Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Garden: 7 Simple Steps

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7 simple steps to getting your garden off to the right start.

Are you looking to start a garden but not sure where to begin? Maybe you want to start an edible garden or you are interested in growing your own cut flowers? No matter what you are interested in growing, every garden needs the same basic principles to be productive. I know that starting a garden from scratch can be overwhelming, especially with of the different information out there but gardening shouldn’t be stressful. This post will help simplify the process of starting a garden in 7 simple steps and help you get your garden off to the right start.

I remember when I started my first garden 8 years ago, it was two 4’x8’x6” raised beds plopped right on top of grass. To say my first garden was a hot mess is an understatement and I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. Despite my failures, I kept going and soon that small garden turned into a 30’x30’ raised bed garden where I grew so many amazing vegetables and cut flowers. I am a firm believer that everyone is born with a brown thumb, it just takes the right knowledge and lots of trial and error to be successful. Even successful gardeners still fail, its all a part of the learning process. There are so many amazing benefits to gardening, so no matter how many times that you may fail in your first couple years, my best advice to you is to not give up and keep on gardening!

Step 1: Location

Finding the right location for your garden is one of the most important steps to start with. Sunlight, proximity to water, drainage, convenience and choosing an area without any invasive weeds are all key things to consider when choosing a location for your garden.

The most important aspect to finding the right location is sunlight. You will need a spot that receives full sun all year long, that is an area with a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight. Make sure to consider the sun patterns in the winter, some areas of your yard may be full sun in the summer but may be mostly shaded in the winter. While some crops such as lettuce can tolerate more shade, all fruiting crops such as tomatoes need as much sunlight as possible. Another important thing to consider in regards to sunlight is if you live in a hot climate, in the summer many crops will benefit from some shade during the hottest part of the day. So ideally if you can find a location that gets a minimum of 6 hours of sun in the first half of the day and some shade in the hottest part of the afternoon then that would be best.

Proximity to water is another very important aspect to consider when choosing a location for your garden. Depending on the season you may need to water your garden daily in order for your garden to thrive. So being close to a water spigot or having an irrigation system to hook up to will save you a lot of work in the long run. Trust me, you will not want to lug around a watering can each day to water each and every plant!

You also want to chose a location that has good drainage and never has standing water. Your garden will not do well if it is in standing water for any period of time. This will cause your roots to suffocate resulting in the decline of your plants. Do not worry too much if you do not have a location in your yard that always drains well. Raised beds and containers can be a great solution for this issue.

Convenience in regards to location is also key to a successful garden. Ideally, you want to place your garden in a location where you will see it daily, even better if you have to walk by it each day. If your garden is placed in a location where you see it or walk by it daily, you are going to be more inclined to tend to it and not forget it. When you can tend to your garden daily you are going to be able to manage pests and weeds much easier without being overwhelmed.

Finally, the last thing to consider when choosing a location is to pick one that isn’t overrun with invasive weeds. Many weeds such as nutsedge or crabgrass can be impossible to keep out of your garden beds without treating with unwanted herbicides or back breaking labor. This is something that I learned the hard way with my last garden. I had a nutsedge infestation so badly in my walkways and beds that it was absolutely impossible to get rid of. So if possible chose an area free of invasive weeds.

Step 2: Garden Size & Style

Now that you’ve chosen the perfect location for your new garden, the next step to consider is the size of your garden. One of the most important pieces of advice that I can give you when starting your first garden, is to start small with your garden space. Do what you can handle in the beginning and work your way up to building a larger garden as you gain experience. If you start large in the very beginning there is a good chance that you will get overwhelmed and give up.

Next, choose your garden style. In other words, what do you plan on growing your garden in? You can chose to grow your plants in the ground, in raised beds or containers depending on your budget and size of your growing space. Each option has their own pros and cons.

Growing straight in the ground is perfect for those on a budget as there is little cost to getting started. You simply need to clear the space of weeds as well as amend the soil with compost and organic fertilizers. Raised beds in my opinion are more aesthetically pleasing and it is much easier to manage weeds and soil quality when compared to in-ground beds. Unfortunately, they tend to have a high start up cost up to build/buy and fill with soil.

