So you’ve decided that this is it.
This is the year to grow a garden. And it will be overflowing with flowers and
gourmet vegetables and exotic spices.
1.
What is your
garden for?
Is this a kitchen garden or
something more ornamental? (Although, it should be noted, some plants are
decidedly both). Also, strictly
speaking, you can have a combination
of both. I don’t want to tell you that you can only have Basil or Zinnias. Just
do what makes you feel happy. I do.
2. Where are you going to plant your garden?
This depends greatly on the space
available to you. Most people don’t want to convert their entire yard into a
farm, which I totally understand. Sometimes you simply don’t have the space for
a large garden. There are all sorts of tricks for growing things in uncommon
locations, which I’ll talk about later.
Also ask yourself this: What is my
yard like? It is sunny or shady? Is it a naturally humid location or dry as a
desert? These things influence not only what you can plant (and keep alive),
but when you can plant, and when you can expect results. The rule of thumb is
that most gardens need about 6 hours of direct sunlight, but this varies a
little bit by location and plant selection.
3.
Decide what
you want to grow.
My second Christmas is when the
garden catalogues start showing up. As I type this, I can spot about 6 garden magazines
just from where I’m sitting. I’ve got pages of vegetables, herbs, and flowers
marked out for ordering. Take some time and think about everything you want
your garden to be producing.
Do you want to try canning
tomatoes? Great! Take a look at the hundreds of tomato varieties out there.
Some are better for canning than others. Do you want to grow something that’s
showy and unique looking, to impress the neighbors? You can do that too. I’d
suggest starting a list.
4.
Decide what
to keep. What do you need?
Most likely you can’t grow
everything you set your heart on. I know, I know. It would be great to have
garlic and potatoes (Side note: Garlic mashed potatoes. Yum!) Where was I? Ah
yes. It’s time to choose between the garlic and potatoes. And a bitter choice it
is.
It’s time to narrow down the list
to the essentials. If you’ve got extra room, great! You can plant those hybrid
Asiatic lilies you’ve had your eye on. But if you’re like me, space is limited
and every square inch is precious. I can’t tell you what you should plant,
that’s your call.
Keep in mind step #2 when deciding what you want to keep. I would love to grow corn. I
really would. If I had a space that would support it, corn would be my number
one vegetable in my garden. Unfortunately, I have neither the physical space,
nor a sunny enough location to support it. Do a little research and figure out
what grows best in your area. Don’t be afraid to ask your local nursery for
help and suggestions!
5. Plan it out.
I have fallen prey to this before.
This goes hand in hand with the previous step. If you have too much stuff to
plant, it’s not going to work out.
If you buy plants from a nursery
or even just the seeds, the label should indicate the spacing for your plants.
As a first time planter, I cannot recommend enough that you follow these
guidelines. I understand that you don’t want a flower bed with a single tulip
plant in it, but crowding your plants is just as damaging. Like every living
creature, plants need space to grow. What you don’t see is their roots
competing with each other. You don’t always notice that a taller plant is
shading out a shorter one.
By drawing out your plan, you will
get an idea of how much space you have, where each plant will get located, and
how many to buy. This will save you money! Do not follow in my footsteps
and buy eight tomato plants only to find you have space for three. That was a
very sad day, my friends. True story.
Take the time to measure out your
space with a tape measure. I’ll talk more about planning things out later, but
it’s a great idea to know the exact dimensions you’re working with. You’ll
learn to eyeball your spacing with experience, but nothing beats a ruler and
graph paper for the first time.
6.
Buy your
seeds and plants.
If this is your first time
gardening: Go with live plants. Without a shred of doubt in my mind, it
is far easier to buy live plants for your garden. The plants from your local
nursery have been growing for 6-8 weeks and are ready for outdoor planting
right away. You also have the added benefit of selecting plants that already
look healthy.
If you’re looking to be cost
effective, you can grow plants from seeds. I just purchased my seeds for this
year (more on that later), and spent a total of $47 on seeds and equipment. And
that’s easily enough for dozens of plants. I hate to admit it, but you could
spend the same on five plants at a greenhouse if you’re not careful.
However, growing seeds is…
frustrating. While some seeds are easy to grow most are delicate,
temperamental, and prone to a number of ailments. And that’s if they even
decide to sprout. Then you have to acclimate them to the outdoors over time.
Let’s just say it’s a process.
Bottom line is this: Buying
live plants can be more expensive, but you will likely have better results.
Buying seeds is cost effective, but you need to know what you’re doing. For
first timers: Buy live plants. Experiment with some seeds on the side to get a
feel for it.
7.
Figure out
when to plant.
Every plant and area is different.
The big this is to determine your local frost date. This determines when
the last threat of frost has passed. It is probably later than you expect it to
be. For the
Most plants also are coded by
zone. You can look up planting zones HERE. You can also take your recent weather
into account, but for a first time gardener, follow the recommended zone
guidelines. Some plants, such as corn, do NOT like cold weather and should be
planted about two weeks after the frost date, as cold soil can have a long term
impact on your plant’s growth.
If you are planting from seed, you
need to work backward from your planting date. Seeds planted indoors need about
6-8 weeks to mature before being transplanted outside. Kept indoors for too
long and they can grow too lanky and fragile. Check your seed packets for
instructions. Some seeds take the full 8 weeks, while some take much less. 6-8
weeks is only an approximate.
8.
Do it.
Don’t be intimidated by the amount
of work. Most of the effort goes into the first days of planting. Once your
plants are established, they require much less fuss.
Yes, you will be sore and tired.
You will be using muscles that you normally don’t. But you’ll get over it, and
hands-down nothing beats the sleep
you get after a full day in the garden. I don’t want to imply that you should
make things hard on yourself. Put on suntan lotion. Drink lots of water. Use
those squishy knee pad things to prevent your joints from killing you. Take
breaks if you need it. But it will get better and you will feel better for it.
~The Garden Geek
