15 Interesting Facts About Beginners Gardening That You Never Known
Beginner's Guide to Gardening
For beginners, gardening can be intimidating. It is recommended to start small and work to progress.
Consider growing vegetables that are easy to grow, like peas, beans and radishes. Take a stroll through the garden every morning and especially when the watering system is running. This will let you spot problems early and when they are minor and simple to fix.
Make Your Plants Choose Carefully
If you are a beginner gardener, you should choose plants that are easy to care for and require little or no maintenance. This means avoiding plants from tropical regions that are not likely to survive in your climate, and selecting plants, flowers, or vegetables that thrive in your environment. For example, if you reside in a hot and sunny region it is possible to plant easy-to-grow plants like peppers and herbs like rosemary. If you have a shady space in your yard, plant flowers-loving groundcovers like lilyturf or thyme to fill in the space.
For more enjoyment, you can also grow flowers and herbs that attract butterflies and Hummingbirds. When choosing plants, it's beneficial to consider how much time you'd like to devote to your garden. Some plants need more attention than others and some will require regular pruning or weeding.
One of the most common mistakes novices make is planting too much. Begin small and then build your garden rather than trying to tackle too much all at all at. If you're planning to plant an organic vegetable garden for your family and you, only plant the vegetables that you'll eat. Avoid planting vegetables such as squash or corn, as they are difficult to grow.
Know Your Soil Type
When starting a garden, you need to consider what plants will thrive best in your soil. Certain plants require certain conditions, such as moist and dense soils while others prefer clay-based or sand soils.
The type of soil you have in your yard will determine how many fruits and veggies you can plant. To learn what kind of soil you have, try the "finger test." The first step is to dampen the dirt and rub it between your fingers. Clay soil feels sticky and covers the tips of your fingers in a slimy layer. Sandy soil is made up of fine particles that break easily. Silty soil has a powder-like texture, while peaty soil feels spongy.
The ideal soil is loamy that is a well-balanced mix of silt, sand and clay. This type of soil is perfect for gardening, lawns, and shrubs. It is rich in nutrients and moisture-retaining. It gets warm quickly in spring and summer, and is easy to cultivate. It is also acidic. If your soil isn't loamy, adding organic matter can improve its characteristics.
Don't forget about Water
If you're planting vegetables, flowers or both be aware that plants require regular watering. For those who are new to gardening it may seem like too much work if you're not used to it, but it is essential to the well-being of your plants.
Set up your garden close to the water source. This will prevent you from having to walk long distances with a hose or carry buckets of water. Also, plan to water your garden at least every week (depending on weather conditions). When homes gardens do this, make sure you soak the soil rather than just watering it - the goal is to make the soil moister so that there is always plenty of water available.
If you're planning to plant a vegetable garden, choose plants that are easy to grow for those who are new to gardening. Radishes and fresh peas, for instance, are simple to cultivate and produce delicious food. If you're planting flowers, sunflowers, Nigella and pansies are easy to maintain and low-maintenance. Avoid more complicated flowers like roses and lilies until you gain some experience. Make sure that the plants you choose are suitable for your climate zone. This information can be found on the plant label or by checking your gardening guide.
Mulching is crucial!
When most gardeners think of mulch, they envision wheelbarrows, shovels, and dust-covered arms. A good layer of mulch, if placed correctly, could be beneficial for your plants or fruit trees.
A good mulch deters the weeds and helps keep the soil damp. Organic matter is added to the soil which improves its health over time. It helps to hold soils of sand together and break up clay soils. It is a habitat for beneficial insects and makes the landscape look more attractive.
A layer of mulch placed well can also regulate soil temperatures which makes them cooler during hot summer nights and warmer during cold spring and fall evenings. This is beneficial for plants as it lets them absorb water more easily.
It is important not to apply mulch that is too thick, particularly around young seedlings and plants that grow and trail like strawberry, dandelion and thyme (keep in mind that you should remove the dandelion roots before applying the mulch). The optimal thickness is two to three inches for smaller plants, and three to four inches for shrubs and trees. The most popular organic materials are hay or straw, wood chips or shredded bark, shredded leaves, grass clippings and compost.
Don't Forget About Fertilizing
Gardening isn't an easy task for anyone regardless of their skill level. It's important that you respect the needs of your plants, and fertilizing is one of the tasks. It can seem like an overwhelming task for novice gardeners, but it's quite simple and necessary!
Fertilizing doesn't only mean giving your plants with nutrients. It's about timing. You must ensure that you're fertilizing during the growth season, which means from spring until autumn.
Use organic or sustainable fertilizers. You can find a variety of options at local gardening stores as well as online retailers.
Be aware that certain vegetables are more easy to grow for novices than others. Peas, radishes, and a variety of other vegetables are easy to grow and don't require much support (just bamboo canes). Try blueberries, strawberries or tomatoes if you're looking for something more intricate. Each of them requires some help, but are not too difficult for a beginner. Remember that they'll need regular watering, weeding, and lots of work.
Don't forget about pest control
A healthy garden attracts beneficial insects that eat and help protect the plants from aphids. This symbiotic partnership is far more effective than spraying chemicals, which harm both beneficial bugs as well as the negative ones.
New gardeners are often so excited about their new plants, they plant them without considering their individual needs. This can lead to overcrowding, incompatibility, and the eventual failure. Check the sun's position in the summer, spring, and fall to determine the amount of sun your plants receive. If you notice a plant isn't growing relocate it to a spot that is more sun-lit.
Regular weeding is also beneficial. They can take nutrients, water and light away from the plants you would like to grow. Therefore, regularly weeding is important. Be careful when using fertilizer. Too much can damage the soil microorganisms, and kill the beneficial insects that are found underground. The best fertilizer is organic, slow-release and not highly concentrated. Rototilling also harms soil microorganisms. Instead of rotating your garden, opt for "no-dig" gardening techniques which protect earthworms as well as beneficial organisms that enrich the soil.
Don't Forget About Animals
It's an enormous amount of work to learn about gardening, but it can also be a lot fun. Once you have a tiny area of garden, it's a joy to walk through the garden every day and check out what's growing. Tiny tomatoes are appearing everywhere, pollinators are buzzing around the squash blossoms, and Hummingbirds are flying around the beans. It's an amazing feeling to see something edible grow out of your hands.
Once you know the basics, gardening is easy for newbies. Find a sunny spot and amend the soil with high-quality organic materials, plant seeds or seedlings and water frequently. Many herbs and vegetables can be grown from seeds. Even the more difficult plants, such as blueberries, can be grown in pots by following the instructions on the packaging.
A wildlife habitat, like a pond or log stack is a fantastic idea. And if you have problems with animals that are destructive make sure you don't increase their appetites by keeping food and trash away from reach (raccoons are particularly adept at stealing garbage bins) and trimming away any dead plants or fruit as soon as you can. It's a good idea also to cut back herbaceous plants such as lavender or thyme after they've finished blooming, which is usually in late summer or early autumn. Also, choose native plants native animals will recognize as food sources.