Containers are perfect for those with limited space or for those wanting to start small. The options for containers are endless, you could get creative with your style and they are perfect for any budget. I personally find grow bags to be a great, affordable option for container gardening.

step 3: Soil

The next important aspect to consider when starting a garden is the soil. Whether you are filling a raised bed or amending an in ground bed, you are going to need quality soil and amendments in order for your plants to thrive. There are some key elements to consider when choosing the right soil, it needs to be rich in nutrients as well as have good drainage and structure. You could go with an already made potting mix from your local garden center or create your own. I highly suggest using a quality organic potting mix to fill your containers or raised beds. My absolute favorite premade potting soil that I use for all of my containers is the Foxfarm brand, they have a variety to choose from but my go to is usually Ocean Forest or Coco Loco. If I am filling my raised beds then I opt for a bulk organic potting soil mix that I get by the yard from my local nursery, you are going to save a ton of money if you can buy your soil in bulk. If you can not find a quality potting soil in your area then you can create your own. A mix of 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 coarse sand is the perfect mix to create the idea potting soil. Once you fill your beds you can amend the soil with organic fertilizers such as composted manure, worm castings or an all purpose, organic fertilizer.

If you are growing your garden in the ground then you will need to make sure that the soil has good drainage and you must amend your soil with 2-4 inches of compost and organic fertilizers. You can choose to mix the compost into your native soil or use the no-dig method and place the compost on top of the existing soil. Depending on the type of soil that you have, you made need to make other adjustments.

step 4: Water

Water is the next important step to consider. Your garden is going to thrive on a consistent watering schedule. There are three important factors to take in to account when it comes to your watering schedule. When to water, how to water and how often to water.

First, many gardeners recommend that you water first thing in the morning when possible. This allows any water that may get on the leaves to dry and it also allows the plant to take in as much water as possible while it is still cooler in the day. This does not always fit with everyone’s schedule and I often water my garden in the evening. As long as there is at least an hour of sunlight left then your foliage will dry before dark. Also, watering in the evening has its benefits. It allow plants to take up water at night when they do most of their growing. So don’t fret about when you water your garden, just make sure the water has time to evaporate from the plant’s foliage before the sun goes down.

Second, how to water is another important aspect. When you water, try to make sure that you water at the base of each plant and try not to spray the foliage as much as possible. Fungi thrive in wet environments so this will help keep the leaves dry therefore reducing the risks of any fungal diseases.

Lastly, it is possible to overwater your plants, so water when the first couple inches of your soil feels dry. When to water depends on your environmental conditions such as rainfall and temperature. In the hottest months of the year this may mean you have to water daily while in the cooler parts of the year you may only need to water 2-3 times a week.

Also, consider an automatic watering system. This will take the chore out of hand watering and you won’t have to worry about forgetting to water. I find drip and soaker hoses to be ideal. They water the base of your plants while delivering water directly to the desired plants without any wasted water. They are also perfect for setting up to a timer so that your garden stays on a consistent watering schedule.

step 5: Plan your Garden

There are a few things to take into consideration when planning out your garden. The first is to know your planting zone, this will help you determine your first and last frost dates. While it is important to know what zone you’re in, it only tells you so much and depending on where you live. Climates vary by location and your climate might be totally different from someone else’s climate in the same zone. For example, I’m in Florida, zone 9b, but my climate is much different from California’s zone 9b, therefore certain crops do much better there than they might do here. Also, our planting times are much different from other places with the same growing zones, this is much of the reason why new gardeners struggle or fail when they first start gardening in Florida.

Because climates can vary by location it is just as important to get to know your seasons. Take a look at your average rainfall and temperatures for any given month to determine when one season might start and another might end. Typically, there are four growing seasons, you have your cold season, cool season, warm season and hot season. Depending on your climate, you may have all or some of those seasons. With that being said, most crops are either cool season crops or warm season crops with a few select crops that can handle the more extreme cold or hot seasons.

