• Water your garden in the cool of the early morning or evening. This will reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation.
• Lawns can survive long periods of dry weather if the grass is not cut too short, so try to maintain it at least 4cm during the summer months. Even if the grass turns a brown hue it will recover after a few days of rain.
• Use water from washing-up and baths in the garden.
• Weed regularly, to ensure that watering helps plants and not unwanted weeds.
• Don’t overwater – if you water plants too much their roots will remain shallow, weakening the plant. Leave them alone until they show signs of wilting.
• Collect rainwater and use a watering can rather than a hose.
• If you have to use a hosepipe then fit it with a trigger nozzle to control the flow.
• Mulches such as wood-chips, bark and gravel help to prevent water evaporation and also suppress weed growth, saving both water and time spent weeding.
• Plant flower and shrubs that thrive in hot and dry conditions such as thyme, evening primrose, rock rose, Californian poppy pinks, lavender and buddleia.

Gardening is becoming more and more popular, with people pinching the pennies and wanting to know where their food comes from, growing your own vegetables, fruit and flowers is the economical and environmental option. However, millions of us spend hours painstakingly planting seeds and then fretting about the outcome. If you’re anything like me, you often disappointed when your effort is not reciprocated by an abundance of blooms. But fear not, there isn’t something wrong with you, you might just be working with already dead seeds!

Up to 59 per cent of vegetable seeds can be dead, while the figure can be as high as 73 per cent for flowers. The findings have been revealed by consumer group Which? after it tested three types of vegetable seed – spring onion, runner bean and cucumber. For flower seeds, its experts looked at begonia and pelargoniums, which are also known as geraniums.

In theory, there are legal minimum standards for the percentage of vegetable seeds that should germinate from a particular pack. However, this varies between types and is rarely enforced.

Which? found that seven of the 17 vegetable seed suppliers it tested failed to meet the minimum germination requirements.

Although there is no legal minimum germination standard for flower seeds, a number of suppliers performed badly during trials for Which? Gardening magazine.

However, it is not all bad news. Which? said that the germination rates from seeds have improved since it conducted similar research in 2007.

There are some basic gardening tools you must have, but there are a huge variety of designs and sizes- each designed for a specific purpose. There is a reason for so many tool options, as the right gardening tool makes the gardening task a lot easier. Here are some of the gardening tools you may find useful for everyday gardening.

SHOVEL-
The shovel is the main tool and the one that gets the most use for gardening.

Round point shovel- this is the number one tool for digging, lifting and throwing soil. The round point cuts into the soil, and the rim on the top allows for added foot pressure, allowing you to dig deeper holes. Look for one with a wide rim if you plan on doing a lot of digging, your feet will appreciate it!

Square point shovel- this is a great tool for moving materials around the garden. Larger size square point shovels are known as a scoop.

RAKES-
Before the invention of the rake, gardeners had to use their bare hands to move soil and other objects. But today’s rakes are designed to extend the human hand and finger to a larger scale and come in all sizes and styles.

Leaf rake- this is designed for movement of leaves, grass and other lightweight materials. Flexible steel or poly tines work well removing debris from grass. These rakes come in small and large sizes but a shrub rakes works best when cleaning planting beds.

Garden rake- this is designed for removing or moving debris, or working soil to prepare for planting. Use the top edge of the rake to level up garden beds. These garden rakes come in three different styles:
· Flat- this rake has a t-shaped head, attached directly to the handle, giving it extra strength.
· Bow- this rake has the head attached by two curved (steel) supports
· Thatch- this rake is designed to scratch into tough turf and remove thatch.

HOE-
A simple, yet ancient tool, the hoe helps the keen gardener to weed and lightly break the ground. The hoe comes in many different head shapes and sizes. These are:

Regular garden hoe- these come in square or rectangular blades and it is at a right angle to the handle, to assist you with chopping.

Warren hoe – these are designed for planting assistance rather than weeding. The V-shaped blade is used to dig furrows whilst the open part can be used to close furrows.
Weeding hoe- these have a flat blade on one end (used for chopping) and pointed tips (used for pulling out weeds by the roots).

