How do I start gardening as a beginner?
Decide What to Grow in Your Garden
Except for flowers, only grow crops you’re willing to eat. Focus on your family’s favourite vegetables, herbs, and fruits, and ensure your ultimate picks are in alignment with the weather in your garden. Calculate the first and last frost dates and check your hardiness zone. Consider talking to experienced gardeners in your area and figure out the suitable plants for your garden.
Select the Right Location
Most garden plants require at least 5 hours of direct sunlight per day to fruit. Partial shade is enough for herbs, root veggies, and greens to grow. Late afternoon shade is best for southern gardens, while northern gardens need full-time sunlight. Think about how you will access your garden to care for the plants. If your plants are not in sight, then it’s likely you will neglect them. Don’t place the plants in frost pockets and high wind areas. Ensure the garden is safe from wildlife and pet damage and away from children’s play areas.
Plan the Garden Beds
After choosing the gardening site, it’s time to pick the size and type of garden beds. Raised beds are more accessible and attractive, but they dry out too quickly. So if you live in arid areas, use sunken beds to gather all the moisture. Consider Planting in beds or blocks of plants rather than single rows. Beds must be narrow enough (3 to 4 feet across) for the center to be accessible from both sides and long enough (roughly 10 feet) so you won’t have to step into the bed.
Place your plants inside the garden beds in rows or a grid pattern to maximize growing room and minimize walkways. You can save money and time by fertilizing only the planting area. The same rule goes for soil amendments too. Don’t hesitate to grow companion plants to improve crops and lure beneficial insects.
Don’t start too big. Provide each plant with enough room to grow. Remember, seeds might be tiny, but full-grown plants can become enormous. It’s hard for packed plants to flourish. Going for a well-tended but small garden is more beneficial than a poorly-tended but large one.
First and foremost, I’m delighted you’ve chosen to take up gardening. I’ve been doing it for about a year, and I can’t even begin to describe how soothing it is. Even if you don’t have a vast space in your home – whether it’s in the backyard, lawn, terrace, or even on a tiny balcony – you can build up a wonderful garden on your own by following some basic steps:
Choose your plants carefully. Begin with low-maintenance plants that can tolerate a broad range of weather conditions. There are simple flowers like French lavender that you can have around and simple herbs like chillies that you can start with.
Set up a specific time for gardening tasks. Early morning or around dusk are great because the weather is typically fine during these times.
Begin with a simple gardening starter kit that includes lightweight tools for weeding, transplanting, cultivating, and growing plants. To avoid soiling your hands, don’t forget to use gardening gloves every time. Tool kits and water sprinklers are available from Falcon, Truphe, and Ketsy.
Finally, try to make your garden look exciting and unique by adding things like cute garden statues, colourful flower pots, bird-shaped planters, and so on. Gardening is an excellent way to create a positive environment, relieve stress, get some exercise, and even help you deal with depression.
I highly recommend everyone to get to know your garden. Take some time to see where the sun hits the ground, so you know what to plant there. Know what soil type you have; you will quickly understand if the soil is acidic or alkaline by growing camellias, magnolias, and Pieris.
Always have a plan in your mind; a perfect plan will help you choose colours and structures wisely. Last but not least, weed and prepare your soil before planting. Oops! Don’t forget to water the plants regularly.
Gardening is one of the most joyful experiences; it can also be challenging for beginners. Don’t worry, and please don’t get disappointed as soon as you face an issue. Trust me! It’s a part of the gardening process. Here are some tips for you as a beginner in gardening:
• Get as much practical information as you can. Growing the plants is not a piece of cake. You need to get some basic information and knowledge about different seeds, plants, and flowers and the best condition for them to grow and bloom.
• What are you going to plant in your garden? It would be best to choose what you’d like to grow in the next step. Your daily veggies, different flowers, or a combination? The various plans and preparations are required in case of any of these choices.
• Start small There is no force and rush to build another version of the Butchart gardens! Start with one or two species of flowers or vegetables. Make sure they receive sunlight and have enough space to grow efficiently.