Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Planning
• Method 2 of 3: Getting Ready to Plant Your Plants
• Method 3 of 3: Growing a Garden
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Thinking about how nice it would be to have a fresh vegetable source for dinner? Or do you dream of looking out the window and seeing a blooming garden there? This is real! If only you had a courtyard, and the garden would not stand up! And this article will tell you where to start.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Planning

1. 1 Decide what kind of garden you want to grow. What do you need a garden for? To grow fruits and vegetables in it? To please your eye with bright colors? If you yourself are not yet very sure about what you need, think about this:
   • You can grow peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and lettuce in the garden, not to mention potatoes, carrots and other vegetables. Actually, you can grow any vegetables that grow in your area in the garden.
   • You can grow flowers in the garden - and you can plant them so that you will have a blooming garden almost all the time until the ground is covered with snow, and this is not to mention the ability to plant flowers so that they form patterns and ornaments.
   • The herb garden often combines a vegetable garden and a flower garden, since the herbs bloom beautifully, and are suitable as spices - take, for example, the same rosemary or caraway seeds. From the herbs grown in your garden, you can make not only seasonings, but also teas!
2. 2 Decide what exactly you will grow in your garden. Look in directories for what will grow well in your area. This will be the list from which you can choose plants for your future garden.
   • Some plants, in principle, cannot grow well in a particular area. Cold-loving plants do not grow well in warm areas and vice versa.
   • Unless your garden resembles in size another collective farm field, you should choose plants that require similar conditions for growth - say, the same type of soil, degree of illumination, etc. If you do not take care of this issue, then you can pick up plants for your small garden that require different conditions - and with such a garden it will already be more difficult.
   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   

   Steve masley

   
   
   Home and Garden Specialist Steve Masley has over 30 years of experience in the creation and maintenance of organic vegetable gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area. Organic Consultant, Founder of Grow-It-Organically, which teaches clients and students the basics of growing organic gardens. In 2007 and 2008 he led a field workshop on Local Sustainable Agriculture at Stanford University.

   Steve masley
   Home and Garden Care Specialist

   Consider the season. The owners of Grow it Organically, a horticultural company in California, say: “The best time to create a garden is spring, when the last frost has ended. This information can usually be found in the agricultural spreadsheets for the county where you live. And if your season is long, you can start planting again in August or September. "

   
   
3. 3 Choose a site for your garden. Think about where you will set up a garden and keep in mind that this place should not only meet your needs, but also, in fact, be suitable for plants.
   • It doesn't matter what kind of garden you grow - it is important that the soil is not poor in nutrients. Waterlogged and flooded areas should also be avoided - there may be unsuitable soil.
   • Most vegetables need a lot of light, so don't set up a vegetable garden in the shade of trees. It's easier with flowers, and then - you can always choose shade-loving flowers.
   • If the soil is not so hot, then you can always make a raised bed and grow flowers or vegetables there. A raised bed is a bed with retaining walls filled with soil suitable for growing plants.
   • The garden can be planted in pots! This is in case you don't have a yard. So it is even more convenient in something - the flower pots can be moved.
4. 4 Make a garden plan. On the plan-map, indicate where and what will grow. Create a garden plan with an eye on what exactly you are growing and what conditions these plants need, so as not to accidentally place sun-loving plants in the shade, but expose the shade-loving ones in the sun.
   • Keep in mind that every plant needs space, both to grow and later when it grows. Make sure that all the plants in your garden have enough room to grow.
   • Consider the time. Many plants need to be planted at different times and in different locations. So, in areas with hot summers and warm winters, flowers should be planted earlier than, say, in colder regions.
   • When planning your vegetable garden, remember that one day you will go harvest. Consider this in your plan.
   • Flower gardens should be pleasing to the eye. Get creative, but do not forget that flowers tend to bloom on their own schedule, and not all at once.

