Below are 28 DIY gardening hacks every garden lover should know to really boost their gardening skills to the next level. Let us know which ones you like.
Hack 1: Emergency Storage Using Cocopeat
Promise to use this gardening hack only in emergencies. You should have a big pot and a small plant in a small pot, then put a little cocopeat in the big pot. After packing your items properly, cover them with cocopeat and place the smallest pot on top, then fill it again with cocopeat. If you fill it with cocopeat, you will not know whether it is a new pot or the same one that has been lying in your garden. Keep this pot with the other pots.
Hack 2: Z-Plant Bonsai Transformation
If you have a Z-plant, you can definitely make it into a bonsai in any shape or size. Your Z-plant is growing so well, but the shape and size are not good at all. You will remove it from this pot and transfer it to a bonsai tray. Now you will cut all the branches, remove all the soil, and trim all the extra-long roots. After cutting the roots, place your plant in a bonsai tray, fill it with bonsai media, and your bonsai is ready to go.
Hack 3: Hanging Adenium for Fungus Prevention
Have you ever thought of hanging the adenium? Whenever your adenium passes through winter, it may have a fungus problem, and even if you want to increase the codex of your adenium, this method is beneficial. Let’s quickly remove all your adenium from the pot, hang them all, then wash the removed adenium, dry it, and hang it. Now you can lift them and grow them.
First, their pruning will be done, and then they will be tied with a thread and hanged for 10-15 days. When they start feeling dry, they will absorb a lot of water, so hang them in a shady spot where they won’t be exposed to direct sunlight.
Hack 4: Drip Irrigation System for Easy Watering
Winter is about to end, and summer is about to begin — a drip irrigation system that will make your work much easier. The drip irrigation system can automate the whole system. You have 100, 200, or 1000 pots; however many you have, the drip irrigation system is straightforward to install and will water all your pots at once. Just connect it to the main pipe, press the secondary pipe in your pot, and it is very easy to give water to the plant.
You have to turn on your tap once, and water will come to all the pots at once. And in the summer, you can water all the plants at once, making this hack especially useful for those with a lot of hanging pots.
Hack 5: Protecting Your Garden from Cats
“If a cat comes into your garden, what is the solution?”
First of all, you can include any furry thing in your garden. Maybe the cat doesn’t like the furry thing. You can put a teddy bear or any furry thing in your garden, and because of these things, the cat won’t come into your garden. Or there is another solution: you can put a pigeon net, which costs about Rs. 200-250; if you don’t want to buy one, you can put an iron net.
The second solution is to make the cat run away by identifying its source. After that, you can put a pigeon net, which is readily available on Amazon. This is how you put a hook in the wall; if you don’t want to put a hook, you can tie it directly to anything.
Hack 6: Bonsai Wire Removal Technique
Removing bonsai wire is very important because, when you don’t know, you often break big branches while pulling the wire. Whenever your wire starts to grow in your branch, it means it’s getting stuck inside, so it’s time to remove it. You have to support your finger at the point where the wire will be bent.
Whenever the wire opens, it means it comes to an angle where your finger is. If we don’t keep our finger or thumb on it, the branch will start to break. You have to keep your thumb on the wire and apply pressure, then put your finger on the back and press down on the wire. This will not put any pressure on your branch, and it will be easily removed where the branch is getting delicate.
Hack 7: Building a PVC Pipe Bench
With a PVC pipe, you can make a bench —it’s very easy. First of all, we have taken two pipes, each 3.5 feet long and 1 inch in diameter, and two pipes, each 3.5 feet long, for your main stand. These are four legs, each 12 inches, that meet in the middle to connect to the two 4-inch pipes, and connect the 3-inch pipes with 4 T connectors and four angles.
You have to take T like this and put it in, packing it tightly so that it does not move. Once it is fixed, you have to take one leg and one angle and make it tight here, too. Now, this 4-inch pipe will go inside it, and to make it tight, you can tap it with a hammer on the wooden part. Now the same on this side too, to finally join everything together. To secure, apply adhesive to keep your bench from moving.
Hack 8: Plant Pruning and Repotting
It is February, and if you find your plant unhealthy, take it and water it a little. This Almond plant is harmful, and its height has increased significantly; cut it to fit the pot. You will remove 60% of the soil from this plant so that there is a lot of space to develop roots, and it will give you a lot of flowers. We will use the same soil, add vermicompost, mix it well, and replant.
Keep it in shade for 1-2 days, and after that, you can keep it in full sunlight.
Hack 9: Using Laxmanreka for Ant Control
If you are worried about ants, then use Laxmanreka to make a line in all four directions of any pot, and your ants will go away from there. Keep in mind that it is a little dangerous and can harm children or pets, so keep it away from them. Use it carefully, put it back in your pot, and wash your hands very well. No insect can cross this circle so that you will be safe from all insects, especially ants.
Hack 10: Avoid Buying Flowering Plants from Nurseries
If you are going to visit a nursery and you are thinking about buying a new plant, and beautiful flowers are attracting you, then stay here because after a month, all these flowers will die. There is no point in buying new plants, so do not buy them from a nursery —like flowering or winter plants —because it will be a waste of your money. You will not get all the potential in a plant, as it takes 1-3 months for a plant to flower, and if it is flowering, then it will die in a month.
