Sign up for our monthly newsletter featuring the latest news from Hope & Wildflowers!

Five Important Garden Tips to Know

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more details. Thank you!

‘ In the Garden Grows, More Than the Gardener Sows’
– Spanish Proverb

Whether in a small planter on your porch or out in your backyard, a garden is a great way to provide extra food and add life to your home.  Your success in gardening is dependent on what you put into it. As you watch your plants grow, you, as a gardener, will grow, also.  One thing is for certain, the larger your garden, the more time and work you will spend on it.

Please feel free to comment or leave us an email showing us your garden and any tips you have to share. We love hearing from our readers and can’t wait to see your masterpiece!

Here are our five helpful tips for gardening:

1. Set a Budget 
Gardening can become pricey if this is your first year.  We had many first-time purchases to consider before we broke ground.  We have a plot of land where we live and eat many vegetables, so we decided to plan for a larger garden.  Here are the initial gardening expenses we had to consider the following purchases in our budget.
– Tractor & Implements / Rototiller
– Garden Tools (Shovel, Hoes, Rakes, Post Hole Digger, Digging Bar…)
– Fencing Materials (Posts, Wire, Electric Fencer…)
FYI: The more wildlife surrounding you, the bigger the fence you’ll need!
– Seeds & Plants
– Fertilizer – Plant Food
– Sprinkler (we had several weeks with no rain)
– Time and Patience

2.   Location/Soil
Finding a location either in a planter on your porch or a section of land on your ground is the first step to your garden.  You need to find a location with relatively little shale or clay compared to soil.  This is so important for your garden. If you have the wrong type of soil, you may be disappointed when you put down several seeds and nothing produces. To find the right soil, you need to find soil that is loose and dry and not with a lot of shales. Once you find your location, it’s time to break into the ground and turn your soil. You can do this by removing the grass/weeds either by using a rotary tiller and a hoe for a small/medium garden or, for a larger garden, a tractor with implements such as your plow and disks. The tractor makes it easier to break up the rough ground and bury the sod under.  Be sure to make your garden fence large enough for the tractor to maneuver.

3. Fencing 
If you live out in the sticks like my husband and me, you will soon discover having a garden with no fence is nonsense!  Wildlife sees a garden as we see the golden arches when hungry.  Deer, rabbits, and groundhogs are the biggest issues where we live.   To resolve this issue, you can add fencing to your garden. The more wildlife, the more fencing you will need and taller posts.  There are several ways you can design your garden fencing. You can search this in your search engine for numerous tips and advice on what is convenient for your location.  One trick we learned this year was that deer hate the smell of dryer sheets.  For just a few dollars, you can attach dryer sheets with clothespins to fence, string, or wire, and it will do a really good job of deterring deer.  Honestly, we couldn’t beat it for the time involved and price (less than $10 and maybe 5 – 10 minutes every week or so).

4. Seeds and Plants
There are two categories of flowers when considering your purchase,  annuals and perennials.  

Annuals- the difference between the two is this, annuals last for only the season, and perennials come back season after season. They are so rewarding to see poking up in the Spring! So,  be sure to check the tag in the pre-potted plant for this info or check your seed packet.  Annuals tend to bloom the entire summer, and perennials have a shorter blooming season.  Annuals need more water than perennials because most annuals have more color, which makes for such a welcoming touch to your home.

Perennials, however, need preparation. The earlier you plant in the spring, the more pretty the bloom will be in the Summertime, as long as you plant after the frost. Frost will kill your plants!  When choosing pre-planted plants  (those displayed in black plastic cups), be sure to check the leaves and the stems. Purchase plants that are not yellow or have weak stems.  You want to get your money’s worth, so you’re not buying to have a funeral for your dead plant.  To plant these plants, you gently have to release them from the plastic cup. To do so you can add a little water to loosen the soil or squeeze the cup for removal. Do not tug on the plant itself or the stem to remove a plant. Otherwise, you can/will harm your plant. After removal from the cup, you want to loosen the roots so they can spread. Do this without removing the soil ball from the plant.  When planting, do not plant your plants/seeds close together. For seeds, read the instructions on your seed packet.  For plants, plant enough space in between so the plant can spread.

5.  Nurturing your plants (Light, Water, Fertilizer, and Weeding
These are so essential for every garden/plant! For proper lighting for your garden or plant, be sure to read your seed packs or the plastic tab in the plant at purchase.  A plant will need either full sun or partial sun. This will determine where will be the best location to plant. There are plants suitable for each degree of lighting.

 Like our garden, it receives 6 hours or more of sun a day, so we have plants that require all full sun.  If we had a garden that only received sun in the morning and evening, we would then purchase our plants that required half sun/shade. Again, please refer to the time when the sun will be hitting the plant to the directions on the packet or plastic tab. Always consider the objects that may be hindering the sunlight and blocking the proper lighting of your plants which can include trees, sheds, houses, etc.  One last thought about lighting, consider too that when planting corn or sunflowers, they will create a lot of shade and may “starve” close plants from receiving the sun they need.

Water is important for your garden and plants.  I love rainy days for this reason and this reason alone! When we have rainy days, I don’t worry about hooking up the sprinkler and hose.  A garden needs a good drink every week. Just like we get thirsty so do our plants.  You want to water your garden either in the early morning or evening when the sun is not directly on the plant.  Water will evaporate quickly on your plants if you water during the day, which can shock your plant not to receive enough water it needs.

Fertilizing your plants is also essential to have good nutrients for leaf and stem growth.  Using fertilizer and lime, you can increase the pH (which is essential for growth) and provide the essential nutrients the plant will need.  We cast the fertilizer on the ground and raked it into the dirt before we planted it.  Additionally, we added some more fertilizer and lime when we replanted rows mid-season.  You can choose two types of fertilizers organic or chemical. Both work great. However, organic it will help your soil over time.  Plants need nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus to grow properly and healthily. Just like we need our daily vitamins, growing plants need theirs, also.  Jason and I started a compost bin by using an old tote and drilling holes all over, including the lid. We added topsoil (enough to layer the bottom) and started adding non-meat and non-dairy organic scraps and eggshells (even a few worms).  I’ve attached a link to 10 things to avoid when composting.

10 Things You Should Not Put In Your Compost Pile

Mulch is great for your garden. Also, it holds moisture if you do not put mulch close to your plant roots or stems. This will cause them to rot quickly.

You want to keep up with weeding your garden. Otherwise, weeds will take over and choke your plants. When you see a weed pull it out of the ground. Never spray or add weed killers in your garden or around your plants. This can destroy your plants very easily.  When pulling weeds, be sure not to disturb your plant roots, for it will hinder your plant growth or, even worse, kill your plant. Here is a wonderful link for ways to reduce weeds in your garden. How To Get Rid of Weeds



Let's Keep Going and Keep Growing Together!

We don’t spam! Read our disclosure page for more info.

Let's Keep Going and Keep Growing Together!

We don’t spam! Read our disclosure page for more info.

Read Comments

Leave a Reply