Gardening 101: 6 Tips for Beginners

Gardening is an increasingly popular hobby. It doesn’t take much money and is accessible for people of all skill levels and time commitments. Getting out into the fresh air also has several benefits for your mental and physical health. As a beginner, it can be a little challenging to take up a new hobby and to try and work out where to get started, which is why we have compiled the following list of tips; let’s take a look. 

Learn More About Your Garden

First, as a novice gardener, you need to learn about your garden before you start overhauling your garden and planting new plants. How much sun does your garden get, and what direction does it face? Some plants need more sunlight and warmth than others, so knowing which areas of your garden get more light will help when you begin planning your planting efforts. You might also want to test your soil to see whether it is acidic because this can affect your growing efforts. 

Make a Plan

Some beginners also find it advantageous to plan their gardens before committing to anything. Think about what you want to get out of your gardening efforts. Do you want a garden that is more geared towards aesthetics? Or do you have more practical ideas, like growing your produce? Other than ensuring that your garden will meet your needs, there aren’t too many rules that need the following when it comes to gardening.

Plant Properly

This might seem pretty obvious, but you need to ensure that you are properly planting all of your plants. This ensures that they will grow and thrive as opposed to withering and dying. Remove all weeds from the area you are going to plant in. after that, the proper planting technique will largely depend on what you are growing; if you aren’t sure, then you might want to double-check, either on the instructions on the plant label or online. Depending on what you are planting, you might need structures like a greenhouse or plant boxes to ensure that they are going to thrive, it may be worthwhile looking into polycarbonate sheets like the ones from the ClearAmber shop. 

Develop a Plant Care Schedule

It is all well and good to plant your plants properly, but if you forget to care for them, then it is all moot. The care schedule will again depend on the plants themselves, but as a general rule, you should be soaking the plants with water once a week – unless you have had heavy rainfall. Some plants like fruits or veggies will also need feeding with plant food or fertiliser every couple of weeks. 

Composting the leftovers like fruit, veggies, or eggshells can help minimise waste and feed your plants. You can sprinkle over eggshells as you go; otherwise, you should follow a proper composting method to ensure that you have created the best mulch for your plants. 

Finally, remember to include pruning in your plant care schedule. You can’t just plant your plants and leave them to it. They will need to be pruned for their own health. This usually means regular deadheading; depending on the plant, it could mean shaping or harvesting as appropriate. If this feels a little daunting to you, there are a lot of pruning guides out there to help. 

Avoid Over Committing

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a beginner is taking on plants far beyond your skill and knowledge level. It can be tempting to revamp your garden entirely; however, this approach usually takes on too much. You will find yourself overwhelmed trying to keep up with the differing care schedules for the plants, and things will slip through the cracks. 

Take a Proactive Approach to Pests

Most of the time, garden pests don’t tend to cause too much harm to your plants, and they can usually be left alone. However, a few forms of pests can be particularly pernicious and harmful to your plant life. Keep an eye out for pests. Identifying them correctly can help you to come up with the best solution for them. This doesn’t always have to mean killing them; other methods can be used to deter them. 

To Conclude