Everybody’s not an “outdoorsy” person, but for those who love the outdoors, it’s safe to say that starting a garden is probably one of the most rewarding and relaxing things you can do to enhance your home. Whether you choose to plant bright and flagrant flowers or robust vegetables, there’s something to be said about getting your hands dirty and playing around in the dirt… But, for gardening “newbies” starting a garden can seem a little daunting.
One thing to understand about gardening is that it doesn’t have to be complex. The key is to break each stage down into achievable steps, and once you do that, you’ll be able to start your garden with confidence, and can work at it at your own comfortable pace.
Below are considerations for you to think about before starting your garden. Once you apply these factors, you’ll be seeing beautiful blooms and eating fresh fruits and vegetables from your garden in no time!
Table of Contents
Determine What You Want to Plant
Before you hop in your car and go buy a bunch of seeds and plants, you first need to figure out what you want to plant. Do you want to plant a vegetable garden or an herb garden? Maybe you want to plant a flower garden; Maybe you want to plant all of them. You have the freedom to plant whatever you want, you just have to do your fair share of research on what it is you want to plant so you can ensure you have the right materials for them to have a healthy life cycle.
Find a Spot to Plant Your Garden
Part of starting a plentiful garden is finding the right place to start it. One thing that many people don’t know is that plants need between six and eight hours of full sunlight every day, and in order to provide that for the plants you’ve chosen, you’re going to need to do a quick assessment of your yard.
One helpful tip to do refers back to determining what to plant. While you’re inspecting your yard, you’ll be able to see which areas get the most sun. Even if your yard is mostly shaded, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t start a garden. When you go to your local garden center, take the time to talk to the garden associates to determine which plants grow better in shade or sunlight, based on the amount of sunlight your yard receives.
Clear Your Garden Area
If this will be your first time starting a garden, you will more than likely be starting from scratch in your yard and need to pull weeds and get rid of sod. This will allow for ideal soil conditions to plant your garden. Now, pulling weeds can get on the time-consuming side, and because of that, many people opt to use weed killers.
Weed killers are indeed convenient for gardens but they can also be toxic for your plants and you as well. In fact, the weed killer Roundup is facing litigation now due to consumers being exposed to glyphosate. If you opt to use a weed-killing product, always read the label to check for toxic chemicals.
Many people today are speaking with cancer lawsuit attorneys to seek justice for medical damages after being exposed to the harmful product. As a good rule of thumb, it’s always going to be best to go with all-natural or organic products.
Check Your Soil
A rookie mistake in gardening is not testing your soil. People tend to think that they can just go in their yard and dig a hole and start dropping seeds without realizing that if their soil isn’t ideal, their plants won’t prosper. The way you want to approach your garden, with soil, is to have a soil test done. You can visit your local garden centers to buy a kit.
Conclusion
Starting a garden doesn’t have to be complicated. By taking these basic steps for beginners, you’ll soon be able to graduate from beginner and advance to bigger projects and tackle any landscaping ideas you may have for your garden.
Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying the view of your beautiful flowers or eating the flavorful veggies that came straight from your garden.
Happy Gardening!