Top 5 Gardening tips for Beginners – Start a garden from scratch

When we first moved from our little condo in the city to our small town I knew I wanted a large space for a garden. In fact we purchased our home not for the small leaky basement, or the lack of closet space and awkward second living room but for the fenced in acre at the edge of the last wooded area in my home town. Everything else I can fix or build, I can’t build more space, just maximize it.

Our little garden is our kiddos favorite place in the summer. Every time we think outloud about how much easier it would be in a house that needed less work and had more closets, our kids with their very efficient little ears plead their case with their favorite plants.

I thought it was only fitting to start our spring with my top 5 favorite gardening tips. These are the essential things to consider when starting any new garden or flowerbed.

There are a few things everyone should keep in mind while starting a new garden and we are happy to share our favorite Gardening tips for beginners. To become a gardener is to become a scientist.  If something doesn’t work out for you, it’s important to record your findings, make adjustments, then try again.  

Gardeners are always experimenting with new techniques and plants, the following tips are general elements of every garden to consider when planning a new garden.  Mosser Lee “How To” section has some great resources for gardeners and wonderful project ideas.  

Gardening Tips for Beginners

Plan your Garden location.  

When I close my eyes and imagine a garden I think of a small tucked away vegetable patch, but there are so many options and innovative ways to maximize the space available and bring interest to your landscape. Make sure to follow me on Pinterest and visit my board on Beginner Gardening for some of my favorite garden inspirations.

As an example, you may have an area for square foot gardening integrated with your Landscape where you also have container gardens to give pops of color, integrate fragrance, or manage pests with strategic plantings.  Combining these types of gardens is a wonderful way adjust for each plants needs.  

Make sure to check out gardening opportunities in your community if you are looking for more space.  You may find resources in your community from community allotments, a beautification community or urban gardening spaces.  Mosser Lee is a proud supporter of 4-H at all levels.  Your extension office is a great resource for gardeners and community gardens. 

Know the Soil in your Garden

There are 6 basic types of garden soil and many landscapes have a blend of all of them.  All plants have specific soil preferences and can be amended by adding other soil types to develop optimal growing conditions. Soil types are measured on a spectrum, so it’s important to understand the general characteristics.  Garden soil is a complex mixture of mineral particles, organic material, moisture, living organisms, and chemical nutrients.  Among the most critical factors in a soil’s ability to grow plants is its texture, dictated by the size of the mineral particles found in it.  Each soil type will affect water and nutrient retention.  Soil quality affects root growth, nutrient absorption, moisture control and growth among others.  Check out my post on the 6 Types of Soil found in your Garden.

Understanding Soil Nutrients for Beginner Gardeners

We know that different soils allow nutrients to pass more easily than others but what nutrients are the most important and how do we keep our plants well supplied?  Check out Mosser Lee’s Soil Test kit, this is a great tool to quickly measure soil nutrients and find helpful recommendations on how to amend your soil to obtain optimal growing conditions. 

Most fertilizers are formulated to feeding your plants with Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K). They are displayed on fertilizers as the NPK Number.  This shows the proportions of each element in relation to each other.  For example, if you were looking to feed your plants for large healthy blooms you may use a fertilizer high in Potassium it may look like 15-30-10.  Keep in mind that different types of plants will have their own unique schedule to obtain the best results.  When it comes to soil nutrients Don’t Guess Test!

You may be inclined to take the more is better approach when fertilizing, unfortunately more is actually just more and can hinder your efforts.  If you over fertilize your plants, you may experience decreased growth and make them vulnerable to diseases.  Fertilizer applied incorrectly will burn your plants, you likely have seen this affect lawns which appear singed. Excess fertilizer doesn’t always lay in the soil, it often makes its way into water sources and in other unwanted ways.  Always test before you apply fertilizer.  Mosser lee has made soil testing easy and convenient. 

Map out the light in your Garden

A commonly overlooked element in garden planning is allocating for sunlight. You may have a beautiful Hosta Garden with several varieties and foliage variegation planned for your front walkway but without consideration of how much direct sun light your plant needs you may find your foliage burn, or the color variegation won’t pop due to faded leaves singeing and fading your foliage where another planting would have popped and dazzled.  

I like to map out the light in my garden and keep notes in my gardening journal. After all what I have learned by August I rarely remember the following May. This helps me adjust and plan for the needs all throughout the year rather than just one season at a time. Follow along my post on how to map out the light in your garden.

Watering your Garden.

The last thing to consider is your daily watering. This often reflects upon the time commitment you have available for your gardens. No matter what your garden will need to be watered and weeded. This is where I continually over extend myself. When I’m tired after work I still need to water, when I am hot and sticky, you guessed it I need to water. I find that the worst part is that inevitably I will get busy for 3 or 4 days and I’ll go out to my garden and my blooms will be wilted.

There are options for planning for this before you plant. I wish I buried a sprinkler system, but I don’t have the “know how” to do this. I ran a soaker hose like this one through my garden beds as a temporary solution for when I have a tight schedule. Otherwise I enjoy watering my plants, It’s a great time to observe and make adjustments in my garden.