If you are buying petunias, they will last till April, so do not invest in other plants. If the plant is permanent, you can definitely invest in it; if you are buying it only temporarily for flowers, do not buy it.
Hack 11: Attracting Birds and Pollinators to Your Garden
How to bring animals into your garden, like birds, pollinators or squirrels? First of all, you can keep water and food for birds like pigeons, parrots and sparrows. Bring in flowers that attract pollinators, and include in your garden permanent plants that are good for birds, among them the Ticoma with bright orange flowers. You can see a small bird sucking nectar from the hibiscus, and the birds come here in pairs, both male and female, and they roam in our garden, and they go to flowering plants.
So quickly include a Tecoma in your garden, as it grows well in the ground and in pots.
Hack 12: Propagating Lotus Rhizomes
Here you can see a lotus with many rhizomes; you can separate them and grow them in another pot. Whenever we produce a rhizome, we buy a single rhizome and develop it, but how can we grow a single rhizome into multiple rhizomes? Last year, we grew a lot of rhizomes in this pot, and if we don’t repot this year, then the flowers will give honey.
You have to empty all the water, turn the lotus pond upside down, and put fresh soil for the lotus, and this way you will get a lot of rhizomes. Some will be damaged, and some will be solid. When you buy lotus root, it should be white, as the brown part is damaged. You can easily sell on Facebook or Instagram, and anyone will buy your lotus roots.
Hack 13: Protecting Strawberries from Damage
How can you force your strawberry plant to save itself so its strawberries will never be damaged, and your plant will also be healthy? Because the water you put in will not evaporate, the strawberry plant will get moisture for a long time. The easiest way is to put rice husk or wheat husk around your plant, or you can use cow fodder or cardboard paper.
Slowly, you can put this fodder around your strawberry plant, and your plant will be safe, and the strawberry will not touch the soil. So there will be no fungus, no water, and the strawberry will not be damaged.
Hack 14: Using Coconut Water in Your Garden
There are many gardening hacks you don’t know about, but if you use them daily, your gardening will become much easier. Our first gardening hack is to pour the coconut water you drink into the garden and let it sit; it will turn into cocopeat. You have to do all this work with a permanent plant, not a seasonal one, because it will take time to decompose, and the permanent plant will absorb the nutrients.
Since this is a small pot, you can either take the whole coconut or cut it in half, though it is challenging to do so. Take one coconut and place it in the pot, covering nearly 70% of the pot, then fill the pot with soil.
Hack 15: Avoiding Root Binding Without Changing Pots
It is often said that when your plant stays in a small pot for 1-2 years, then it becomes necessary to give it a big pot, but a gardening hack is that you can easily grow the same plant in the same pot. The main reason for changing the pot is root binding. In two years, the plant’s roots can become bound, so check whether it is root-bound, as this can degrade the plant’s health.
As you can see, we will cut the plant’s roots, and if you cut a plant’s roots, it will not be harmed because it will regrow them. So we will cut the plant’s roots and put it in the same pot with a new soil mix, so the plant will feel it is in a big pot.
Hack 16: Air Layering to Create New Plants
Air layering is an excellent technique to make another plant from the same mother plant. Mark it with a marker if your branch is very thick, and start cutting. If there were another plant, it would have removed all the skin, but here we have a pen and a tree, so that a small cut will be enough for air layering. You will need a zip lock, plastic polythene, and sphagnum moss, which you can easily get from Amazon or a local store.
Let’s wrap it first, put the polythene on, secure it so the moss doesn’t fall, then tie it up with a zip lock and do the same on the top. You have to maintain moisture for nearly 28 days until you see new roots. This is the result, and this is done in the off-season. Our result was 100%; our plant is healthy, and our air layering is successful.
Hack 17: Mustard Cake Fertiliser for Flowering Plants
I know you don’t like lemon on your lemon plant, so this hack is for you—first of all, you can see how many flowers are coming: not nearly 100-200, but between 500-1000, and all of them are healthy. This is mustard cake fertiliser. If you are not using it in the garden, start using it. If you don’t have it, you can buy it from Amazon. This is an excellent fertiliser —like nectar for all your flowering plants.
“This is a very easy to prepare” – you can directly put it in soil or take a water tub, fill it with water, leave it overnight and put it in your plant pot. In an 8-10-inch pot, use 10-15 gm; in a big pot, use 50 gm.
Hack 18: Removing Extra Seedlings for Better Growth
We usually put a lot of seedlings, and they grow, but you know, they shouldn’t be kept together; there should be plenty of gaps so they can get the nutrition they need and reach their proper height. This is our carrot seedling, and till they are small, you will not know how to control them. A lot of seedlings in a 10-inch pot, there should be at least 7 to 8 carrot plants, and you will understand by looking at these seedlings that you can see how many seedlings are growing together.
But all of them will be spoiled if we do not remove anything, so plug it and save the remaining seedlings.
