Introduction
Gardening is a great way to spend some time outdoors, get your hands in the dirt (literally), and grow food for your family. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just getting started, it can be daunting to start from scratch. It’s also easy to get overwhelmed by all of the information out there about what works best for different climates and soils. Here are some tips on how to get started with your first garden:
Start Small
A small garden is a great place to start. You don’t need to go out and spend thousands of dollars on equipment or vast amounts of land, just get started! Don’t worry about how much you will harvest or what your yield will be; just plant the seeds, water them regularly and watch them grow!
As your garden grows and matures, you can always expand it by adding more beds or planting in containers. If you’re feeling ambitious, look into vertical gardening methods like growing tomatoes upside down on your fence!
Know Your Soil
You’re going to need a little dirt. But what kind? You can test your soil using a pH test or buy a soil analysis kit.
Testing Your Soil
A pH test is the best way to know what kind of soil you have in your garden and how much work you have ahead of you before planting. The pH scale ranges from 0-14, with 7 being neutral and values below 7 being acidic and above 7 being basic (alkaline). The optimal range for most plants is 6-7 (slightly acidic), but some plants do better at higher or lower pH levels than others. It’s important not to confuse having an alkaline soil as opposed to an acidic one; many plants grow best if their roots are slightly acidic, meaning they prefer slightly alkaline soils with low levels of nutrients (like nitrogen). If this sounds like something that might apply to your particular situation, it may be worth getting professional help on this one!
How Do I Improve My Soil?
Soils tend toward either being sandy or clayey depending on their composition—sand has larger particles while clay has smaller ones; both lack organic matter which means they don’t hold onto water well and tend toward being dryer than desired since there’s no room for air exchange between the topsoil layer where most plant roots reside and deeper layers below where moisture tends toward collecting after rainfall events since there aren’t any large spaces left open between particles like sand provides due its larger size relative compared other types found here so instead water just runs right through them without stopping long enough where microorganisms could use up those nutrients within them instead leaving behind nothing but salt buildup making everything else too salty for anything else growing near those areas again maybe except maybe algae!
Think About What You Want to Eat
It’s important to start with a plan. Before you buy anything, think about what you want to grow and why. Think about what kind of climate you live in and what types of vegetables are hardy where you are. Consider how much time and effort planning a garden will take. Do you have space for it? How much money can you spend on seeds and plants?
Even if your answer is “I don’t know!” try thinking about what kind of food interests you most right now. Is there anything that inspires an emotional response in terms of taste or texture? Take some time to consider these questions, because once your garden gets going, it is easy for things like weeds or pests to get out of hand quickly—and then no one wants any summer salads at all because they’re too busy pulling carrots out from between the tomato plants!
Keep It Close
You want to be able to get to your garden easily. You want to be able to see your garden easily. You want to be able to enjoy your garden easily. And you definitely want easy access when it comes time for harvest.
This means that if there are pets or children in the house, they need their own place in the yard where they can safely frolic without wreaking havoc on everything else you’ve worked so hard at growing!
When in Doubt, Call a Friend
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to ask for help. If nothing else, your local gardening store will be happy to give you advice on what to do next. If they don’t have any suggestions, then look around online or in other gardening magazines and books. You might find more information there that can help inform what direction you go in with your new garden project.
There’s a lot to think about when you’re starting your first garden, but with thoughtful preparation you can succeed.
There’s a lot to think about when you’re starting your first garden, but with thoughtful preparation you can succeed.
Start small, be realistic
Rather than trying to plant an entire acre of corn and potatoes in your backyard, start small and focus on what you want to grow. You don’t need a huge yard or lot for successful gardening—a small area will suffice if it contains fertile soil and gets enough sun. If you’re looking for suggestions for what crops are best for beginners, check out this article from Gardeners Supply Company: [link]https://www.gardeners.com/blogs/connections-blog/easy-to-grow-vegetables-for-beginners/.
Know Your Soil
Soil is critical to growing healthy plants; it needs nutrients like phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen in order to thrive as well as access to air (which means good drainage). You can test your soil at home by sending samples off to labs or using online calculators like this one: http://www.soilslabtestkitsandmore.com/soil_testing_calculator_njpa_guidelines/ .
Conclusion
We hope that the tips we’ve shared here will help you on your way to a successful garden. It’s not always easy, and it can take some time to learn what works best for you. But don’t be afraid of failure! You’ll have plenty of opportunities along the way to improve on things as well as make new friends who share your love for gardening—even if they can’t quite keep up with your green thumb.