People take an interest in
gardening
for a variety of reasons—higher quality produce, exercise in the great
outdoors, or saving money. Whether you hope to discover your green thumb
or save a little green, growing your own fruits and vegetables can be
an advantageous pastime. When you're just getting started, gardening can
be intimidating. How do you even know where to start? SparkPeople's
gardening resources will help you learn the basics, starting with the
five-step process outlined in this article.
Step #1: Gather Your Gear
You should gather several gardening tools before you get your nails
dirty. I cannot stress enough the importance of quality tools. Speaking
from experience, it is worth the investment to buy high-quality items,
as broken or insufficient tools are not only frustrating but cost you
more money and time in the long run. Proper tools provide more comfort
and efficiency, which means less work for you! You can find most of
these items in home improvement stores, gardening supply stores (or
nurseries) and
online retailers. Here's what you'll need to get started:
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Trowel - Used for weeding and digging small holes
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Gardening gloves - As much as we like getting our hands dirty, we
don’t like getting them that dirty. A good pair of gloves can also
protect your hands from bugs (if you're squeamish) and prickly plants
and weeds.
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Sun hat - For UV protection, make sure this is wide-brimmed and cinches
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Watering can and/or hose – What you need will vary depending on your garden’s water needs and proximity to your water source
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Wheelbarrow - For larger gardens, you'll need one to transport mulch, dirt, and compost
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Roundhead shovel - For digging larger holes
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Rake - Ideal for spreading mulch, and gathering or transporting debris
that has collected around your garden and between plants
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Shears - Use to prune away browning leaves or snipping herbs
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Pitchfork - This is an essential tool if you are creating a compost heap or pile
Step #2: Choose Where Your Garden Will Grow
There are three common types of gardens, all of which have their own
pros and cons: traditional (in-ground), container, and raised beds. Once
you've picked out the sunny spot where your garden will reside, it's
time to decide on one (or a combination) of these three garden types,
depending on your needs.
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Traditional Garden
An in-ground garden often provides you with limitless options for what
you can grow, while utilizing the natural ecosystem of nutrients,
bacteria, and insects already present to help your plants grow. Ideally,
choose a site that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight and
faces south.
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Container Garden
For those that can't plant a traditional in-ground garden, whether
because of poor soil or no soil at all (apartment or city dwellers), container gardening
is a fantastic alternative! There are many different types of
containers available at nurseries and home improvement stores. Your
containers can vary in shape, size and material to suit your gardening
needs (and personality). Beyond terra cotta and clay pots, almost
anything can work as a gardening container: plastic bins, untreated wood
barrels, galvanized metal buckets, a hanging planter, a planter box on a
windowsill—even a recycled yogurt container or an old boot! Every
container is different; some lose moisture quickly and others retain
heat, so research before you buy. Make sure the container has adequate
drainage and the appropriate depth to sustain the roots of your plants. A
container garden
is ideal for using store bought organic potting soil, which is aerated,
nutrient rich, and weed-free. It is best to place plants with similar
moisture and sun needs in the same container. Not every plant is
suitable for container gardening and not every container matches up well
with every plant. Remember that deep-rooted plants (carrots, for
example) require a deep pot (at least 10-12 inches). Ideal candidates
for container gardens are leaf and head lettuces, spinach, green beans,
peppers (require staking) onions, radishes, tomatoes (require staking),
squash, carrots, garlic, and herbs.
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Raised-Bed Garden
Raised beds are a happy medium between a traditional garden and a
container garden. The benefits of this garden include better control
over the soil, more manageable weed control, and easier access for
gardeners who experience pain from bending over too far or have limited
mobility. Materials used to create raised beds include cinder blocks,
bricks, untreated wood and even rocks. A raised bed can be anywhere from
6 inches off the ground to the height of a standard table, and
generally, these beds are about 3-4 feet wide with a depth of at least
16 inches. (Make sure your beds are not so wide or so deep that you
can’t reach the plants in the center.) Fill in these beds as you would a
standard garden, using good soil enriched with compost. Carrots,
cabbage, and other deep-rooted vegetables do especially well in raised
beds because you avoid compacted dirt that could be full of obstructions
to their deep roots. For more information about raised beds, look into
the square foot gardening method.
Step #3: Prepare Your Soil
Next, check your soil. Poor-quality soil can seriously hurt a gardener's
best efforts. What characterizes good soil? A high-quality soil for
gardening will be:
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Well-aerated, which means air circulates through it well. Dense soil,
like clay, is often too thick for roots to grow properly and doesn't
drain well.
