23
/Sep
How to Start a Garden: The Ultimate Guide(Part 1)
1. Garden with Nature
The first rule is to garden with nature, not against it. What type of soil do you have? Is it sandy or is it clay or is it a mix? What is the acidic level? How long is your growing season? How hot does it get? How cold does it get? How much rain do you get? You will want to select plants that thrive in your soil in your climate.
It’s not hard to do. There are thousands of plants out there. It is nothing to be bemoaned if for, example your soil is clay and you cannot easily grow potatoes, which prefer sand. Well, then grow corn, cabbage, squash, echinacea, and black-eyed susans.
Most leafy greens prefer a good rich soil and the clay stays cooler longer than sand so it extends the growing season for this cool-weather crop.
There are many different purposes you can grow plants for apart from beauty and food. I have grown plants for natural dyes and fibers. I have grown plants for making gifts like sunflower wreaths, table centerpieces or raspberry liqueur filled chocolates. I have grown plants to make insect repellent, set broken bones, heal sprains and clear congestion.
So when you are considering the plants you can grow in your area, broaden your horizons.
2. Follow the Sun
Where are you going to place your site? And how large should it be? First, what are you hoping for?
My advice here is going to focus on the small home garden that includes herbs and vegetables for the kitchen. I say small because that is how you should start out. You can easily expand it once you know how much effort it is going to take and have identified what else you might like to grow in a single season.
Go out to your proposed site and take a look at where the sun is in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. Bear in mind that if it is winter, the arc of the sun is going to be a bit different than in the summer.What you are trying to determine is where any trees might be in relation to the sun that might block your garden for periods of the day. You can use this to your advantage.
The first rule is to garden with nature, not against it. What type of soil do you have? Is it sandy or is it clay or is it a mix? What is the acidic level? How long is your growing season? How hot does it get? How cold does it get? How much rain do you get? You will want to select plants that thrive in your soil in your climate.
It’s not hard to do. There are thousands of plants out there. It is nothing to be bemoaned if for, example your soil is clay and you cannot easily grow potatoes, which prefer sand. Well, then grow corn, cabbage, squash, echinacea, and black-eyed susans.
Most leafy greens prefer a good rich soil and the clay stays cooler longer than sand so it extends the growing season for this cool-weather crop.
There are many different purposes you can grow plants for apart from beauty and food. I have grown plants for natural dyes and fibers. I have grown plants for making gifts like sunflower wreaths, table centerpieces or raspberry liqueur filled chocolates. I have grown plants to make insect repellent, set broken bones, heal sprains and clear congestion.
So when you are considering the plants you can grow in your area, broaden your horizons.
2. Follow the Sun
Where are you going to place your site? And how large should it be? First, what are you hoping for?
My advice here is going to focus on the small home garden that includes herbs and vegetables for the kitchen. I say small because that is how you should start out. You can easily expand it once you know how much effort it is going to take and have identified what else you might like to grow in a single season.
Go out to your proposed site and take a look at where the sun is in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. Bear in mind that if it is winter, the arc of the sun is going to be a bit different than in the summer.What you are trying to determine is where any trees might be in relation to the sun that might block your garden for periods of the day. You can use this to your advantage.
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