By Jennifer Poindexter
This tip is for the beginner gardener. When scrolling through the Internet, it’s enticing to see the various plants which have places in some gardens.
However, it can also seem overwhelming. This is why it’s okay to keep things simple as you explore gardening.
Give yourself permission to be mindful of what you grow. Here’s why:
Quick Tip: Be Mindful of What You Grow
Isn’t the idea of gardening to grow things? Yes, but the idea of gardening is not only producing harvests. It’s also about growing your gardening skills.
If you’re new to gardening, you can grow things without growing everything. As your skills grow, feel free to add more variety to your garden.
Gardening is a skillset. Different plants have different requirements. This takes time to gather the information needed to grow a certain amount of crops or flowers.
Once you have this information and you’re comfortable growing a select few plants, it’s time to learn about growing additional plants.
In the meantime, as you’re establishing your skillset, start with what you know you like.
If you’re growing flowers, pick the plants which are easiest to grow and that you’ll enjoy looking at.
If you’re growing crops, pick what you know you and your family will eat. Don’t waste your time on growing things you aren’t sure anyone will enjoy.
This should make gardening seem less overwhelming. It should also help you gather the basics of growing the foods you love while also growing your gardening skills.
I share this tip because this is something I struggled with when I began gardening over a decade ago.
I received a ton of seed magazines in the mail and everything looked so beautiful and delicious. I wanted to grow it all.
This was the year I planted gourds (knowing nothing about them), and they took over my fence line and tried to grow into my greenhouse. It was a disaster!
From that point on, I learned to research before planting and the importance of planning your garden prior to the growing season.
I also learned a valuable lesson in pacing myself and taking the time to establish my skill set before growing everything that looked interesting.
Hopefully, this tip helps you gain the gardening skills you desire by starting with smaller growing spaces and plants you know you love.
Then, you may utilize the information you gain to expand your gardening skills by growing new plants each year.
More About Gardening for Beginners
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/home-vegetable-gardening-a-quick-reference-guide
https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/vegetables/vegetable-garden-basics/
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