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Free of stones and other obstructions. Soil shouldn't be too sandy, either.
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Rich in organic matter, such as compost
or aged manure. Organic matter provides nutrients to plants. When a
garden is rich in these resources, the soil itself will provide
nutrients for the plants to grow, which means that artificial
fertilizers are often unnecessary.
Simple tests are available from any garden center to check the quality
of your soil, including its pH. Generally, most plants thrive in soil
with a pH that is
slightly acidic. (There are exceptions to this,
however, such as blueberries, which love an acidic soil, and beets,
which enjoy alkaline conditions.) If your soil is too acidic, try adding
bone meal, dolomitic limestone, or wood ashes. To amend alkaline soil,
try materials such as peat moss, sawdust, or pine needles.
Beyond that, the entire permaculture of insects, bacteria, and microbes
do better in well-drained soil. If your soil is too thick and does not
drain well or does not hold moisture well, the answer is compost,
compost, compost. Thick soil also does well with the addition of some
sand.
If you are digging a garden on fallow land (or your garden needs a
serious makeover), then you should prepare your plot in autumn by
digging 6-8 inches into the soil, removing visible rocks, and working in
as much organic matter as you can before you start to plant the next
spring.
Step #4: Decide Which Plants to Grow
Deciding which fruits and vegetables to grow will depend on what appeals
to your diet, which plants will fit within the size of your garden, and
which plants are appropriate for
your hardiness zone.
Could you grow something exotic that is hard to find at your local
farmers market? Is your favorite produce too expensive to buy from the
grocery? Are you unsatisfied with the quality or taste of your favorite
vegetables?
For the cost of a packet of seeds (usually a few dollars) your garden
will more than pay for itself with the amount of edibles it will
produce—not to mention be superior in nutrient content, freshness and
taste to! Fresh fruits and vegetables--especially organic ones--are
expensive to buy, but you could save a lot of money in just one season
by growing some in your own backyard.
You can grow all plants from seeds, but many “starts” or seedlings are
available from your local nursery—tiny tomato, pepper, onion, broccoli,
and melon plants, started in a nursery greenhouse, are usually ready to
plant directly into the soil. Buying seedlings is more expensive than
buying a packet of seeds, but it's a great option if you're a fledgling
gardener or want to save time as many seeds need to grow indoors for
weeks before they're ready for the outdoors. If you're starting from
seeds, read the label on every packet. If a label reads “direct sow,”
you can sow the seeds directly into the soil, while others need to be
started indoors. Either way, the packet of seeds or starter plant will
include directions about the spacing, watering, and thinning practices
that are most suitable for that particular fruit or vegetable.
Step #5: Ready, Set, Grow!
You've got your gear, prepared your plot and soil, and bought your
plants. Next comes planting them to ensure they'll get adequate sunshine
and water as they grow.
Different plants have different needs for sunlight. Sun worshippers
include tomatoes, squash, beans, eggplant, corn, and peppers, while
those less dependent on the sun are leafy vegetables, potatoes, carrots,
and turnips. You can sow plants that need less sun in early spring or
late summer when the sun is less vibrant, too. When choosing what to put
where, remember to place taller plants on the north side of your plot
to prevent shadows from forming and inhibiting the growth of shorter
plants.
After your seeds or seedlings are in the soil, you can use additional
compost as mulch to improve water retention, help control weeds, and
keep the roots cool in hot weather. Other mulch options include straw,
grass clippings, untreated wood chips, gravel, or stone.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature isn't always reliable enough to provide
sufficient rainfall for a garden. Moreover, depending on your region,
you might need to supplement it by watering your plants a little or a
lot. If you notice a plant’s leaves, fruit, or buds start to brown or
droop, increase the water supply. Oddly enough if a plant is water
logged, oxygen is unable to circulate to its roots and the plant will
show signs of stress similar to dehydration. Green leaves and stems that
turn yellow or lighten in color could also be a sign of overwatering.
To confirm the problem, reason that waterlogged plants do not respond
positively to more water. Some water-rich fruits and vegetables, such as
melons and cucumber thrive when they receive more water, while others,
such as tomatoes, hate getting their feet wet too long. Always water
plants at soil level in the morning, as evening watering can make them
more susceptible to disease and mildew. Sporadic deep watering is more
effective than frequent shallow watering. Be diligent about watering and
weeding your precious new garden and chances are, it will flourish
before your eyes!
Finally, start small and begin with plants that are easy to grow. This
way, you'll avoid situations where the joy of your new hobby is replaced
by frustration. Most importantly, relax! There will be successes and
failures, but half the fun of gardening is learning as
you grow!
