Gardening Tips for Beginning Gardeners

One important key to a successful garden is careful planning. The beginning gardener who researches and plans ahead of time saves money, work and time. That you are reading this right now means you are on the right track. Planning your garden effectively before you plant that first seed will pay off in the end.

Decide what you are going to plant and if you are going to start from seedlings or from seed.

For many plants it is best to use seedlings. You can start your own in small pots indoors, or purchase seedlings from your local garden center. If you buy your seedlings, make sure to pick plants with strong stalks, and with insect/disease free leaves. Be sure to check the underside of leaves as well--some insects deposit eggs on the underside of the leaves.

If you choose to start your own seedlings from seed, I recommend starting them in a Cowpot, or something similar (other pots for seedlings are made of materials such as sphagnum moss and soil). Cowpots are made from cow manure and provide a rich, organic growing environment for your seeds. A link to an online supplier of Cowpots is at the end of this article as well as in the resources section of the article.

Know your gardening zone.

You may already know that each region has different recommended planting times and some vegetables (and other plants) do better in some regions than in others. Gardening zone maps show you which gardening zone you fall in and, therefore, let you know when to plant, and what kinds of plants do best in your region. I've included a helpful link to a zone map at the end of this article.

Creating the garden area

If you have rabbits or other wild animals around, you need to consider this when planning your garden area. A relative of mine learned this the hard way. On one beautiful spring day, she carefully planted lettuce seedlings and other vegetables in her backyard. The next morning she went out to check her plants and they were all gone. All of them--not one left. The culprit? Hungry bunnies. The solution? Chicken wire. She created a makeshift fence to keep out the bunnies and she replanted everything. It worked.