If this is your first garden, you might want to keep it on the smaller side. This way, you can gain practice and confidence before devoting a big section of your yard to a garden. If you don’t have a yard, you can still start a garden! Set up raised beds or plant in containers on patios or balconies. There are lots of plant varieties designed to thrive in containers.
For easy herbs to grow, try planting rosemary, oregano, thyme, or chives. If you want to try your hand at growing fruit, start with strawberries or blueberries. These don’t take up a lot of space and they grow quickly, so you don’t have to wait years for your first harvest.
A small spade for planting or removing weeds String and stakes if you want to mark out rows in the garden A sprinkler if you’re watering a large area Fertilizer or compost if you’re planning to enrich the soil Fencing materials if you’re worried you need to keep pests out of the garden
If you live in an area that’s known as a great gardening region, you may want to skip this step. For instance, if your results show that the pH is lower than 7, you could add limestone, or if the soil is over the recommended 7. 5 pH, you could add sulfur to amend the soil.
Starts are a bit more expensive than seeds, but you will save time and space if you choose to germinate from seeds. Seeds are more cost-effective, especially if you save seeds year after year. Some community centers or farmers’ markets put on plant sales early in the spring. These are great places for picking up healthy starts. Plus, you can ask knowledgeable people questions about different varieties or growing conditions.
For instance, if you live in a cool climate, choose varieties that have a short growing season, so the plants have a chance to grow and ripen before it gets too cool. If you live in a warm climate, you have a longer growing window, so you’ll have more choices when it comes to seeds.
Find companion plants for each plant you want to grow. Some combinations of companion plants can extend your growing season. For example, plant spinach or herbs early in the season. Then, plant tomatoes in the same bed as the season warms up. Plant nasturtiums or marigolds throughout your garden to keep garden pests away.
Other plant labels might tell you what temperature the soil should be before you plant. For example, wait until the soil’s 60 °F (16 °C) before you plant corn. You can head to almanac. com to enter your zip code and find your last frost date.
If you want to amend the soil or add compost, now’s the time to do it! Mix your choice of fertilizer or compost into the soil before you level the surface.
If you’re planting a vegetable garden, design it so that it’s convenient for you to walk into the garden and harvest vegetables as they ripen.
If you don’t want to buy mulch and you’ve got compost around, spread a layer of compost instead. This can help protect the plant starts as they germinate.
Use a watering can or a garden hose with a nozzle that you can adjust to a sprinkler setting. This way, the water won’t wash away the seeds. Stop watering as soon as the soil is moist. If you water too much, the plant roots can get waterlogged.
