Gardening at home is a great way to eat healthy on a budget while you get a chance to be up close and personal with nature. Although it can at times be overwhelming, growing and maintaining a garden is an incredibly cheerful activity to engage in. If you are doing this for the first time, what is mostly required is patience, and a few skills that will allow you get the most out of gardening. When starting out, you can choose to grow vegetables, flowers, fruits among others. Here are some tips for planting and maintaining a successful garden. Start small Maintaining a garden comes with a lot of responsibility and work. You don’t want to tire yourself when you are just starting out, this might discourage you. Understand that plants require time and dedication, so you can’t start by growing everything under the sun. Select a few plants that you will manage to care for as best as you can. Choose what to grow For successful gardening, you need to know which crops to grow depending on where you live and the type of soil you have. Also, the positioning of your home matters, does it have access to direct sunlight or not? This is important because some plants need this for their growth, though some don’t. It’s hence vital to have such details. Find a spot Choose a spot for your garden thoughtfully. Whether you consider the proximity to your house or the direction of the sun, selecting where to plant your garden is important for its success. You also need to have it near a water source, for this will make it easier for you when it comes to watering your plants and keeping your soil moist. Find necessary tools When gardening, there is digging, weeding, pruning, harvesting and all kinds of different processes involved. You need the right tools for the different activities, such as a wheelbarrow, hoe, rake, trowel, secateurs, garden Knife among others. Work on soil texture and structure One way to determine what minerals are lacking, or abundant, in your soil is to get it tested. For you to have a healthy garden, you need healthy soil because it is the basis of growing healthy plants. When you have your soil in good shape, there is less need for fertilisers or pesticides. Adding organic matter is one way of making it healthy, but you can also choose to build a raised garden bed and fill it with a well-balanced soil mix. Equip yourself with the right gear Gardening, though beautiful, is a dirty job. You, hence, need the right type of gear to handle the untidiness that comes with it. Depending on the weather, the ground can be muddy or dry. You are also bound to encounter pests or be prickled by thorns and harsh textures of certain plants. You need to be protected; wear a hat for sun protection, rain coat during rainy seasons, wear gloves and boots to protect your hands and feet. Take good care of the plants Ensure to have your garden blossom by attending to it daily. Prune it regularly to allow healthy and new growth, this will improve the quality of your produce. Practice good farming habits such as crop rotation (growing different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons), this reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant pest and weeds. Managing weeds is one of the biggest challenges of farming. Once the plants are thriving, weeds and pests tend to attack. Don’t allow them to destroy and choke your plants, plan to weed every week to keep them from getting out of control.
