Let’s be real, we’ve failed a lot with our gardens over the last 8 years. But all those failures and trials have led to at least a little bit of knowledge. Last year I wrote a little series Get Started Growing and shared some tips, gear, and what we were learning.
It’s easy to sit there and dream up a beautiful, bountiful garden. Pinterest and Instagram searches will show you all gorgeous rainbows of vegetables and flowers and then you’ll think, “I WANT TO DO THAT TOO!”, sadly, not that simple. Before you even begin to plant some of your favorite flowers and vegetables, I would certainly recommend getting all of the necessary tools needed. I tried to plant a big vegetable patch in my garden once without a shovel or a wheelbarrow and as you can imagine, it did not go well. Not only did I need to find a wheelbarrow and shovel immediately to actually create my plot, I also had no idea how to actually plant my vegetables. It was a total nightmare! So, I came up with some questions that I could answer and actually use my answers to start gardening properly.
- What do we want to grow?
- Do we have a suitable climate to grow these things?
- How much space do we have?
- How much time will this take?
- What supplies do we need?
This all pretty much comes down to HAVING A PLAN.
What do we want to grow? Make a list of the options that your family would like to grow. Make sure to think about the uses for each plant.
Do we have a suitable climate to grow these things? Not all plants grow well everywhere. Learn your grow zone, last frost date, and first frost date.
How much space do we have? Plants need room to grow. Some grow well in containers, some need to climb, and some need more light then others. Once you figure out what you would like to grow, then you can figure out how many will fit into your space.
How much time will this take? Yes, time. Do you work from sun up to sun down? It’s not very likely that you will have time to tend to plants. It’s possible if you have a smaller crop, but a large garden is really time consuming.
What supplies do we need? Are you starting from seeds?