Hack 19: Destroying Amar Bael Immediately
Amar Bael, destroy it immediately because you can see a large green tree, but here you see yellow and golden colours. In a few days, it will consume the tree and attack all nearby trees. It is beneficial in Ayurveda, but it is not suitable for our garden, and it becomes very harmful once it strikes. It is challenging to remove, so observe it closely: it is golden yellow in colour and doesn’t need roots. Just place it on the plant, and it will survive and eat the plant.
There is only one way to destroy it: burn it. It won’t burn easily, so you have to secure it by pouring oil on it and setting it on fire.
Hack 20: Protecting Your Nails While Gardening
Use soap while gardening if your nails get damaged. Generally, small nails don’t get dirty, but if your nails are big like girls then you can use soap to solve this problem. Take your bathing soap and rub it with your nails, as one bar will be enough for your entire life. If your nails are big, they will easily get stuck, so you will not be able to do gardening.
When you wash your hands, your nails will be as clear as before. Blogging in 2025: Harsh Reality & Side Hustle Tips.
Hack 21: Saving Plants with Broken Stems
Most plants have many advantages, and if you overwater them, their stems will break, which happens only because of a fungal infection. So you do not have to throw that stem, as you can cut the leaves and grow them. We will produce the leaves in sand, and you need to keep the sand moist. Just take your leaves and plant them in a shaded area, and after a month, you will get beautiful results, as each leaf will form a bulb.
Hack 22: Propagating Adenium Using the Nail Method
You can apply this method to adenium. It was a simple adenium, and we used a nail technique; it will look more beautiful. You need to select a long branch of adenium, take a cutter, and insert it into the centre of the plant. Cut across the entire adenium, and it will not die, as all the branches will survive. The adenium plant is resilient, and you don’t have to cut the bulb—trim the branches.
Cut the extra branches, and you can also collect three branches and split them into four parts by cutting all the branches.
Hack 23: Using Compost Water for Plant Nutrition
We all create compost at home, and the wastewater produced isn’t harmful or very potent. Therefore, you can definitely use it in your garden, especially since small seedlings require plenty of nutrients, and it generates a large amount of compost. It contains many healthy bacteria that also enhance the quality of your soil, so you should definitely utilise this compost.
Now we have nearly half a litre of compost, so mix it with 5 litres of water, and you can give it to your seedling or a larger plant. It is a very quick-acting fertiliser, and if you use it in the same compost, then your composting process will be faster.
Hack 24: Keeping Fish to Control Mosquitos
It is essential to keep fish, because if you do gardening and like aquatic plants like lotus, lily, or other water plants, you should definitely use them. Mosquitoes are the biggest enemy of humans because they kill more people in a year than any other disease. If you want to reduce mosquito numbers, buy small fish like guppies and mollies.
These are readily available at your local water plants and are very cheap; we get one for 10-12 INR, but you can get one for 15 INR. Buy only male and female fish, because if you buy two fish, you will get many fish in your pond.
Hack 25: Rose Plant Fertiliser Using Banana Peels
The rose plant produces many blooms, so you need to prepare a simple, readily available fertiliser at home with minimal effort. You can easily make phosphorus-rich banana peel fertiliser since we eat bananas daily. Peel 2-3 bananas and place the peels in a glass bowl.
All the phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen in banana peels will dissolve in water, so fill a glass bowl with water and leave it overnight to allow the nutrients to dissolve. You need to mix it, filter it, and our banana peel fertiliser is ready. You can then use it on any plant, especially fruit and flowering plants.
Hack 26: Reviving Lucky Bamboo Plants
If you are an old follower, then you must know this. Let’s see what’s happening inside—we’re plant enthusiasts, but how did our plant become so unhealthy? Did we not treat it in time? We kept our plant with fresh leaves and removed all dead ones, which helped it recover. Remove all damaged leaves and all growing tips; after doing this, your plants will start regrowing if you do it during the winter season.
We will take some of these cuttings, plant them in the soil, and make small bunches to keep in two separate pots. Finally, we will place them in individual bowls and keep them in a bright light location after watering.
Hack 27: Growing Money Plant in a Tire
You can grow many things in a tyre—here, we will grow a money plant in one. You will need a ziplock; let’s quickly put it in the tyre. Now, we will fill the gap with moss because it does not fall out easily. Next, take a cutting of the money plant—it will have 3-4 nodes, resulting in excellent growth.
You can take 10-15 cuttings, but if you don’t have that many, starting with 3-4 is fine. Finally, wet the moss, place all your money plant cuttings in it, and keep it in a shady spot to encourage growth.
Hack 28: Making DIY Cement Pots
If you don’t have a pot and can’t find one in the market, you can easily make one yourself. Use one part cement and three parts sand. Place the mixture in a bowl and prepare as needed. Mix it well, then slowly place it into your jar or utensil and shape it as desired.
First, prepare the base, and ensure it includes drainage. This way, you won’t have to worry about making a hole later so that you can use small plastic pipes or electrical conduits. Always apply oil to the plastic box that you place on top, as this will make it much easier to remove from the cement once it has dried.
