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1.3.07

Advice And Tips For The First Time Gardener

A collection of gardening advice/tips for the person who would like to start their first garden.

Find out what your gardening zone is on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Figure out what type of soil you have and buy a soil testing kit and make amendments.

Decide on the type of garden you'd like to start. Maybe a cut flower garden, an herb garden, a vegetable garden? If you can't plant in the ground because you rent- consider container gardening. Just about anything you can grow in the ground you can grow in a container of some kind or another. Maybe some of the recent trends in green living has got you interested in organic gardening and you would like to grow your own food.

Start your garden from seeds using plastic containers like soda bottle to make seed starting greenhouses. If you're interested in hydroponic gardening you can start your garden seeds using plastic baggies, since no soil is involved in the seed germination.

Sit down and plan out your garden taking into consideration plant sizes and the amount of light they need and make a plan of what seeds to plant in what location. If you can't draw you can still design your own garden using something like the Virtual Garden designer from the BBC. It allows you to make a plan of your garden and view it in 3-D. What could be better than a garden design you created yourself?

Going gardening forums like GardenWeb and search the forums for information that you're looking for. Not only are they a great place to learn but you can meet other gardeners who share their tips and gardening ideas and gardening ideas. You can find forums for just about any topic including but not limited to; lasagna gardening, square foot gardening, gardening tools and supplies. Forums like GardenWeb are a great resource for the first time gardener even if you're limited to indoor gardening.

Soon you'll be growing your own food or collecting your own seeds for next year and making gardening gifts for your friends and family.

7 comments:

  1. I have seedlings poping up all over my house! I know I started them too soon for Illinois, but I just couldn't wait. If it stays decent this weekend, and it's suppose to, I am sowing some poppies. They love cool soil, and I love them! That picture of the Japanese Bettle only makes me think of all the extra work ahead Mr. Brown Thumb! haha! Great shot!

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  2. :0)

    You must be having better weather than we are having here. Still covered in snow and this morning I've seen more for the sun than I've seen in a week.

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  3. Anonymous2:32 PM

    hi my name's Joe im 15 and well ive always enjoyed plants and i need help, ive never grown anything before and i wanted to give it a try so i got the seeds of the plant i wanted and i put them in a little peat disk that you wet with warm water and it grows bigger so about how long will i be waiting to see some green pop out of the peat?

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  4. Joe,

    How long a seed takes to sprout depends on the seed and the conditions. Some seeds are easier to sprout than others and if you don't provide enough heat, light, and moisture for some seeds they won't sprout. There are a lot of variables involved that I can't really answer without knowing more info.

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  5. as i am a 1st tym gardener ..your tips made my interest more on dis subject. i did go thru a lot online and you tube but the way you have explained is easier and with pics easily understandable ...

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  6. Anonymous3:58 PM

    my toamto plant[better boy] is almost 3 feet with good amount of leaves..but i see only 1 tomato and no flowers either...i put miravle grow garden soil every 15 days ...and water with d same fertiliser....any tips or sugestions please...thanx

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Angel,

    Glad you found it helpful.

    @Anonymous,

    Hi don't really think I could give some advice on so little info. Have you tried a gardening forum about tomatoes? Would probably be a good idea to go where you can find some tomato experts.

    ReplyDelete

Hi!

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