Action hoe- these hoes pivot back and forth beneath the soil for cutting weeds. The blade does this via a push or pull stroke.

Mortar hoe- these are not necessarily used for gardening, but has holes in it to easily mix cement or mortar.

HAND TOOLS-
Hand tools make gardening a lot easier and are a handy device for everyday use.

Bulb Planter –this tool is designed especially to dig small holes for bulbs. Some bulb planters are marked for exact hole depth, the digging tube removing soil to allow room for the bulb. You can purchase a long-handled version to get extra food pressure behind it.

Trowel/transplanter – this tool is designed for precision digging in smaller spaces. This tool has a narrow blade, perfect for putting in bedding plants and the transplanter is even narrower.

Weeder – this tool is also known as a dandelion digger which looks like a notched screwdriver. It penetrates the soil and removes the weeds and their roots from deep in the ground.

The first thing you need to know is that organic vegetable gardening involves using all natural products, rather than synthetic ones. In a positive term, you work with nature to achieve organic vegetable products.

The key to a successful vegetable garden is to choose the right vegetable plant that suits the soil and climate you live in. If you live in a dry area, make sure yu buy those plants that don’t need much water to survive.

Before you plant the seeds in the soil, ensure the land is ready by clearing it of both weeds and rocks. Planting vegetables where there are other intruding factors will hinder the growth of your vegetables and the quality.

After you have done this add compost, bone meal or rock phosphate to the soil. These elements will supply the soil with nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to help the vegetables grow thoroughly.

Another thing to add to the soil is organic fertilizer. Leaves, grass clippings, eggshells and kitchen waste can be applied to the soil around a month before you want to plant the plants.

Now you can plant the vegetable seeds. Space each seed a fair distance apart so the roots don’t fight for water. If you wish to plant other plants in the space you can do so, this will mean less chance of weeds growing.

Pests are usually a big threat to natural gardens. To fight against them try to put up barriers and row covers to prevent them from landing and laying eggs. Sticky traps and foil collars are also good to stop pests from eating your vegetable crop.

Rotating the crop is the best way to preserve the soil, which will help your vegetables to grow. You can do this after you harvest the vegetables so they are ready for planting once again. To do this rotation, you have to plant in the same area but with a different vegetable plant.

The best thing about an organic vegetable garden is that you can have your own mini farm in your backyard. The vegetables are fresh and you can pick them out whenever they are ready.

But to get the best, healthy garden you need to have the right equipment and ingredients. Too many people assume that you need many harsh chemicals to kill out the weeds in order for the garden to shine, but that is not always the case. You can have a lovely garden (and even green lawn) without using chemicals that are bad for the environment.

Using fertilizer on your grass means that your lawn is being exposed to bad nitrates and phosphates chemicals. Too much of the chemicals and you could be exposing not only your lawn, but your family to unnecessary health problems. Some fertilizer chemical products can trigger asthma and can even cause neurological problems for your pets who are constantly near the garden. As well as health risks, fertilizer can run down the drain into water supplies, poising the water stream.

Instead of fertilizer try natural gardening products like compost. You can purchase compost for your garden, or you can place food scraps into a container and create your own. Leaves and outdoor scraps can also contribute to the compost and give your lawn the nutrients needed to grow healthy.

Place the grass seeds into healthy soil and add the compost with them if you are just starting to grow your lawn. If it is already grown, add a bit of compost around the parts of the garden you wish to grow and look the best.

Water the garden and the soil correctly. Make sure the soil is completely damp. Currently, we cannot use too much water for gardening purposes, so ensure you do this in the early morning. This will allow the water to get embedded in the soil and will be less likely to evaporate.

If you want the garden to look perfect and stay in that condition, ensure you purchase a grass that is durable. You want grass that will hold up well with people walking and playing on it, rather than telling people to keep off.

Instead of using weed kill to spray the weeds, simply remove the weed with your hands. But make sure you get them out from the root up so that they wont spread under the soil.