Food and Cooking Tips

So you want your own garden? And why not? Gardening is a relaxing way to spend time. It relieves you of stress. Staying close to nature reminds you of the most important things in life. Besides, it’s pleasant to have a garden, no matter how big or small.

As a beginner gardener, there are a few basic steps you should know before planting your first seed. If you follow these steps, you will increase your chances in having a garden you will enjoy for a long time.

• Select your spot. Experienced gardeners usually advice beginners to draw a detailed plan of the garden they want to have. This plan usually contains the shape of your garden and what plants you want to have in it. But to do this, you need to first choose the location for your garden. You can choose a spot along a wall, around a tree, or in the middle of your yard.

• Analyze your space. If you have chosen a location near a tree, you have to remember that your plants will compete with the tree for water, so you need to choose plants that are suited for dry areas. Check out the amount of light and shade. How much sunlight will hit the spot all throughout the day? Do a little research on the needs of the plants you want to have, or the plants perfect for the spot you’ve chosen.

• Work your new garden spot. Remove grass, weeds, and other debris. To remove grass and weeds effectively, you need to dig them up with a shovel. There are herbicides you can use as alternatives, just make sure to read the fine print on the label.

• Amend the soil. Many plants are sensitive to the type of soil (things to consider include acid or alkaline levels and the amount of nutrients in the soil). To give it fresh nutrients or give it proper consistency, you can add compost, aged manure, peat, or sand to your soil.

• Choose your plants carefully. It pays to do your research. Consider the height, flower color, and light requirements of each plant and incorporate these in your planning. For example, taller plants should be planted behind shorter plants. Dark colored flowers should not be planted in the shade, because they will just get lost in it. Consider, too, the kind of plants perfect for your climate.

• Watering your plants. Make sure you know the water requirements of each plant. It helps to group plants with similar water requirements together. As gardening rule beginners should do well to follow is that plants should be watered daily for the first week, every two days for the second week, and at least once a week thereafter.

• Put mulch in your soil. Mulch is a material that provides protection or aesthetic improvement. It can be organic (bark, leaves, and straw) or non-organic (small rocks and black plastic). This will conserve water and help control weeds, among other benefits.

• Practice pest control. But take note that this doesn’t mean your garden shouldn’t have any insects or living creatures in it. Some, like worms and toads, are actually helpful. You just need to maintain a healthy equilibrium to ensure your plants’ survival. You can use chemicals for this purpose, but it’s better to incorporate this in your maintenance. Keep your garden tidy, prune plants regularly, select plants that do not attract pests to begin with, or add some “pest-repelling” plants in the mix.

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