Ten steps to that first successful garden
Spring is a good time to begin growing and digging, although planning can take place before the snow melts. Gardeners spend most of the summer watering, weeding, and watching young plants grow. Fall is a good time to plant trees, shrubs, bulbs, and some perennials.1. Get an idea. Is this going to be a vegetable garden? An herb garden? A flower garden? If you choose to grow flowers, do you want annuals, which you must replant each year but will give color most of the summer? Or do you prefer perennials, which have a shorter bloom time, but come back year after year?
2. Pick a place. Almost all vegetables and most flowers need about six hours of full sun each day. Spend a day in your chosen spot and watch how the sun moves across the space. It might receive more sun than you think. Put the garden where you can't ignore its pleas for attention -- outside the back door, near the mailbox, or by the window you stare out of when you dry your hair.
3. Clear the ground. Get rid of the sod covering the area you plan to plant. If you want quick results, you can dig it out, but it's easier to smother it with newspaper. Spread a three-inch layer of compost on the newspaper and wait. It will take about four months for the compost and paper to decompose.
4. Improve the soil. Invariably, soil needs a boost. The solution is simple: organic matter. Add a two- to three-inch layer of compost, decayed leaves, dry grass clippings, or old manure. To learn more about your soil, have a soil test done through your county cooperative Extension office.
5. Dig or don't. Digging loosens the soil so roots can penetrate more easily. But digging when the soil is too wet or too dry can ruin its structure. Dig only when the soil is moist enough to form a loose ball in your fist, but dry enough to fall apart when you drop it.
6. Purchasing plant materials. Some people pore over catalogs for months; some people head to the garden center and buy what wows them. Either method works if you choose plants adapted to your climate, your soil, and the amount of sunlight in your garden. Here are a few easy-to-grow plants for beginners. Annuals: cosmos, marigolds, impatiens, geraniums, calendula, sunflowers, and zinnias. Perennials: Russian sage, Lamb's Ears, Black-Eyed Susans, purple coneflowers, phlox, pansies, and daylilies. Vegetables: lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
7. Put them in the ground. Some plants, such as pansies and kale, tolerate cold, so you can plant them in autumn or late winter. Tomatoes and most annual flowers, on the other hand, are touchy about cold, so don't plant them until the danger of frost has passed in your area. Mid spring and mid autumn are good times to plant perennial flowers. Check the county cooperative Extension office or local garden center for a list of recommended planting dates. An easier method is to buy young plants, called set plants or transplants. Just dig a hole and plunk them in the ground.
8. Water. Seedlings should never dry out, so water daily while they are small. Taper off as the plants get larger. New transplants also need frequent watering -- every other day or so -- until their roots become established. After that, how often you need to water depends on your soil, how humid your climate is, and how often it rains. Water slowly and deeply, so the water soaks in instead of running off into the street. To minimize evaporation, water in the early morning.
9. Mulch. To help keep weeds out and water in, cover the soil with a couple of inches of mulch. All sorts of mulch are available, from pine needles to cocoa hulls to bark chips. For a vegetable garden or bed of annuals, choose a mulch that decomposes in a few months. For perennials, use a longer-lasting mulch, such as bark chips.
10. Keep it up. Your garden is on its way. Keep watering when needed, and pull weeds before they get big. Fertilize with a dry fertilizer about halfway through the season. If you use a liquid fertilizer, fertilize every month. And remember to stop and smell the... well, whatever you grow.