If you’re a beginner gardener, this post is for you. I walk you through the easy steps and tips for how to start and maintain a successful garden!
My husband gives me the most thoughtful gifts.
This year for our anniversary, Kyle built me this beautiful raised garden bed for our porch and I am in love. With him and the garden. Not to mention, it gives me the perfect opportunity to share all about how to start a garden from scratch.
I’ve always dreamed about living on acreage and having a big, beautiful garden to feed our family. But we love living near the beach for now, it means giving up yard space. And by that I mean, we don’t have a yard at all. But I say work with what you’ve got, and we do have a porch and I love gardening on it! I think everyone should be growing their own food. It’s so rewarding and one of my favorite ways to slow down.
Here’s how I break down the steps for getting started gardening if you’re brand new to it.
How to start a garden for beginners, The Simple Steps.
- Google search, “What gardening zone do I live in?” There will be a big colored map with a coordinating key that will let you know what zone you live in. Once you’ve got that figured out, you’ll be able to plan out what you can grow in that zone, in that season. I usually do a google search at the beginning of every season, something like, “What can I grow in zone nine in the fall?” and then I make a list of seeds to order in my bullet journal.
- Find a container, raised bed or patch of the yard with good sun and good soil. Unfortunately, most soil is deplete of trace minerals, healthy bacteria, and full of nasty chemicals so I use all organic soil and enrich the dirt with volcanic ash, earthworm castings and homemade compost.
- Layer the organic dirt, earthworm castings, compost, and volcanic ash like lasagna and top with a light spray of water.
- Sow your seeds according to the directions right on the back of their packaging. I find this always yields me the best results. I like to choose organic, non-GMO seeds and just always follow the directions on the back of the seed envelope!
Pests on my Organic Garden
The most effective solution I’ve found to pests on my garden is 100% Pure Organic Neem Oil. Nothing works as well as neem oil in my experience, not even Dr. Bronners, which everyone seems to swear by. I spray my garden with it fairly thoroughly about once per season and it keeps caterpillars (which are the biggest concern for me) away!
Tips for Successful Gardening
Don’t overwater. I find that less is more when it comes to watering. I water my garden everyday but only for a minute or so, tops.
Grow stuff you want to eat. Don’t grow tomatoes if you don’t like them. I grow a ton of salad greens because they’re so easy to grow and I eat them everyday! You can cut lettuce right above the stem and it will regrow which makes things really easy too.
Invest in a frost blanket. Even in zone 9, I have to cozy up my garden for a storm or two. It has saved my hard work!
Be sure your garden is draining properly. Make sure your garden has proper holes or slats and lots of them, to be sure water doesn’t get trapped and pool up. If your produce starts browning on the edges, it’s likely a drainage problem.
Compost! Composting is the magic ingredient for great gardens. In the video for this post, I explain the simple way we vermicompost in a small container. It adds tons of nutrients and earthworms into our garden!
Don’t give up! Cliche, but gardening is an endurance sport. You’ll probably kill some plants and mess up and that’s ok! Just call it gravy for the soil and try again.
More inspiration for Gardening!
Anything by Zach Bush will getchya pumped about gardening.
