Setting Up Your Garden for Success

Would you like help setting up your garden for success? I don’t know about you, but I have struggled with gardening in the past, and I am over that part of the gardening hobby. I am ready to succeed! Gardening has so many benefits that I am ready to make it work out for me. I am all about making my gardening hobby wholly successful this year.

Gardening is more than just working in your yard.  It provides you and your loved ones with food and nutrition.  This food that you grow all on your own can fuel your health.  I absolutely love working in my garden with this knowledge. I love knowing that the work that I am doing with my two hands are providing life-changing and life-sustaining nutrition. What is the key to successful gardening, though?  What steps can you take to make sure that your garden is fruitful?

Here are my top tips for setting up your garden for success

Start small

When you are just beginning with gardening, it is important to start small. A large garden can become overwhelming quickly when you are just learning about how to create a successful garden. Many gardening beginners who start with a large plot often burn out before harvest time.

Be creative with your gardening space

If you don’t have a typical plot of land to dig out your garden, you can still have a garden.  It merely calls for a little bit of creativity.

If you are working with bad soil, concrete, or simply not enough space, you can create a raised bed garden, a vertical garden, or even a container garden. There are many options available to you.

These alternative types of gardens are also very beneficial to anyone that deals with any disabilities or chronic pain conditions. Raised bed and container gardens are easier to work with in that regard.  You won’t have to bend down as far, and you have less space to focus on, etc.

If you happen to own a 3D printer, you also have the option of creating cute planters and flower pots out of plastic resins. Not only does this save you money, but the process is also super fun to watch.

And, don’t forget to engrave metal placards with the type of plant in each pot. This will save you the headache of having to guess what it is later on when a sprout pops up.

Invest in fertilizer

Yes, some people grow their garden in just plain soil, but in all of my years of gardening, I had the most success in those seasons when I bought fertilizer to add to my garden.

I’m not just talking about mild success. I’m talking 2-3 times the harvest kind of success.

Don’t stress the weeds

Most of us were brought up to think that weeds are bad and that our time in the garden needed to be spent pulling weeds. This is simply not true.

Over the last several decades, science has proven that weeds help protect our plants by feeding the soil and the plants themselves. So yes, you don’t have to stress the weeds as much as you think you do.

Focus on the water

Perhaps the most important thing you can do for your garden is to water it consistently.  Your garden will not thrive without regular watering.

You will find that either drip/soaker hoses or even sprinklers are the easiest ways to do this.  Yes, you can water the garden by spraying it with the hose, but this isn’t ideal, as you will have to stand there for a long time every day.

Research the best plants for your area

Some plants grow better than others in specific zones. If you aren’t sure of what grows best in your area, check out this chart for tips.

Be sure and stick with plants that have a history of better growth in your area to fight the frustration of an unsuccessful harvest.

Preemptive pest control

We all know that garden pests are real.  Some plants are more likely than others to develop pest problems.  These plants include cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli.

If you plant any of these, be sure to place row covers over these right after planting.  This prevents pests from getting to the plants and laying eggs on them.

Relax

Gardening is not supposed to be stressful.  In fact, many people who garden do it specifically as a hobby that helps to calm them.  Some even say it is a form of meditation.

Follow the tips to setting up your garden for success and relax. It doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful.

Plan

If you want your garden to be successful, the key is to plan it before you plant it.  Plan out what you are going to plant, where you are going to plant it, how you will keep it watered, and your gardening schedule.

Like with most other things in life, planning is vital.

Good luck setting up your garden for success this year. I know you can do it!