A garden brings beautiful flowers, fresh and healthy vegetables as well as relaxing working moments and the joy of watching your plants grow. Although it may be daunting and confusing at first what you will get is rewarding. Here is some advice for you to kick off this enjoyable and healthy hobby.

Plan your garden

Make a list of what crops you want and where to grow them.

Each plant has different needs of sunlight, water, and nutrients. Make sure you know their growing requirements by doing some research beforehand to choose your crops and suitable gardening method.

Depending on your place, budget or schedule, pick a method which suits you the best. You can either choose in-ground gardening, raised beds, container gardening or more complicated yet innovative like hydroponics or aquaponics which use no soil at all.

It’s best to start off with local and easy to grow vegetables or flowers.

Start a garden journal.

It’s where you keep records of plants’ requirements, soil preparation, seed germination, fertilizing, pest control and the like. You can choose either a paperback notebook or an app. A classic paperback notebook is personal and fascinating to look at while an app is not only systematic but also provides connection among gardeners.

Purchase basic gardening tools.

You can be overwhelmed with the long list of tools, but you don’t need to buy everything. Basic equipment includes:

– Trowel: For digging, weeding, mixing compost

– Spade or shovel: similar to a trowel’s use but for heavier tasks.

– Pruner: For cutting branches and harvesting flowers, vegetables.

– Rake: For cleaning up weed.

– Shears: For trimming and shaping trees, shrubs or bushes.

– Garden gloves: For protecting your precious hands of course.

Clean the area.

Get rid of the sod. Digging it out is a better idea because it also helps loosen and aerate the soil, which makes it easier for the root to penetrate and kill pest as well as some soil-borne insects and diseases. But if you are too busy, you can cover it with newspaper or cardboard and wait about four months for them to decompose.

Enrich the soil.

Add organic matter: compost, aged manure, decayed leaves or straw, wood chips. Till it into the soil if you dig the soil up or just leave it on the surface.

Sow the seeds or buy transplants.

After deciding on what crops you want to grow, you can choose between seedling or purchasing transplants. Sowing seeds saves money, has diversity and joy while buying transplants is a faster and easier way.

Put your plants in the ground.

Make sure that the weather is right for your plants before putting them in the ground. When you sow the seeds directly on the ground, there is no need to worry about transplanting. If you sow the seeds elsewhere or buy transplants, the containers usually come with planting instructions. In case of there are no instructions, follow these process:

First, dig a hole with a shovel.

Then, take the plant out of the pot or container:
Turn the pot upside down, squeeze to loosen it then gently pull the pot upward. If the plant is kept in a thin plastic container, you can use a good pair of scissors to cut the it apart. Don’t pull a plant out vigorously by its leaves or stems because you can damage the root or even kill it.

Next, loosen the roots by gently rubbing them until they stick out. Again, be kind to them as they are crucial for the plant’s future growth. This step is important because if you don’t loosen the roots, the plant will “think” that they are still confined to the pot, won’t spread out and grow at their best.

Don’t forget to adjust the depth of the hole until the plant crown is at the right height. Lay the plant in the hole and use the dirt which you dug up to fill it up. To avoid compaction, pat the soil slightly instead of pressing.

Water generously and gently so as not to wash away the soil.

Cover the soil with mulch.

Mulch helps your soil retain water, keep weeds away and improve soil fertility and organic content as they decompose. Straw, hay, shredded leaves, compost, bark chips or even newspaper can make a good mulch.

Nurture your garden.

Now your new garden has been “born”. Just like a baby, we must keep nurturing our garden with regular watering, fertilizer, pest control or protection from severe weather. Check your garden journal for information and keep track of what you have done, success or failure.

Reap your harvest.

Apparently, this is the best part. But before picking up your flower or vegetable, there’s one more thing to do. Find out about some tips on how to get the best of them. For instance, if you harvest zucchini when they are more than six or seven inches long, they would become tough and woody.

After a lot effort, it’s time for you to enjoy your blooming flowers or healthy and fresh vegetables.

When To Start?

Tomato plants can be very expensive these days given the rising cost of produce at the grocery store.  One way to save a lot of money is to learn how to grow tomato plants on your own. If you’re like me, you might be asking yourself when is the right time to start thinking about getting your tomato plants ready for a healthy crop.  The simple answer is, right now!  The sooner you prepare the better off you’re going to be.

Get the Best Tomato Seeds

As you may know there are plenty of great tomato seeds on the market.  Your first step is to select a high quality seed.  While you might be inclined to purchase an inexpensive seed, I strongly suggest that you spend the extra money and opt for the highest quality tomato seed that you can afford.

Your crop and taste buds will thank you for it in a few months time!  Make sure that you buy your seeds from a company that is reputable and one that has a good track record selling vegetable seeds.  There are too many ‘fly by night’ companies offering seeds that tend to be of a poor quality so pay attention.

I typically purchase about 20-25 seeds when needed but generally only use about 4-5 of them per season.  The remaining seeds I store in a cool dark place so that I can use them the following year.  This is a great tip if you would like to cut down on costs.

