5 tips for the newbie gardener

There is something beautiful to the thought of growing your own food, isn’t there?

I picture myself wandering around a lovely, well-maintained garden plucking perfect veggies from the vine.  All of them going into my beautiful garden hod.  I am also wearing a beautiful sun hat.

The reality is more dirty, buggy, sweaty than that.   And I look like an asshole in those floppy hats.  But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.  I bet you look great in those hats.

Growing your own food, on a small scale, is something that everyone can do.  But it can also be frustrating and expensive for a newbie and that is a nasty combination.

Here are a few tips for someone new to the gardening world:

Choose your location and try to keep your plants as close to the kitchen as possible.  Or at the least the door you use the most.  I have a bad habit of trying to tuck gardens into out of the way places.  So as soon as the spring excitement has worn off, I forget that they are there and it ends up being a weedy mess.

Also, pick a spot with as much sun as possible.

You don’t have to dig up a new spot in the yard.  Put a windowbox full of salad greens on your front porch and a pot of tomatoes on your patio.  Tuck pea and bean plants in the beds along your house with your perennials.  Veggie plants are just as lovely as flowers.

Start with something simple.  Set yourself up for success by choosing something easy right out of the gate.  Check out this list of 10 easy plants for beginners.  There is something for everyone

Only grow a couple of things. It is super easy to get dazzled by the seed catalogs or but the selections at the local greenhouse but try to stick to a few things your first time around.  A big garden is great, but they are also LOTS of work.

Grow food you actually want to eat. If you don’t like radishes.  Don’t grow them.   You will never get to experience the joy of growing your own food if you don’t ever want to eat.  Or even worse, if you force yourself to eat it.

Growing food does not have to be hard, all’s it takes is a few plants, a sunny patch of land, and some water.  The key is to keep it simple.

Now is the time to go get your plants and get your hands in the dirt!

PS Science says that getting dirty makes you happier!