Gardening
Basics - How to Start a Garden
Tips for Planning a New Garden
Starting
a garden can be daunting. There are all kinds of decisions to make and a little
planning can go a long, long way toward making a garden you'll love working in
as much as looking at. But even planning can be a challenge.
I think the 2 most important questions to keep
in mind are:
·
How do you plan to use the space (entertaining, play area, grow
food...)
·
What do you envision in your mind
Here are some resources to help you answer
thse questions and create a garden you'll enjoy.
Where to begin? First you need to choose a good site. The amount
of sun
exposure and access to water will play a big part in what plants you'll
be able to grow.
Another
good place to begin a new garden is with the soil. This may not be the most fun
part of gardening, but as the saying goes: "Feed the soil and the plants
will take care of themselves. You'll need to access what
type of soil you have and what, if anything it needs. You can get your soil tested
for a nominal fee at your local Cooperative
Extension office and sometimes at a good nursery.
Vegetable
gardening is a little different from flower gardening and here are some
questions to ask yourself and steps to take to start a
vegetable garden.
Selecting
plants is one of the toughest gardening tasks, simply because there are so many
from which to choose. Key things to keep in mind are your hardiness
zone and your soil
type. But when push comes to trowel, what it really comes down to is
what plants do you like and how much time can you put into caring for them.
Here are some lists and resources to help you focus your search:
Want to
get started on a smaller scale? Why not try container
gardening or focusing on one particular type of plant, like roses?
Designing
a garden is an ongoing process and half the fun of gardening. While there are
so called design rules, like always planting in odd numbers, there are no
garden police to enforce them. Make your garden whatever you envision. Most
gardens are a mix of plants - annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs - that are
always growing and changing. Even the best thought out design will eventually
need editing. Even so, there are some basic principles that will get you
started off right.
And
here's a tip: Choosing some type of theme, whether it's a color
scheme, a style or a group of plants, will not only help give your garden a
sense of choesion, it will help make your design choices easier. You can always
expand from there.
There are all kinds of tools and gadgets designed to make
gardening easier and more enjoyable. There are a few that should be in every
gardener's shed, like good pruners, but
most are optional and as you gain experience you will find yourself reaching
for the same favorite tools again and again. So don't go overboard buying tools
right away. But when you know what you like, it's worth it to invest in the
best you can afford. Good tools are more comfortable to use and last a long
time.
There is always something
to do in the garden: planting, staking, dividing,
cutting back and weeding. Some
plants are more demanding than others, but garden maintenance is a given. It
can also be the most enjoyable part of gardening, because you get to observe
the changes your garden goes through. By regularly working in your garden,
you'll stay ahead of problems and learn the seasonal rhythms of your plants.
You will also learn which plants do well in your garden, which you love and
which you'd just as soon dig out and give away. Maintenance is the real essence
of gardening.
Here's one link on the
subject:
http://gardening.about.com/od/gettingstarted/tp/How-To-Start-A-Garden.htm
There are many other
links, too.
Plan B is to find a
gardener where you live and pick their brain, maybe even be an apprentice to
them for a while.
Later one can even learn
about saving grown food for the future. At your grocery, it is usually called
canned foods.
No comments:
Post a Comment