Gardening Glossary

Acid Soil: It refers to this as “sour” soil with a pH between 0 and 7.0.

Aeration: It refers to creating tiny holes in the soil to let nutrients, water, and air reach the grassroots.

Aerobic: This describes existing things that live or occur exclusively in an oxygen environment.

Alkaline: This has high concentrations of salt, calcium, and magnesium, sometimes called "sweet" soil.

Anaerobic: It refers to a situation when there is insufficient or no accessible oxygen in the soil or substrate.

Annual: This plant completes its life, produces seeds, and dies in one season.

Bare-root: These are the plants that, instead of being potted, the plant has been picked from its growing soil in the fall, and their roots have had the dirt removed.

Beneficial Insect: It refers to any of several insect species that provide valuable functions, including pest control and pollination.

Biennial: A plant needs two growth cycles to complete its life. In the first, it produces leaves, and in the second, it produces flowers.

Biodegradable: It is where decaying happens naturally due to bacterial or fungal activity. Organic matter-based materials decompose naturally.

Biological Control: It is using parasites like fungi and bacteria or helpful insects like prey and parasites to manage invasive plants, harmful insects, or illnesses.

Bolting: It is a term used to describe vegetable crops that quickly go to seed, frequently making them useless.

Calcitic Limestone: It is an often-used material for "liming" excessively acidic soil. This kind, which includes calcium carbonate, is the most often used.

Chlorosis: This is the yellowing of foliage caused by a chlorophyll shortage.

Cold Frame: This is a simple shelter that uses insulation and solar energy to produce a controlled environment for plants.

Companion Planting: This occurs when two plants are placed next to one other for the mutual benefit of the two plants.

Compost: It is a mixture of elements and organic matter created from food waste, decaying plants, and other organic components that improve and nourish the soil.

Cutting: It is a rooting technique of reproducing plants in which part of the original plant's leaf, stem, root, or bud is removed.

Damping Off: It is a disease that affects plants and is brought on by various fungi and creatures that resemble fungi. With this disease, developing seedlings fall and are frequently covered in a mass of white fungal growth.

Dead Heading: This is removing wilting or dead flowers from plants, whether in hanging baskets, containers, or beds and borders.

Dicotyledon: These woody plants propagate by flowers with two seed leaves. Examples include sunflowers, tomatoes, peas, and beans.

Direct Seed: It is where you put your seeds directly into the soil of your garden instead of beginning them indoors in a cup.

Double Digging: It is a traditional method for preparing soil for planting. The soil must be dug to double the depth of a shovel.

Drill: This lets you dig just the right size and depth for your plants. This is important when planting bigger bushes or trees.

Earth Up: This is a farming method where soil is stacked around a plant's base, generally a crop. This protects the plant from any weather conditions.

Fertile: This refers to the capacity to provide water and vital plant nutrients in sufficient amounts and ratios for plant development and reproduction.

Fertiliser: This is the extensive supply of organic or chemicals for plant nutrition.

Foliar Fertilising: This material, either natural or synthetic, is directly applied to a plant's leaves to promote fertility and better health.

Forcing: This refers to the gardening technique of forcing a cultivated plant to grow actively outside its typical growing season.

Fungicides: These insecticides destroy fungus and their spores or stop them from growing. They can manage rusts, mildews, and blights, among other fungi that harm plants.

Germinate: This happens whenever a plant or seed develops into young, green plants.

Green Manure: These crops are raised and taken care of to enhance the fertility and structure of the soil.

Ground Cover: These are the plants with slow growth that may be grown next to a walkway or under a tree and spread out throughout the soil.

Half-Hardy: It is referred to as a sensitive plant that cannot withstand temperatures lower than +5°C in the winter season.

Hardening Off: This practice allows plants to adjust to transforming, harsher outside conditions from a sheltered, stable habitat.

Heavy Soil: This soil is defined as one with a high concentration of fine clay particles.

Humus: This dark, organic substance appears in soil when decomposing plants or decayed leaves.

Intercropping: This is a multiple cropping technique where two or more crops are grown close to one another.

Irrigation: This is where you water the plants, usually using a sprinkler system for irrigation.

Leaching: It occurs when the soil's soluble nutrients are washed out by irrigation or continuous rains.

Leaf Mould: It is composed of rotting leaves and is considered an important soil conditioner.

Maincrop: These vegetables are planted in gardens, and medicinal plants are also grown there.

Manure: The break down from waste which is added to the soil to make it more fertile.

Micro-Nutrients: This is meant to refer to the nutrients and trace elements present in soil but that are not needed by plants.

Micro-organisms: These are the tiny organisms that regularly inhabit the soil and support the general health of the soil.

Mulch: It is a substance applied to the soil to protect it and keep moisture in.

No-Till-Gardening: This covered gardening technique conserves water, stops weed development, and guards against soil erosion.

Organic: It refers to crops produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, fungicides, or fertilisers.

Organic Gardening: It restricts the application of artificial chemicals during planting, including weed, disease, and insect control agents.

Perennial: It is commonly referred to as a plant that blooms in spring and summer, dies back in autumn and winter, and returns the following spring.

Pesticide: These are the synthetic or natural materials used to eradicate particular pests, such as insects, plants, and other living organisms.

Propagation: It is the process of multiplying a certain kind or variation of plant to a bigger population.

Red Spider Mite: It is those small, spider-like insects that feed on sap and are frequently found in plants.

Root Crop: It's a crop like beets or carrots farmed for its tasty roots.

Root Rot: It is a decaying disease that targets trees growing in moist or wet soil by attacking their roots.

Soil Amendment: It involves adding beneficial organisms and organic matter to the soil to improve plant health and soil quality.

Sowing: It is the process of using a seed drill to plant seeds in the ground to generate crops.

Tender: It's the kind of shrub or plant that dies from harsh weather, particularly in the winter.

Transplanting: It is the act of transferring a plant to grow from one area to another.

Waterlogged: It is the abundant water in the root zone, followed by anaerobic conditions.

Yield: A good yield is a large crop and is used to describe the amount of your crop.