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Beginner Gardening Tips
Ensure your garden gets regular attention. It is essential to water your garden, especially during the summer.
Start with simple vegetables like peas or radishes. These plants are easy to grow and productive.
Rather than starting from seeds, beginners can also purchase bedding plants or seedlings (sometimes called ready-made plants) at garden centers. Follow the directions on the label to plant them in your garden beds.
Know Your Soil
The soil you plant is the foundation to a successful garden. A healthy soil is vital for plants to thrive and produce abundant harvests. In the rush to put plants in the ground, it's easy to miss. If you neglect your soil it will show in your flowers, vegetables and shrubs.
Getting to know your soil is easy. Use a shovel, a paper sheet or garbage bag to your garden, remove the grass and top couple of inches, then dig down a shovel's depth in every spot where you're planning to plant something. Put the dirt on your bag or sheet and examine it whether it is dark brown, sandy or sticky? Does it smell foul or nice? Is it clumpy or loose? If you find earthworm burrows, it is a good sign because they aerate soil and eat organic material.
You can also check the soil's texture by digging up a handful of soil and squeeze it into your palm. If it stays in a ball when you release your grip, then your soil is clay-based. On the other hand, sandy soils let go of their shape easily. Another way to determine the quality of your soil is to mix up a batch of mud in a jar: Fill the jar to about two-thirds full, then add enough of your garden soil to fill it the rest of the way. Shake the mixture, and let it settle for several days. Clay-based soils are able to float on the surface, while peaty and sandy soils display an appearance of layers, and loamy soils stay clear, with fine particles at the bottom.
Knowing your soil type helps you determine how to improve it, which is easy to do with a small amount of organic matter added regularly. All soil types benefit from a wealth of compost, grass clippings, shredded leaves or other organic material that breaks down over time and provides nutrients to the soil. But it's also important to keep a balance between the amount of brown and green organic material you utilize because excessive amounts of the former could cause a loss of nitrogen in the soil that can harm your garden.
Know Your Plants
Many novice gardeners make the mistake of planting too much in the first few days. Start with starting a garden to get a feel of how much gardening time it takes. It's easier to maintain a small garden than a large one.
starting a garden to know the plants you have so that you can recognize them. One way to accomplish this is by watching their branching patterns, which differ by species. Botanists can quickly identify the species of a plant simply by observing its branching patterns.
Pay attentively to the growth habits. Some plants grow faster or higher than others, while others produce more vegetables or fruits. Ask the staff at your local nursery for advice in case you aren't sure what type of plant to purchase. They can give you details about the dates of your frost and your growing zone as well as the most suitable varieties of flowers, vegetables, and herbs for your area.
Beginners in gardening should know how to properly trim and weed their gardens. This is a great method to avoid overgrowth and maintain the health of your soil as well as protect your plants from pests. By doing this will provide you with an idea of what type of maintenance each plant needs and how often you should take care of it.
It's also a good idea to purchase a garden drip irrigation system or hose so that you can easily water your plants when it's hot outside. Nothing will burn out the novice gardener more than carrying watering containers to plants that are thirsty during the heat period.
A good guideline is to keep in mind that the majority of plants require at least moderately fertile, well-drained soil. If you find that your soil lacks nutrients, add organic matter. Alternately, you could create your own liquid fertilizer using tea made of dandelion, seaweed, or yarrow. However, be careful not to overdo it since excessive fertilizer can harm your plants. Spray sulfur-based fungicide onto your plants' leaves if you notice mildew or fungus.
Know Your Pests
Keeping pests at bay is another crucial consideration for beginner gardeners. It is a good idea to begin with organic gardening techniques as much as you can and to learn to recognize the first signs of an infestation. If starting a garden can spot the problem in the beginning stages, you may be able to prevent an entire crisis.
Many of the early warning signs of pests are very subtle and you'll have to keep an watch on your plants. Check for stippling on leaves, silvery bronze leaf edges as well as discolored buds and other signs that are a sure sign. You'll also want to check the soil regularly. It should be moist, but not waterlogged. Too much moisture encourages root rot and other plant diseases. If the soil is dry, add more organic material or apply a soaker-hose according to a schedule.
If you believe the issue is serious enough to warrant chemical treatment, make sure to recognize the pests. Certain pests are harmless to plants, and can even provide beneficial functions such as aerating soil or breaking down organic matter. Some are more invasive like grubs or cutworms, which can encase young seedlings or eat the roots of established plants.
One way to minimize the number of harmful pests is to apply mulch. It can shield your soil from the sun and help regulate the temperature. It can even help prevent erosion. The best kinds of mulch for a vegetable garden are wood chips, straw or compost.
The location of your garden plot is important. It must be accessible to you when you want to manage the plants, and also be easy to get to water sources. Nothing burns a novice more than lugging around water in the heat of summer, and there's no better option for your plants than a high quality hose fitted with an attachment for a sprayer or drip irrigation system with a timer.
Beginners should consider the needs of both people and animals that will be in their garden. Certain plants can be harmful to cats and dogs, including lilies, oleanders and roses.
Know Your Sunlight
As with water and soil sunlight is a crucial element to any garden's health. It's one of the main factors helping plants produce their own food via the process of photosynthesis. Sunlight reaches through leaves, capturing chlorophyll molecules and blends them with carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen and sugars - which plants utilize for growth and to get them through stressful times.
It is important to know the amount of light your garden gets at various times during the day and throughout the year. Some plants require full sun while others can grow in partial, filtered or even shade. It is important to know the requirements of your garden's sun exposure. This will help you choose the right plants and prevent having to cut down the entire crop that didn't produce.
Understanding your garden's sun requirements isn't as easy as just stepping outside and seeing where shadows fall. Sunlight patterns are highly dynamic and can change dramatically throughout the time of the year. This is especially relevant in New England where the sun's position above the horizon can change by 50 degrees from summer to winter. This means that if you observe certain patterns in the present you will see them very different in 5 to 10 years.
The best way to assess the patterns of sunlight in your garden is to create a sun map. Grab some tracing paper and sketch out the outline of your property. Then, beginning in the early morning, just after sunrise, take a look at your garden to determine what it is exposed to and take notes of it. Repeat this process throughout the day, stopping around an hour before sunset. Soon you will be able to see how your garden differs between full sunlight, partial sun and shade. Then, you can begin planning your garden.