Now that you know your zone and growing seasons, its time to start planning what to grow. Make a list of the vegetables that you want to grow and make sure to grow things that you like to eat. It’s a lot of fun to set a side some space to experiment with new crops, just make sure that the majority of the crops that you grow each season are things that you know you’re going to use. Next, know which of those crops do better in which season and plan accordingly. For example, cool season crops include brassicas, leafy greens, root crops, etc. These crops are typically planted in the fall or early spring. They can handle frosts but don’t do well in the heat. Likewise, warm season crops are usually planted in the spring after your last frost date. These include your tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, etc.

Garden books for your local area are great resources to help you plan your garden. This helped me tremendously when I first started gardening. Aside from books, try finding local growing guides and planting plans for your climate, join local garden clubs and meet local gardeners. These are all great resources will help you plan your garden.

Final note, ignore the seed packets! Instead, start your seeds according to your particular climate and growing season. Seed packets can often be misleading so if you know a certain crop grows in a certain season then plan accordingly to your climate.

step 6: plant

So now that you know the key elements to setting your garden up for success and hopefully you have a planting plant, it’s time to start planting! You can choose to start your plants from seed or buy transplants from your local nursery. Growing from seed will give you the widest selection of varieties. When starting seeds you can either start them in seed trays or pots and transplant them to the garden or you can choose to direct seed them in your garden beds. Some crops do better direct seeded while others may do better transplanted. The back of your seed packets will usually give good instructions on how to plant. Depending on your climate you may need to start your tender crops indoors and harden them off before transplanting them out to the garden after your first frost.

If choosing to buy transplants then try and buy them from a local nursery and avoid big box stores if possible. When you get your plants from a local nursery you are not only supporting your local business but often times the plants are healthier, you have a larger selection and the plants are usually locally grown depending on the source. Big box stores normally buy their plants in bulk and do not know where the plants come from. The plants are usually not as healthy and often times they sell plants out of season.

When planting out your seeds or transplants make sure that you are spacing your plants accordingly. You can often plant your crops closer than the recommended spacing on the plant labels or seed packets. I personally like to intensively plant my gardens. This means planting the plants closer together and really packing in as many crops as possible. There are a lot of pros to gardening intensively. For example, it allows for maximum production while also covering any bare soil and preventing weeds from growing. A good example of intensive planting is the Square Foot Gardening method. This gives you a great idea of how many plants of each crop that you can fit into a square foot. One downfall of intensive planting styles though, is that you have to tend to and harvest your garden often so that crops don’t overcrowd one another. So if you know that you can not harvest often then give your plants a little more space.

step 7: Tend your Garden

Once you’ve done all the hard work of setting your garden up and planting out your crops it’s important to make sure that you are tending to your garden often. By often I mean a minimum of once a week, but ideally you want to tend to it a few times a week. Tending to your garden often is key to a having a thriving garden. It allows you to keep a consistent fertilizing and watering schedule as well as keep weeds and pests in check before they become unmanageable.

Your plants will be taking up a lot of nutrients as they grow so it is important to make sure that you are fertilizing your garden with an all-purpose, organic fertilizer every 3 to 4 weeks. This can be done by top dressing with quality compost, manure or earthworm castings. Or you may choose to use a well balanced organic fertilizer such as fish & seaweed emulsion, a slow release fertilizer or organic amendments such as bloodmeal or bone meal. I could go on and on about the how, when and whys of fertilizing your garden but that’s for another blog post.

Tending your garden often allows you to keep pests and weeds in check before they get out of hand. Check plants often for any signs of insects or disease and treat accordingly.

Finally, the whole reason that you did all of this hard work in the first place, so that you can harvest from your garden! By tending your garden often you will be able to harvest all of your crops as they are ready and keep things from getting too ripe. For example, summer squash and okra are notorious for getting huge in what feels like over night, if you tend your garden often you will be able to harvest before things get too big or overripe. If you chose to plant intensively then harvesting and tending to your garden often is key to keeping your plants from overcrowding one another. Once your plants are done producing you can replace them with new crops to keep your harvests coming all season long!

Conclusion

I hope that this post removed the confusion and overwhelming feelings of starting a garden and encourages you to start a garden of your own. Just start now and embrace all of your successes and failures along the way. By following these simple steps and basic principles of gardening you will be on your way to having a thriving and successful garden!

If you found this information helpful please share the love by sharing or pinning this post! Also, feel free to leave any questions in the comments below!

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