It’s never too early to put on a stylish straw hat and get your hands dirty with some backyard gardening! But how can you protect your plants from the cold icy grip of frost?
Salt! That’s right, the same stuff your doctor said was causing your hypertension can do miracles for your garden.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘won’t the sodium in the salt affect the nitrogen content in my soil?’ Well, that just untrue. Most gardens have too much nitrogen and are begging for more sodium to even out their levels. That’s exactly why fertilizer is 50% salt, so don’t be afraid to really pour it on. You’ll know you’re doing it right when a lush and fertile garden emerges from the earth.
So what’s the best salt to use? Well, there is plenty of debate on the subject and I won’t bore you with details but personally, I find road salt has given me the best results. I feel the big chunks mix well with my garden’s soil and gives it a stunning sparkly look in the evening sunset.
On the other hand, my neighbour swears by table salt but she grows begonias, so go figure. You should stay away from bath salts because they contain perfumes that will damage your garden’s natural central nervous system causing ‘dirt fatigue’ and who needs that.
If you grow your own vegetables Kosher salt is a great and easy way to pre-season carrots and potatoes that are still in the ground. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
Hauling around all that salt can be difficult and if you have an elderly neighbour try to lend them a hand. Better yet, just go over to their place in the middle of the night and dump a couple of pounds of salt in their flowerbeds. They’ll be so grateful you did.
So forget about investing in a fancy climate controlled greenhouse and just grab a big old sack of salt, I promise you your plants will never be the same!
