When you were a kid, you likely loved gardening. While you wanted cockleshells, silver bells, and pretty maids to grow in a row, you were interested in how crops grow in a garden. Gardening is a hobby to many and a skill that can be developed through practice and consistency. While reading is one of the best ways to learn about gardening, going out and applying what you’ve learned is a great way to figure out what works.
You need to keep in mind that every garden has unique characteristics and it will take a couple of days to learn the secrets of your piece of land. Never consider a dead plant as wasted effort instead, think of it as an opportunity to learn. Every garden has a topic that needs to be addressed. Here are some tips that will help college students garden plants successfully.
1. Soil
Soil is the foundation of every garden. Good soil will make your gardening efforts easier. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find good soil. If you’ve been trying to garden for some time and failed to get the results that you want, the issue is with your soil. Undisturbed soil has several layers with the topsoil and subsoil being at the top and bottom respectively. Topsoil is the thing that plants require to grow. On the other hand, subsoil is not perfect for growing plants. If you don’t improve subsoil, it will be difficult for plants to grow in your garden. If you’ve been trying to plant and failed, take a look at your soil.
One of the things that intimidate most gardeners are getting into the details of soil. However, soil is made up of sand, gravel, organic matter, and rock. All these components combine to create soil that will inform you about your garden. Having your soil tested by a certified officer will help you get some information about your soil and the best ways to improve it.
Now it is important for young people to know more about the composition of the soil in which plants were grown for food, and how the soil was treated. Understanding a few soil basics will greatly improve your gardening knowledge. Reading the literature will help with this. As a student, you can get perfect science essay examples and know more about your soil. There are a lot of paper samples with popular topics to give you inspiration. In addition, you can get more information about gardening, which will expand your knowledge of the field.
There are four main types of soil namely clay, loam, silt, and sand. If your garden has loam or silt, you are good to go. However, if it has clay or sand, you’ll need to improve it before planting. If you don’t know how to improve your soil, you should consider adding organic matter.
2. Compost
As we’ve said, organic matter plays an important role in improving your soil and promoting the growth of plants. It does this by adding nutrients and improving soil drainage. Compost is usually available at low cost and at times free of charge. You can also create your own instead of visiting other farmers to buy. Compost is made up of plant materials that have broken down over time to become like soil. You can accelerate this process by mixing different types of plants in specific ratios. However, if you leave a pile of plants for some time, they’ll eventually become compost.
3. Garden design
It’s important to have a few design principles in mind when designing your garden. There are two common types of garden beds namely island borders and beds. Island beds are spaces where you can walk around completely and have an anchor at the heart of the bed. A tree, shrub, or fountain can act as the anchor. Island beds can be viewed from different angles. On the other hand, borders are usually viewed from one side and have a fence or wall as anchors. When it comes to your garden, color is an important consideration.
4. Preparing the bed
With all these in mind, it’s time to prepare your bed. If you are starting from nothing, you should create the outline of your bed first. With a garden hose, you can easily see how your bed will be shaped because it enables you to work on the layout until you get the appropriate shape and size. Once you’ve determined the shape of your bed, you need to eliminate existing vegetation by turning the soil over and adding compost if needed. The nutrients from the compost will get into the soil over time.
5. Plant and water
With your seedbed in shape, it’s time to start planting. You can either dig holes or plant in a pot. Ensure that your plants have enough root space for optimum growth and development. After planting, use fill the holes with loose soil and water them regularly.
Conclusion
You need to choose plants that will perform well depending on the season and type of soil in your garden. You need to conduct extensive research to avoid planting the wrong plant or crop. Always consult a professional if you get stuck in this process. Finally, if your plants don’t grow, don’t be disappointed. Think of it as a lesson to help you succeed in the future. Gardening is a skill. And like any other skill, you can get better at it with practice. What are you going to plant in your garden?
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Michael Stoddard is employed with a large multinational where he is a star performer in the content writing division. He also loves academic writing and has helped numerous students do their essays and dissertations and prepare for entrance exams. He’s also into film production and loves posting his short videos on social media channels.