” for larger diameter tree branches (2” or more), and Hori Hori garden knives are favorite tools of Master Gardeners. 
• Organize your gardening tools and keep them handy by wearing a tool belt, a multi-pocketed apron, or carry a 5-gallon bucket (you can also purchase a “wrap” for the bucket that has pockets for tools). Some Master Gardeners have favorite containers they use to store items that have sentimental meaning or unique beauty. If it works for you and makes you smile, use it!
• Wrap a bright ribbon, decorative tape or rubber band around the handles of tools (or spray paint them a bright color) to make them easy to find if they are set down and misplaced or loaned to a friend.
• Carry a squirt bottle filled with ethanol or isopropyl alcohol (70 to 100%) to spray tools to disinfect between plants and help prevent the spread of disease in the garden.

Composting, Weeding, Mulch. 

• Tumblers make composting easy and can be quite small and give a clean look in neighborhoods that may be averse to larger compost “piles.”
• Purchase a small stainless steel bucket with a carbon filter lid as an easy way to hold food scraps on the kitchen counter between trips to the compost bin. 
• Toss avocado pits into the compost mix to help create air pockets in your pile or tumbler container; they take years to break down and help items “tumble.”
• Coffee shops typically offer used coffee grounds at no cost to add to compost.
• Compost should be the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. Check bins and piles now that spring and summer are here and often during hot weather to add water as needed.
• Vermicompost (“worm bins”) is a fantastic way to enrich the soil with little maintenance. Toss in small bits of wood, perlite and vermiculite to create small air pockets and avoid compaction of the soil that can be detrimental to plantings.
• Learn more about composting in your own backyard
• Cut down on weeds by using cardboard or a thick layer of newspaper on top of the soil and wet down before applying a layer of mulch. This method works great to discourage weeds, and the cardboard/paper layer biodegrades over time.
• Shake the excess soil from weed bundles before tossing; it makes a difference in keeping the healthy soil in your garden where it belongs!
  • Hate weeding? Try the following to mitigate or prevent weeds:
  • Don’t put it off. The earlier in the season weeding begins, the easier it is as the plants are smaller and getting the roots out prevents spread. 
  • Set a timer for 15 minutes and work on a small patch at a time. Start near the front door, along the walking path, or around your favorite sitting spot to increase the mental impact of your time, as you will feel better about the results when they are more noticeable.
  • Depending on your landscape, combine smaller plants at the base of larger ones to create a natural barrier that discourages weed growth. Native plant species especially have denser root systems that grow deeper, further discouraging unwanted weeds.
  • If you don’t have the space to rotate your food garden crops, try “solarizing.” In the 4-6 weeks prior to planting, place a large plastic sheet over the soil. The sun will heat the soil, helping to cut down on weeds and even harmful insects that may be living in the area from last year’s plantings.
• Use a mulching mower to run over autumn leaves instead of raking them up. Toss them into your garden for a natural weed barrier and extra soil nutrients.
• Avoid “volcanoes”! Don’t heap the mulch up against the trunks of trees and saplings (or remind your landscaper). Mulch should be smoothed evenly, and a gap created between the trunk and the mulch to allow air to circulate and moisture to reach the roots.
• Buying mulch in bags can prevent the back-breaking work of shoveling mulch from a loose pile, and limits the weight and bulk of carrying a single bag, which can also be loaded into a light wheelbarrow. Bagged mulch can be slit down the side to make tipping out into the garden easier, and you don’t have to give up a portion of your driveway to the loose mulch pile!
• Mulch can be purchased with a chemical weed preventer to help keep weeds at bay. Read bag labels for information.
• Visit the Demonstration Gardens at the University of Delaware Extension Office on Wyoming Road for inspiration regarding planting, placement, compost bin types and more!