Gardening
Do a gardening. Gardening is a great hobby to take up; it
gets you outside, burning calories, and produces rewarding results. Whether
you’re looking to grow some delicious produce or beautiful flowers, these 9
tips and tricks for beginners will get you started off on the right foot!
1. Start Up Gardening.Don’t fret about finding a suitable plot in your backyard, simply
start a container garden anywhere you’d like. Plus this way you can ensure the
soil is fertile and easily prevent weeds! You’ll be more likely to follow
through with your gardening if your container garden is near your back door or
a window you use often. First start small, then work your way up to a bigger
garden.
2. Solid Soil and Dependable Drainage.Make sure your container has good soil
and drainage, which means plenty of compost! As Hometalk member The Black
Thumb Gardener says, ‘a gardener with no compost is no gardener at all’.
Composting is easy, just save your food waste, especially egg shells, coffee
grinds, and apple cores! Creating good drainage is also very manageable. Ensure
that your container garden has holes in the bottom, and then line the bottom of
the container with a layer of rocks.
3. Location Location Location.Some plants are shade plants, others need
sun, and yet even more plants are partial shade or sun! Don’t overlook that
part of your plant’s description! Hometalk member The Micro Gardener has a
universal solution: Place your container garden on wheels or a trolley, so you
can move it around in the event your selected spot doesn’t get as much sunlight
as you originally thought.
4. Timing and Type.If you want succeed with your garden you
need to plant the right type of plants, at the right time. You can check both
at the United States Department of Agriculture’s plant hardiness zone map.
When you’ve confirmed that your plants will grow in your zone, make sure you
plant them at the right time of year! Be sure to also check the seed’s
information, it will likely be spring or summer.
5. The Perfect Plants for Beginners.Some plants are just known to be easier to
grow than others- plant these! For easy-to-grow produce, Hometalk’s gardening
experts recommend tomatoes, peppers, onions, chard, basil, and bush beans. Easy
to grow and maintain flowers include clematis(a vine), sunflowers, dahlia’s,
foxglove, roses, petunia & black eyed susan’s. Just ask your local plant
nursery employee to direct you to the “hardy” plants.
6. Well Watered.Make sure you give young plants plenty of
water, but always avoid wetting the plant’s leaves! Wet leaves can easily lead
to mold, rot, and a sick plant! As your sprouts grow, remember that the general
rule of thumb is to give plants an inch of water per week. If you keep the
garden close to your house, popping outside to give your plants some water will
hardly seem like any effort at all. Be on the look-out for yellow leaves that
means too much water!
7. Go Organic, Really.Make organic
choices with your soil, fertilizing, pest control, and even seed selection.
Heirloom produce plants taste much better than mainstream varieties. Plants
that are fertilized or treated with chemicals can become weak and prone to
disease.
8. Trim and Prune.Trimming and pruning your plants allows
for increased air circulation and fewer leaves for your to spill water on
(Don’t wet the leaves!).
9. Get a Head Start.Want to know an insider tip from the top gardeners? For greater growing success, “start” your seedlings inside! An easy way to do this is by using old toilet paper rolls.
9. Get a Head Start.Want to know an insider tip from the top gardeners? For greater growing success, “start” your seedlings inside! An easy way to do this is by using old toilet paper rolls.
Comments