Gardening Basics | The 10 Home Garden Ideas To Know

Gardening For Beginners

Everyone starts somewhere. While it’s easy to feel intimidated by all the “master” gardeners out there, keep this in mind. Experience can be the greatest teacher! Gardening for beginners doesn’t have to be complicated. These basic home garden tips can get you off the to the right start. But once you’re aware of the basics, it’s time to get your hands in the dirt!

Here’s the thing. If any point starts to sound overwhelming, don’t be afraid to skip over it! These are details for however deep you’d like to delve. Don’t let it cause any analysis paralysis. Choose to research what interests you, but don’t get caught up in trying to get it perfect right from the get-go. Again. Experience is a wonderful instructor.

10 Home Garden Ideas To Know

Today, I’m breaking down the 10 principles to a home garden, in hopes that it will help you avoid some of the mistakes I learned the hard way. Of course, I’m still learning more every day.

Below is the “gardening for beginners” outline. However, I go into all these points in a little more depth in this YouTube video.

1. Determine your climate’s grow zone.

   1. The 10 USDA Hardiness Zones – In the US, most gardeners use this map to determine their “grow zone”. Once you know yours, you can better tell which plants will thrive in your area.
   2. Indoor vs. Outdoor – Even if you want to grow something that is “outside” of your grow zone, you can try growing it indoors. For example, we grow citrus trees in containers so that we can bring them inside to protect them from cold weather.

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2. Choose a crop to plant. (Or 3!)

   1. Looking for ideas? Use your grow zone to steer you in the right direction when choosing a plant. Tomatoes, herbs, & leafy greens are great for beginners. They tend to be fast, prolific, and relatively hardy. Plus, most will grow indoors with some help, if that’s your only option.

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3. Pick a grow medium.

   1. Into The Ground – Planting directly into the ground can be a quick, economic choice when gardening for beginners. If possible, you will likely want to amend the soil for best results. (More on that below.)
   2. Container – Container gardening means you have to purchase (or salvage) a container and soil. However, this is usually the easiest way to amend the soil to be best suited for your plants. Plus, containers can go just about anywhere — from a windowsill to a patio.
   3. Raised Beds – While raised beds require some extra materials (compared to planting into the ground), they make soil amendments easier and allow for more drainage & space for roots. I consider our raised beds a nice “hybrid” between containers and in-ground garden beds.
   4. Hydroponic – If you don’t want to mess with soil or weeds, hydroponic gardening may be for you. This setup requires the most infrastructure, however, this option most be the lowest-maintenance long-term. There are lots of small hydroponic kits that are great for indoor gardening & beginners.

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4. Soil & Amendments

   1. Drainage – It’s important to make sure you have ample drainage so your plants don’t get “wet feet”. Here are some drainage ideas, below
      1. Rocks
      2. Perlite
      3. Self-watering containers
      4. Clay Pebbles
   2. Organic Matter – Organic matter is so important! Here are a few ways to add organic matter to your soil.
      1. 1. 1. Compost (We use this composter to make our own compost at home.)
            2. Plant by-products
            3. Animal manure
         2. Nutrients – Many forms of fertilizer are widely available to purchase.
            1. Potassium + Nitrogen + Phosphorus (NPK) are the main ones, but there are others!
         3. Acidity – You can change the acidity of your soil with additives like this.
            1. Lower number = more acidic. Higher number = more basic. “Neutral” = 7.

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5. Assess your light source & amount

   1. Sunlight – Know how much light you have available where you want to cultivate, and how much light your plant needs to grow.
      1. Full Sun
      2. Partial Sun
      3. Shade
   2. Artificial light
      1. Grow lights
         1. LED – These are the same grow lights we use on our indoor garden.
         2. Fluorescent
         3. Color spectrum – Some plants prefer cooler or warmer light. If you want to get really into artificial light and growing indoors, it’ll be a good idea to read up on different color spectrum lights for different plants.

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6. Obtain plants

   1. Seeds
      1. Direct Sow (Placed right into permanent location)
      2. Seed Starting (Started in trays or similar grow medium, typically indoors or in a green house)
   2. Live/Potted – “Seedlings” can give you a head start on the growing season. However, they’re typically more expensive per plant than seeds.
   3. Bare Root – Bare root plants are an extremely economical way to start plants that would take years to grow from seed, such as strawberries & fruit trees. (Planting bare roots in the spring always works really well for us!)
   4. Bulbs, Tubers, etc. – Another economical way to plant species that would take much longer to grow from seed, as well.

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7. Plant According To Directions

   1. Not much to say here, because every plant can be planted so differently. Read the directions for yours & do your best. You’ve got this!

8. Water

   1. Overhead – Examples of overhead watering might include hose watering, a watering can, or just normal rainfall.
   2. Bottom – Bottom watering allows the plant to suck up the amount of water it needs, without totally soaking the soil.
   3. Drip irrigation – Drip irrigation waters at the surface of the plant, however it doesn’t get the leaves wet, which helps prevent disease.
   4. Frequency – Know how often you should water, and/or how moist your plant likes to be. More does not always equal better!
   5. Avoid “Wet Feet”– Some plants have more tolerance for soggy soil than others.

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9. Weed

   1. Pulling  – Pulling weeds is probably the cheapest & least-complicated way to remove unwanted plants when gardening for beginners. However, it is likely the most labor-intensive, as well.
   2. Barriers – Physical barriers such as landscape fabric and mulch can be used to reduce or completely eliminate weeds.
   3. Sprays – Spraying weeds is another (somewhat controversial) option. We steer clear of most herbicides, but some like this one are more “natural” than others.

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10. Harvest

    1. Timing  – Make sure to read up on your specific plant so that you know when it’s time to harvest. Make sure you read up on the best ways to harvest, too!
    2. Storage – Some crops are best eaten fresh, others are even better after curing & maturing in storage for a while.

11. Enjoy!

Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun! Gardening is a journey. Enjoying the fruits of labor is fun, but don’t forget to enjoy the process, as well.