WITH the weather about to heat up very soon, if you want to ensure your garden furniture is streak-free, you’ve come to the right place.
There’s nothing worse than heading out to your garden on a sunny day, only to realise your outside seating is covered in rust and smears.
But now, luckily for you, experts have shared their top tips and tricks to get your garden furniture glowing in no time at all.
And if you’re on a budget, you won’t need to worry as these handy hacks are super purse-friendly.
Even better, you may already have the secrets in your kitchen cupboards.
And with spring finally here and Mother’s Day just around the corner, you’ll need to listen up and take notes if you want your guests to be wowed by your outside space.
Sam Stevens, garden design expert at Pergolux UK, said: “Spring is on its way and a lot of people will be looking at their gardens and getting them ready for brighter and longer days ahead.
“Cleaning the garden doesn’t have to be an expensive job at all. We all love a cheap and cheerful hack and the good news is that there are plenty of items you’ll already have in your home that can be used in the garden.
“Whether you need to buff away stains, achieve a streak-free finish on glass or get rid of rust, there will be something in your house for everything.”;
According to Pergolux's cleaning aficionados, homeowners can use all things from ketchup, fizzy drinks and even tea bags to get garden furniture looking brand new.
Tea bags
The first surprising, low-cost hack for your garden furniture involves using used tea bags.
Using your leftover tea bags on dirty glass can help you achieve a “streak-free shine”, according to Pergolux.
Not only this, but the experts claim that this also works with greenhouses, glass patio furniture and garden mirrors.
If you want to give this trick a try and have already guzzled all the tea in your cupboard, you can buy a pack of 40 tea bags from Asda for just 45p, making this hack cost less than 1p each time.
Fizzy drinks
The experts also advise that fizzy pop can be used to tackle stubborn rust, as they help break it down, making it easier to remove.
This little-known hack can be used on a range of things in the garden including rusty furniture and even grubby tools.
March gardening jobs
Flying Eze's Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine has shared the first gardening jobs of spring.
Start sowing seeds
You can plant Aubergine seeds into propagator – or outdoors after the last frost. Or you could try growbags in a coldframe – and hopefully you can harvest from August onwards.
Have a think about planting some different varieties of seeds this year – check out She Grows Veg and other sites for heirloom varieties. There’s an astonishing array on offer, like purple carrots, globe-shaped aubergines, lime green cauliflower or storage tomatoes that stay fresh for months.
Buy and plant summer bulbs
Summer flowering bulbs provide huge big blousey blooms – with some bringing a real touch of the tropics to your garden. Try Gladioli, dahlias, calla lilies, peonies and crocosmia.
Lawncare starts now!
Start your lawn care with a boosting high nitrogenspring feed, reseed any bare patches – and you’ll probably start mowing regularly in earnest this month. If you can – keep a corner long to help wildlife.
Check compost
Dig well rotting compost into your soil. If you have the space, it's even worth digging trenches and chucking in your rotting veg that's usually destined for the recycling bin – then cover. It adds great nutrients for free.
Clean outside spaces
Time to blast your patios and paths with a pressure washer – if your children are responsible enough it’s a great job for them – they’ll get soaked and have fun at the same time.
Soak sweet peas
Soak your sweet peas before sowing into long narrow pots or toilet rolls – put two seeds in a pot. These can go in an unheated greenhouse – and when there’s three or four pairs of leaves, pinch out the growing tip which will make them grow outward instead of upwards.
Create a wildflower meadow
Sow a wildflower meadow – if you have room. A lot of shops now sell wildflower mixes to make things easier – or even seed bombs which can just be scattered onto the soil.
Not only this, but it even works on hinges and metal parts of your barbecue too.
Meanwhile, small tools that have succumbed to rust can be soaked in fizzy drinks, such as Coca-Cola, overnight.
For furniture and other areas of the garden, Pergolux recommends pouring fizzy drink onto a cloth before wrapping it over the rusty area for a few hours.
If there is a big build up, you may want to leave it overnight.
Ketchup
Additionally, ketchup can also be an effective tool for removing tarnish and oxidation on brass or copper decor.
Those at Pergolux claim that ketchup works well with metal patio furniture, garden gates or old metal watering cans.
Whether you need to buff away stains, achieve a streak-free finish on glass or get rid of rust, there will be something in your house for everything
Sam Stevens
All you’ll need to do is simply apply a thin layer of ketchup to the affected area and let it sit for around fifteen minutes.
Following this, you can then gently scrub it away and rinse the area with water.
Tin foil
Meanwhile, ordinary kitchen foil can also be used to give metal a shiny finish.
Gardening tips and hacks
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Will my garden plants still grow if my backyard doesn't receive any sun?
The pros at Pergolux suggest crumpling tin foil into a ball and gently rubbing it over metal.
Doing so removes surface rust and build-up to give tools and furniture a temporary shine.
Pencil eraser
And if you thought that was it, think again.
If you’ve got scuffed plant pots, Pergolux's experts advise garden owners to try buffing over them with a pencil eraser – yes you heard that correctly.
Thanks to this brilliant trick, it will remove less stubborn marks, without you having to break the bank on posh cleaning products.
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