Gardening for beginners can be overwhelming and filled with pitfalls if you don't do the right research and plan properly. We sure had several issues with our first garden season (such as not choosing the right crops).
Gardening can be such a fun endeavor - you get to get fresh fruits and vegetables, save money on your grocery bill and get outside. But, when you are learning how to garden as a beginner, you don't know what you don't know.
Gardening for Beginners
Our first year gardening, we had some accidental successes (thanks, zucchini!). But we also had several pitfalls that we just didn't know to even think about - like choosing a bunch of wrong crops and not knowing how to preserve what we planted.
Here are our top 7 tips for new gardeners so that you can avoid some major pitfalls and have a successful first gardening season.
Proper Planning
Garden planning is essential to having a successful garden. There are a lot of things to think about when planning out your garden.
Decide what you want to plant, where and how you want to plant it. But also know what dates you need to start seedlings inside, when to transplant seedlings outside and when to expect harvest.
Keep Records
Record keeping is essential to making your garden work well and it's something you don't typically think about when just getting started. Having records can help you in your current garden season: how many seeds did you start, when did you plant them.
But, keeping garden records can also help you improve at each subsequent season. It will help remind you what you did that went well that you should repeat and what issues you had to avoid.
Pick Your Garden Type
There are so many different ways to garden. You can do raised bed gardens, container gardening, square foot gardening and more.
Before you start throwing things into the ground, make sure you decide which type of gardening is best for you and your conditions.
Know What You're Working With
Don't jump in and get started on your garden without knowing what you are working with first. Identify things like your gardening zone, your soil type and where you will be planting.
Knowing what conditions you have to work with will help you make smart crop decisions and also help you prep your garden area properly.
Don't Go Overboard
It's really easy to get excited about your new gardening adventure and jump in head first. But, make sure not to go too overboard.
Our first year we WAY overplanted some crops and couldn't use them up fast enough and they went to waste. Don't get yourself overwhelmed by biting off more than you can handle.
Need some help getting your garden crops planned? Check out the Ultimate Gardening Calculators for a system that will auto-calculate for you.
Plant Things You Like
When you are deciding what crops to plant, make sure to choose things you like. Don't just check out the best spring crops, or whatever season you are starting in and pick whatever is on there.
Planting fruits and vegetables that you actually like and will use will make you more motivated to keep your garden going.
Get Easy Wins
Keep yourself motivated by setting your garden up for some easy wins. You can do this by choosing some easy to grow crops to add to your garden.
Things like growing cucumbers or growing peppers are super easy and really versatile.
Know How To Use or Preserve it
This is one item we failed at in our first garden season. Make sure you know how to use or quickly preserve everything you are growing.
When harvest time starts, it can easily get overwhelming and you should have a solid plan for how you will use your harvest.
You can freeze zucchini and freeze yellow squash. There are tons of ways to use extra tomatoes and lots of good cucumber recipes. Just make sure you know what you'll be doing with all that produce.
If you need help getting your garden crops planned right check out The Ultimate Gardening Calculators so that you have just the amount you need, set aside the right amount of space and know exactly when to plant them.
