As you know, you’ll gain a lot of benefits by getting your hands dirty. In fact, building a garden is a rewarding thing you can do. At first, it may be challenging to start your garden, especially if you’re a beginner. Even so, this task is doable if you can break the plan into simple steps. From there, you’ll soon see the rewards of all your effort when your plants begin to grow. So, what are the different steps to start your own garden?
1. Choosing a Plant
Before building your garden, you have to decide what kinds of plants you want to put in it. Some people prefer herbs and vegetables while others like flowers. Keep in mind that each plant requires varying maintenance requirements. As such, you have to make sure that you can take care of the plant. Aside from that, you also have to remember that starting small is the best approach. Once you’ve learned more about gardening, you can expand your garden.
Don’t be afraid to explore your options. You can find plenty of resources online about the best methods, setups, and ways to get started, even with limited or zero gardening experience. While the best way to acquire your starter kit is to source them locally, you can also access thousands of quality growing kits for mushrooms, herbs, and vegetables in online forums and marketplaces, so don’t limit your options.
The best way to go is to determine whether you want to grow mushrooms and plants indoors or outdoors first, estimate how much space you will have to work with, and how much effort you’re willing to put into maintaining it. Then you can start picking plants that meet these requirements.
2. Choosing the Best Location
One of the most important steps to start your own garden is to choose the best location. As much as possible, you have to pick a spot that can get about six to eight hours of sunlight. As such, you have to observe your backyard throughout the day to figure out the best spot to build your garden. Of course, you also have to pick a location where you can easily access water.
3. Test the Soil
Once you’ve picked the best location for your garden, the next step is to test the soil. To do this step, you need to obtain a sample of your garden soil and bring it to your local cooperative extension office. You can also go there before obtaining samples so that they can teach you how to collect the soil sample. Additionally, they can also inform you about the best time to get the sample. From there, you will usually wait about two weeks for the results.
4. Prepare Garden Beds
Keep in mind that you need to loosen your garden soil so that the roots of your plants can easily access the water and nutrients. There are various ways to loosen your garden soil. First, you can till it using a mechanical device; however, this method is best for large gardens. If you’re starting small, the best way you can do is to dig the soil with your hands.
5. Plant the Seeds
A lot of plants are easy to grow. However, some plants need depth and spacing. For this reason, you must read the label on the packaging to ensure that you’re planting the seed the right way. If you don’t want to start with seeds, you can also opt for young plants. Usually, you can transplant young plants by removing them from their container. You can also follow the instructions listed on the plant’s tag.
6. Water the Plants
Aside from those steps to start your own garden, you also need to water your plants regularly. Keep in mind that seeds and young plants should never dry out, so you need to water them daily. Once they’ve grown, you can water them less frequently. Usually, you will know that it is time to water the plants when the soil feels dry. Aside from that, you can also water your plants in the morning to minimize evaporation.
7. Protect and Maintain Your Garden
One of the best ways to ensure that your garden grows to its full potential is to do your garden chores regularly. To be specific, you need to water your plants and pull the weeds frequently. Aside from that, you should also remove the pests or insects that are destroying your plants. If you notice dying or diseased vegetation, it is recommended to remove them.
Overall, you will soon notice the rewards of your efforts once your garden begins to grow. However, you need to make sure that you follow the above steps to start your own garden to ensure that it reaches its full potential.
