Welcome to our second post in our Spring Garden & Homestead series! If you missed our first post and mini post, you can find them here:
Series: Planning Your Garden | Post 1
Series: Planning Your Garden | Mini Post 1
This week, we’ll be talking about CHOOSING YOUR SEEDS and COMMON BEGINNER GARDEN MISTAKES!
Deciding on what crops you want to plant can be a tough decision, for beginner and expert gardeners alike!
One tip that will make your decision easier is to PLANT WHAT YOU WILL EAT AND/OR USE! If you choose to follow any advice we provide, follow that tip right there 🙂
If you hate radishes, don’t grow them! If you love tomatoes, make sure you mark out some prime garden real estate for them this year!
When you plant what you will eat and/or use, you are guaranteeing that you will have minimal waste because you will be harvesting and enjoying what you’re growing. If you grow things you don’t enjoy on a regular basis, most likely, it won’t be used up and you will end up throwing most of your harvest away. Besides, why spend the time, money, and effort on crops you won’t use!?
The top plants for beginner gardens include:
Lettuce
Spinach
Tomatoes
Squash
Cucumbers
Carrots
Peppers
Radishes
Beans
Basil
Onions
*If you are interested in learning about companion plants, check out our post about them here!*
The above mentioned plants can make a nice little starter garden without crazy maintenance, while also providing a nice yield for the season! Also, don’t forget about herbs! The majority of herbs require minimal maintenance and they typically provide a quick and abundant harvest that you can enjoy all season long. If you are planning on canning some of your harvested goodies, think about some herbs that may go well with the food you are canning (i.e. basil and oregano for tomato sauce, mint for certain sauces/jams/jellies)- the possibilities are endless!
If you are new to gardening, you will soon find out that picking out seeds isn’t as easy as one may think. You don’t have “just lettuce seeds”- there are countless varieties of this leafy green vegetable, and most likely, many you’ve never heard of!
This is where RESEARCH comes into play. I know, I know- no one likes putting in extra work, but, researching your seed choices will be a crucial step in creating a thriving and productive garden that you can enjoy! Not all varieties of lettuce will flourish in your neck of the woods, just like not all varieties of tomatoes will flourish in someone else’s neck of the woods.
A helpful piece of information to have before choosing your seeds is knowing what ZONE you live in.
You can check out these sites here and here to find yours!
A climate zone map or plant hardiness zone map is just a simple tool to help you determine what plants are most likely to thrive in your area.
After you determine which zone you live in, you can start researching some varieties of plants that interest you and ones that will thrive in your backyard! I know- finally some fun stuff! 🙂
A GREAT resource to find the different varieties of plants (and order those seeds) is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Company’s 2022 Whole Seed Catalog ($7.95 in most natural grocery stores or through their website here). They also have a free catalog you can request from them, however, it does not include all of their seeds.
You can also simply Google search for different varieties of the plants you are interested in and then purchase those seeds from a local store or online seed company!
*Tip: Ideally, heirloom seeds are better to purchase instead of hybrids. This is because heirlooms provide better tasting and staggered harvests, more nutritious plants, and they are less expensive.
The bottom line is that researching your possibilities is going to really help you have a successful, long-term garden.
Now, let’s wrap up by talking about some common beginner gardening mistakes that could derail your hard work!
- Planting too much all at once– your garden goodies need room to grow and breathe. If you plant too many things, too close together, you risk your crops success rate. Also, the more you plant, the more work you have to do to maintain your garden.
- Failing to prepare your soil correctly– soil prep needs to be done BEFORE you even think about planting anything. If you fail to get that soil ready and you plant your seeds, there’s no turning back!
- Giving your plants too much or too little light– this is something you will have to figure out for each type of seed you plant. Some seeds need full, direct sunlight while others need shade. By researching the seeds you plan on planting, you will be able to efficiently layout your garden so your plants get the Vitamin D (or lack thereof) they need!
- Using too much or too little fertilizer– some plants require different nutrients to thrive. If you go overboard with the fertilizer, some of your plants may not develop the way they should. This also applies if you don’t use enough fertilizer!
- Using too much or too little water– you don’t want to drown your plants, but, you also don’t want to deprive them of that good H20! You want your plant roots to grow deep so make sure you are watering just enough so it’s not just sitting on the surface. Don’t overwater or you risk rotting the root system- yuck.
- Planting your seeds too deep in the soil or not planting them deep enough– again, this is where your research comes into play! Your seed packet should tell you what kind of depth you’re looking for. You don’t want to plant your seeds to close to the surface because they could possibly dry out and you’ll never see a sprout! On the other hand, if you plant the seeds too deep, they may not be able to grow fast enough or tall enough to get the sunlight they need before dying.
- Planting your seeds too close together– this can sometimes be tricky. You want to plant your seeds far enough apart so they aren’t all competing for those yummy soil nutrients, but, you won’t have a sprout from every seed you plant. This means that you don’t want your seeds that DO sprout to be too far apart to the point where you are losing valuable real estate in those garden beds!
- Failing to tackle weeds when they’re small– weeds may seem harmless for the most part, however, they can grow big-FAST. Weeds are still plants and plants have roots- if you fail to remove weeds when they sprout, they may begin to affect your seedling’s roots and that is not good. There’s no need to weed your garden every day, but, you should definitely tend to it on a weekly basis at least.
Gardening may seem like a lot to handle when you’re first getting started, but, once you get moving and start seeing your seeds sprout, you’ll feel like you’ve been doing it for years!
What seeds are YOU planning on including in your garden this year? Any ideas yet? Tell us in the comments below!