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We accomplished our DIY raised garden beds final summer season, and now that I’m deep into my second crop, I’m mainly a gardening knowledgeable. KIDDING! I’m nonetheless a relative beginner, however I will say that I’ve realized a ton during the last 12 months as I’ve skilled some main gardening victories and fails. Yesterday, I used to be within the yard staking my tomato vines and pruning branches, and I noticed how far I’ve are available my gardening journey.
Because you guys have been alongside for the trip, I believed I’d share the highest gardening ideas for novices I’ve realized thus far. These have been key to my success, and I’ve received to say—my summer season crop is on POINT. I’d love to listen to for those who guys are planting a backyard this 12 months, or you probably have tricks to share that I could have missed. Send me a DM to let me know! And now, learn on for six ideas that each gardening newbie ought to know.
1. Give your plants more space than you think they need
Before you begin planting, research each of your plants to find out exactly how big they will get and how much room you should leave between plants. Space them out accordingly to avoid overcrowding.
This was one of my first major fails when I planted my initial crop last fall. Initially, I made my plan using the square-foot gardening method and mapped out precisely the place every part would go. In fact, it didn’t change into fairly so clear-cut. I purchased far more crops on the nursery than I’d deliberate (they had been all so stunning!) and I ended up free-styling a bit to make all of them match. By the point my butternut squash reached “Little Store of Horrors” standing, it was too late and the large crops choked out the poor bell pepper crops that I’d planted in the identical mattress.
In distinction this spring, I planted simply 5 tomato crops in my 8-foot by 4-foot mattress, they usually had room to stretch, develop, and actually thrive.
2. Make sure you have good soil
This is one of those basic gardening tips for beginners that makes a huge difference. If your soil is hard or feels like clay, your plants may not be able to grow roots. If this is the case, add fresh soil, mulch, and compost before planting, making sure to aerate as deep as you can.
We filled each of the vegetable beds with 16-20 bags of healthy, nutrient-rich potting soil.
3. Know your planting region
Do a quick internet search to find out what planting region your city falls under, then talk to someone at your local plant nursery to find out the best native plants for your region. These are the plants that will truly thrive. Sure, you can find this all online, however, I learned from experience that nothing beats asking a veteran gardener all your questions and listening to their hard-won gardening tips for beginners.
I did tons of reading about what will thrive in Austin’s Zone 8, figuring out that our local weather vacillates from extremely sizzling to occasional onerous freezes within the winter.
I made a decision to commit every of my raised beds to a unique objective: one for flowers, one for herbs, and one for greens. This helped me set up my mind to decide on varieties of every that might thrive in Zone 8. Nonetheless, as I grow to be a extra skilled gardener, I’ll begin mixing up what goes in every mattress since many crops like to be surrounded by completely different species.
4. Create a gardening calendar
After doing my research, I created calendar appointments to remind me of the correct timing for all my upcoming garden prep tasks. This might be fertilizing every eight weeks, planting seeds at the beginning of spring, or cutting back/pruning my plants at the end of their growing season. It helps me stay on schedule, plus I can set the calendar tasks to recur year after year and make notes of certain things I want to remember next time.
5. Stay on top of watering
My entire family used to make fun of my “brown thumb”—in the past, I’d kill every plant I bought. My obvious problem? I’d simply forget to water! Making sure to water frequently enough is key to keeping plants thriving, especially with newer plants. Be sure the water penetrates the soil—as opposed to just putting it on the surface. You want it to soak deep down into the roots.
For our current garden, we installed drip sprinklers so that even in the height of Texas summers, our plants would get consistently watered at their roots. Drip sprinklers are also a more eco-friendly choice since far less water evaporates into the air.
6. Enjoy the process
One thing that’s surprised me about this whole gardening journey? I actually really enjoy the maintenance phase of the garden, and it requires less work that I expected. Taking time a few days a week to deadhead, weed, and tidy up gives me an opportunity to get in my flow state and see which plants are thriving. Plus, I catch potential issues before they become major problems. The other day, I headed down to the garden and within 48 hours, caterpillars had decimated a couple of my lettuce heads. I quickly did my pest prevention research and handled the lettuce with an answer of vinegar and water to repel additional caterpillar infestations.
And keep in mind: with a backyard, nothing goes completely! It’s nature, which signifies that there are such a lot of parts out of your management (pests, climate, illness…). Benefit from the course of. I do my finest to not sweat the small stuff, as a substitute noting my learnings so I can hold getting higher and throw my expertise into my subsequent crop.
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