Method 2 of 3: Getting Ready to Plant Your Plants

1. 1 Buy garden supplies. You will need a lot of all sorts of things, but, on the other hand, having bought an inventory, it will serve you for many seasons. Go to a garden supply store and ask a consultant for help if needed. In general, you need:
   • Seeds. Or, alternatively, already germinated plants, ready for transplantation. Check your plan and buy whatever you need.
   • Fertilizers and soil. It is difficult to grow healthy plants without fertilizers.
   • Mulch or compost. Many plants need weather protection early on, which can be done with mulch or compost. All this can be bought or done on your own.
   • Cultivator. Large garden - great technology.In a small garden, however, you can do without a cultivator.
   • Shovel and pitchfork. The alpha and omega of any garden! How can you dig and take care of the garden without them ?!
   • Watering hose. A hose and special spray nozzles are useful to provide your plants with the watering conditions they need.
   • Fence materials. It would be useful to protect the vegetable garden from all small and hungry animals.
2. 2 Prepare the soil. Shovel in hand (or a cultivator) - and go dig! Dig up the ground to a depth of 30 centimeters, and dig it up well, carefully. Remove stones, roots, and other solid objects. And don't forget fertilizer.
   • How your plants grow depends on the quality of the soil. You can buy a special soil test kit to assess soil composition, acidity, etc. Based on the results obtained, it will be necessary to apply fertilizer to the soil in an appropriate amount.
   • No need to fill the soil with fertilizers, do not overdo it! Fertilizers - they are like medicines, good in moderation. In addition, not all plants like too-fertilized soil. Some plants grow better in poor soil, so be sure to consider the needs of the plants.
   • Too acidic soil is treated with limestone. Saline soil - compost, pine needles and bark, gray.

Method 3 of 3: Growing a Garden

1. 1 Plant seeds or young plants according to your plan. Plant in holes that are deep and wide enough. After you plant the plants, you need to carefully cover them with soil.
2. 2 Apply fertilizer as needed. Depending on the plants again, fertilization may be required after planting. In some cases - a lot, in some - a little.
3. 3 Add compost, mulch, or raised beds. Some plants require compost, mulch, or raised beds for protection during the growth phase. In small areas, everything can be done by hand, in large areas - use a special spray.
   • Some types of compost are not suitable for some types of plants. Study this question so as not to get screwed up.
   • Too thick compost can interfere with plant growth. Add as much as necessary.
4. 4 Water the garden. After finishing planting and fertilizing the soil, you need to water the garden. Not in one stream, of course - but by spraying it as finely as possible, almost to the point of fog. The nozzle on the garden hose should allow this. Water your garden daily for the first few weeks after planting based on the moisture requirements of the soil.
   • Do not flood the garden, this will kill the plants and they will not grow. Don't flood your garden!
   • Never let the soil dry out completely. Watering once a day will be enough, but it will not be superfluous to switch the hose to the “fog” mode a couple of times a day.
   • After the shoots appear, water the plants in the morning, not at night, as moisture left on the leaves at night can contribute to the development of mold.
5. 5 Weed the garden. Weeds take nutrients from your plants. Conclusion? Weeds must be gotten rid of, and mercilessly. Weed the garden every 3-5 days and be careful.
6. 6 Consider building a small fence. If in your area there are small animals such as hares or squirrels, then it makes sense to fence your garden. A meter-long fence will be enough.

Tips

• Even without a soil test, you can get some idea of ​​its composition if you look closely at the plants growing on it. So, dandelions grow on very fertile soil. If there are few plants at all, then there is a chance that the soil is poor. If the weeds look weak, the soil is probably poor in nutrients. Creeping weeds, plantains, and horsetails love acidic soil, while chamomile loves alkaline soil.
• To determine how well the soil retains moisture, set up a little experiment. Dig a hole 30 centimeters deep and 60 centimeters wide. Fill it with water. If the water is gone in 1-12 minutes, then the soil will dry easily and naturally.If the water goes away in 12-30, then the drainage is already better. If the water does not leave for more than 30 minutes, then the soil will do more suitable for plants that prefer very moist soil. If the water does not leave for more than 4 hours, then, most likely, you will not be able to grow anything here ...

Warnings

• Water the garden, don't let it dry out. But keep a balance, don't flood the garden.

What do you need

• Seeds or sprouts
• Raised bed
• Compost or mulch
• Watering hose
• Fork or rake
• Shovel
• Coulter
• Fertilizer
• Fence materials