A garden provides a plethora of advantages. From providing us with the freshest produce on the table every night to give your house a distinct look, gardening is a fantastic hobby to pick up. Furthermore, gardening can easily teach some incredible skills and make a person very aware of their surroundings.
Whenever we think of gardens, we generally think of luscious, massive meadows and rows with all the produce in the world. But, you can't build a castle if you never take the labored steps. Many people try to shy away from gardening, thinking it to be too complicated. However, with a few small steps, you can make your garden from scratch! In this article, we're going to discuss some easy but useful tips to make your first garden memorable. Let's begin!
Tips for Starting Your First Garden:
Set Your Priorities:
The first thing to do when making your garden is to decide what you want to grow. Flower, fruits, herbs, vegetables; the choices are endless. Furthermore, every category has its varieties, so there's a lot to choose from. Again, most crops have different requirements, so you can't grow everything at the same time.
What we recommend when it comes to vegetables is to choose from products that you'll eat. If you don't like something, growing that isn't a wise idea. Same for flowers and fruits. Put your personal preferences first, and gardening won't feel like a hassle at all.
Understand Your Soil:
Now that you know your garden's purpose, you have to determine what you can grow there. You can't grow tropical vegetables if your place is too cold and vice versa. Many people tend to overlook this and eventually incur losses and damage to their lands by choosing the wrong crops and materials.
The best way to understanding one's soil is to research. Search about your location and see what other people are growing, reach out to farmer forums, communities, and ask questions. Also, your local agriculture department should be one call away. You can quickly get your soil tested and understand the capabilities and drawbacks of your soil.
Choose your spot:
Now that we've made our minds and did our research, it's time to get our hands dirty! Now, you have to choose a spot where we start all the magic. However, not every land will yield the best results, so we have to select the best place.
Most plants require a lot of sunlight, so choose a spot that gets sunlight without interruption. Don’t start it close to tall trees or walls that will interrupt your sunlight.
Furthermore, drainage is a crucial factor, so make sure your soil is even, and there aren't too many holes here and there to hold water.
However, if you live in an apartment or don't have a yard, you can grow your plants in pots on your balcony or in any suitable place. Growing in pots saves a great deal of space if you can arrange them accordingly.
Make your garden layout:
The spot is chosen, time to arrange everything for your garden. If you have a design for the garden ready, the starting steps become much more comfortable. When designing, think about what the final product will look like with all the produce. Your plants require space to grow, so take that into account, keep spaces between plants and give them sufficient space.
Another thing we recommend is to start small. Don’t make a design for a plot too big for you to manage. Make a size big enough to hold a few plants without causing you to struggle.
Prepare your garden supplies:
Now that we have a design and a garden plan ready, we need all the tools to start our garden. You might be surprised to realize how many things a garden needs even though all of them are necessary.
The first things that should be on your shopping list are the seeds and seedlings. When you're buying them, buy a few more than you'd need in case some of these ends up withering.
Next up, buy all the necessary tools. Although shovels and rakes are found in every household, buy them if you haven’t yet. Then, go for things like mowers, tillers, etc. Once you have everything in check, look for fertilizers and compost. You’d need them in abundance.
Furthermore, many plants require irrigation on a grand scale. Your garden hose might not be able to provide it, so look for irrigation materials as well.
Many garden equipment requires electricity. Although a bit expensive, they save a lot of time, money, and energy. If you have an 8000 to a 12000-watt generator at home, you can use it to support your electric gardening tools. They are making the experience smoother.
Prepare the Soil:
Preparing the soil is essential for the growth of your plants. The looser the ground, the more nutrient will reach your plants. Use your tiller and rake to break down the soil. Dig up to 12 inches and remove all the rocks, weed, and bits of impurity from the ground. Once you're done, let it rest for a few days and then move to the next step.
Add fertilizer:
If you’ve tested your soil, you know what your soil needs. Fertilizers are a great way to add nutrients to your ground. Historically, fertilizers helped pave the way for modern food. So, use fertilizer to deal with its pH and nutrition requirements before adding everything to the soil. If your soil is too acidic, apply limestone to it, add pine needles, sulfur, etc. to make it acidic if it's too raw.
Furthermore, organic mulch, compost, etc. can help your soil gain its required nutrients quickly. Add them in the amounts needed for the best results.
Plant your seedlings:
It’s pretty simple, dig holes a few inches apart and plant your seeds there to let them grow. Make sure they have adequate distance between them. Water them regularly and make sure they’re nourished. Your dream garden is almost ready!
Conclusion:
Gardening might seem like a mammoth task at times. But instead, it's a fun leisure activity if you know your way around. In this article, we've discussed some easy tips for new gardeners to help them out. We hope this article helps you!