Planting Your Tomato Seeds

With your seeds in hand, you next step is to ensure that they get planted in a healthy environment.  A lot of this will depend on where you live.  In milder climates you may be able to begin your planting in late winter/early spring, while cooler climate areas will need to wait until mid to late spring (this is a general rule only).  You just want to ensure that when you plant your tomatoes outdoors, that there won’t be a frost that will destroy your seedlings.

A great way that I have learned to start my seeds is to use a seed tray.  Simply place a seed in each portion of the tray on top of some good sterile compost.  Next, consider covering your seeds with a soil moisturizing product like vermiculite and spread about one centimeter (quarter of an inch) of this great stuff over them.

The benefit of this product is that it keeps the soil damp and also allows for the seeds to get some sunlight which is important at this stage.  When you have completed this step, place your seed tray on a window-well.  Water these seedlings often and regularly (and watch them carefully).

Watch for Tomato Plant Growth

You want to watch for the growth of your tomato plants.  As the plant starts to develop and grow you will want to transfer them from the seed trays to a larger pot.  To transfer them, just remove the entire plant (careful not to damage the roots) and place them into a larger pot.  Make sure that you either use a new pot or a sterile pot – this will keep your tomato plants free from disease.  You will also use fresh compost for optimum growing conditions.

Grow Your Tomatoes

After a few weeks your plants will probably need to be transferred again.  At this step you can plant them outside (but ensure you can plant them outside – ensure that frost is out of the forecast), otherwise keep your tomato plants indoors for another few weeks.  Once you plant your tomatoes outdoors, water them regularly and often.

Why an indoor herb garden?

You live in an urban area, are short of space, but still hunger for green and a piece of nature, inside cultivation is probably the best solution.

You have an outside garden but still want to have newly-picked herbs in handy, some pots of herbs in the kitchen are also a good choice. While you’re cooking, instead of walking outside or buying from the supermarket, you can snip off fresh herbs anytime to flavor your dishes.

Although it’s not as easy as growing herbs outside, these plants require relatively little care and effort. They can also serve as decorations and natural insect repellent to your house.

Below are instructions on how to start and flourish your indoor herb garden:

Pick up your herbs

What you should take into consideration first are those which you usually use to boost your cooking. Among them, some plants that grow well inside such as:

• Rosemary
• Lemon balm
• Thyme
• Parsley
• Mint
• Chervil
• Chives

Some others like cilantro, basil or oregano need plenty of sunlight to thrive well. Don’t take the inside unless you have fluorescent bulbs.

Plant your herbs

From seeds

Most herbs can be grown from seeds but it would take long to germinate and grow. You have to wait for at least 2 months to harvest. However, seeds are cheap and handy. Follow the instructions on the packet about when and how to sow.

From division

If you already have a grown-up plant, carefully dig it up and split it then replant the halves. This method is used for perennial herbs like chives or thyme.

From cuttings

For herbs like mint, rosemary or sage, cut stem segments. Remove the bottom inch leaves. You can either put them in water first or directly into soil. If you put them in water, wait for about ten days for the cuttings to take root.

Buy small plants

This is probably the easiest way to start your herb garden. If the plant comes in a small pot, transplant them into a bigger one to ensure growth.

Select a spot

Locate them in sunny places with at least 6 hours of sunlight. South or southwest facing windows are best but east or west facing ones are still fine. If there is not enough sunlight, use a fluorescent bulb to supplement.

Choose the right containers

When you grow herbs indoors, it’s best to put them in separate containers. Choose tall and because most herbs have deep root. The diameter should be between 6 and 14 inches.

You can choose among glazed ceramic, plastic or wooden pots. Terracotta is not a good option for they drain rapidly. Place saucers or drain pans underneath them unless you want drained water to ruin your table or window sill.

Take care of your herbs

Keep in mind that three important factors of cultivating are water, light, and nutrients.

Right after planting, water generously to help the plant settle into the soil. After that, water when need. Poke your finger or dig up an inch of soil to check. You don’t need to water if the soil underneath is damp. Herbs need water, but they cannot withstand too wet soil, the fastest way to kill them is to water too regularly.

Always water slowly and gently because the soil needs a moment to absorb water and strong water flow can wash away nutrients.

Observe your herbs every day. When there are signs of harmful insects, use insecticidal soap to wash infected leaves, spray organic pest control or homemade remedies.

Ensure good air circulation by not crowding your plants. They need both light and carbon dioxides for photosynthesis.

After 1 month, when the plants have used up nutrient in the soil, fertilize them. Don’t let your herbs bloom as flowers would take all nutrients, which makes the leaves less flavor.

Harvest your herbs

You have been waiting eagerly to use your herbs but still worry that it’s not the perfect time or you can ruin the little growing plants. Don’t hesitate to harvest when the stems are big enough to eat. Just remember not to cut more than a third. When you pick them in a proper way, the herbs don’t shrivel; they only flourish better.