Many people who are fond of the idea of gardening but have never really gotten their hands dirty believe gardening to be a rather easy thing to do: throw some soil into your garden, plant a few seeds and water them every day. However, gardening isn’t as simple as that and entails several intricacies and careful preparatory steps that are essential for the gardener to succeed in his/her endeavors. However, if you are indeed new to gardening, don’t get scared away as by following certain tips and tricks, you too can become a gardening expert in no time. Given below are four tips for newbies to gardening that can ensure their success:
1. It’s all about location
Quite like real estate, gardening is all about location. When choosing where to place your garden patch in your back or front yard, be sure to place your garden in a spot that is always in your sight, and hence you are likely to always have an eye on it to notice any new changes. Your garden patch should require at least 6 hours of sunlight in a day to foster growth for most edible plants such as veggies, fruits, and herbs. Hence, while choosing the right spot for your garden, take the movement of sunlight in your yard into account as well.
2. Be mindful of pests
Your garden patch is shared with other living creatures and organisms such as insects, bugs, mollusks, and whatnot. As a gardening beginner, pests can be a great nuisance for you as it might be difficult for you to identify and eradicate them which would lead to the pests ruining all your garden plants. Several things can be done to cater to this problem which include growing pest-resistant plant varieties, attracting beneficial bugs, and pest traps. You can find really useful stuff and gadgets online for pest control which include bug zappers, rodent repellers, and wasp traps.
3. Choose the right plants for your garden
Depending upon when you live, be mindful of the fact that not every plant can grow in your area. This means that during the summers you should choose to plant heat-resistant varieties such as cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes, and during the winters grow kale, broccoli, and leeks. Choosing the right plants simply means assessing what varieties are local to your area and are likely to flourish.
4. Add mulch to your garden
Mulch is essentially used to enrich your soil, retain its moisture, keep it cool, protect it from frost, and suppress weeds. Adding mulch to your garden has several benefits associated with it as it also helps maintain your soil’s structure, drainage, and nutrient holding abilities. You should add a layer of mulch around each plant that is at least 3 to 4 inches deep. If you are all about aesthetics, used bagged mulch. If you couldn’t care less about aesthetics, however, you are free to use pine straw and shredded leaves.
Gardening is a very rewarding hobby – not only do you get to enjoy the produce of your garden, but you can also use gardening to unwind and spend some time with nature. Seeing your first seedling grow gives you a feeling of accomplishment that is unmatched.