10 Best Backyard Hacks

Whether you love being around the green or are just looking forward to having some fun in the backyard as the summers strike, a flawless and fun backyard never disappoints. Although, despite this intense urge to have a backyard garden that even the neighbors get jealous of, doing so for most often is linked with spending loads, not to mention the time and effort.  

But, what if you could attain your backyard goals, from adding appeal to having a bunch of fun activities, all by yourself without paying tons for it? The following article includes all-around gardening and landscaping hacks you’d wish you had known earlier.

Use A Mix Of Bulbs For A Year-Round Punch Of Colors

From their texture to color and fragrance, flowers make for one of the best ways to add life to a garden. However, the pop they bring about is often short-lived as most flowers have a brief blooming time and lifespan. And, therefore for anyone who wishes for constant colors in their garden, planting vibrant annuals or regularly switching out perennials becomes the only way. But, is it?

Planting a mix of flowering bulbs in such cases as lilies and snowdrops is an excellent low-maintenance alternative, considering how they bloom at different times. What’s more, you only need to plant a bulb once every year to get a beautiful and colorful garden from spring to fall. 

DIY Drip Irrigation System

Plants need to be adequately nourished and kept hydrated, especially when they’re standing in the summer heat all day long. A DIY drip irrigation system allows you to free yourself from this full-time job. All you need is a plastic bottle and a sock to get water directly to the roots of your green friends. 

Puncture a couple of holes around the bottle and stuff the sock in it. Fill the bottle up with water which the sock will eventually soak up. The sock will retain the moisture and distribute it to the plant roots as needed. Whenever you decide to water the plants, unscrew the bottle cap and fill it up again. 

DIY Insecticidal Soap To Keep The Bugs Away

Bugs and insects pose a significant threat to both the plants and your idea of the perfect green backyard. And, while many insecticides are available on the market to get rid of them, one cannot overlook the fact that most of these are toxic.  

Making your insecticidal soap is an excellent way to protect your plants bothered by bugs using a non-toxic solution. In a spray bottle, mix a couple of drops of lemon essential oil, one tablespoon of pure liquid soap, all in 1 quart of water. Keep the bottle accessible and use it whenever.

However, make sure not to use dishwashing soap as the additives can harm the plants, not to mention how it is also ineffective on insects.  

Use Boiling Water To Kill The Weed

Getting rid of garden weeds can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be so for the weeds that grow in the cracks, joints, or driveways. 

An easy, virtually free, and all-natural way to kill the weed is to pour boiling water on them. As the boiling water will undoubtedly kill the plant instantly, the method is asked to be only used on hardscapes and not in gardens as the water can also harm the surrounding plants.  

Sow Your Seeds Neat And Quick 

Let sowing seeds the hard way with adequate spacing, perfect depth, covering up, etc., be a thing of the past. Below are three amazing hacks to sow your seeds flawlessly without much effort –

• • Use a muffin tin to get evenly spaced and quick planting holes. Just push it onto the ground to make depressions of preferred depth, drop in your seeds, cover, and water. 

• • Use toilet paper as an inexpensive alternative to seed tape. Take some toilet paper, roll it, mist it with water using a spray bottle, and place seeds in them at the perfect distance. Fold 1/3rd of the toilet paper and mist it again so that it sticks. Repeat with the other 1/3rd and mist again. Plant it up at the time or store it until a later date. 

• • Press old wine cork onto each of your garden rake prongs, and then push it to dig holes of your preferred depth. Drop seeds, cover, water, and it’s done. 

 Use Plastic Forks To Protect Your Plants

If you are particularly worried about that stray cat, rabbit, or even just mice ruining your young addition to the garden, try out using plastic forks. 

Stick some forks heads up in an area with young plants, and it will automatically deter them and most of the other small animals from entering that spot in your yard.   

Strawbale For Fertilization 

It is much harder to keep the garden soil in good health and ready for nourishing a new plant. And, while fertilizers are the eventual resort for most, straw bale also makes for a much better, cheap, and easy alternative for anyone willing to give something new a try. 

Straw bales cost as little as $2, and as it decomposes, fill the soil up with all the necessary nutrients, not to mention how low-maintenance it is. Furthermore, the weed-proof and absorbent straw bales in the market require much less watering while successfully growing everything from tomatoes to strawberries. 

Fun Outdoor Space DIY Ideas

• • Using glow in the dark paint and get yourself a couple of games like cornhole, hopscotch, ring toss, etc., painted right in your backyard for fun summer activities. 
  • Build a raised bed of stones to wash feet upon before entering the house. 
  • DIY bird nests as a fun summer activity and hang them on trees to add value and appeal. 
  • Get a giant concrete bowl and use it as a fire pit for a DIY backyard camping experience. 
  • Make your backyard look fantastic at night by adding light lamps and small LEDs. You could alternatively also use solar light for better results. 

CONCLUSION 

While the above are just a couple of backyard ideas and life hacks to try, know that there are limitless ways to add fun and efficiency to your personal green space. Give different things a try and see how you like them.   

What’s more, you could also try giving these DIY hacks as tasks to the kids and make the summers all about activities and joy. Happy Scrolling!