Gardening for Beginners
I have been away from the computer quite a bit these last few weeks as spring has finally sprung here in Edmonton and I’ve been able to get outside and spend some quality time in my garden. I consider myself very much a beginner gardener, as I only started attempting to do serious gardening a year ago. My daughter was finally old enough to “help”, and I didn’t have to chase her all over the yard to keep her from hurting herself. This spring is a series of firsts for me: first time I started seeds indoors, first time I am making use of the entire raised bed I put in last year, and first time I am planting seeds outdoors (I was too scared to last year, and just got plants).
So! When you’re a beginner gardener, where do you start? There is so much information out there and so many possibilities for what you can plant! I still have a problem with getting too excited at greenhouses and garden centres, and just putting plants in my cart without really thinking about whether I can sustain them. I thought I would compile some of the posts out there that I have found most useful as a beginner gardener in Edmonton (because of course our growing season is much shorter up North in Zone 3A!). Here are some of my favourite resources on gardening for beginners:
Vegetable Gardening: Great starter guide with links for each vegetable to get a good description on how to grow them.
How To Grow Organic Strawberries: Very thorough article on all of the ins and outs of planting strawberries. I have been adding more and more strawberries to our garden because my daughter LOVES them, and they taste amazing straight from the garden!
Follow This One Tip In Your Garden & Get A Ton Of Organic Strawberries!: Last year I did not know that the term “runner” meant. Now I do!
Ten Mistakes New Herb Gardeners Make (and How to Avoid Them!): Great little tutorial for beginners planting herbs!
Pruning tomato plants: how and when to do it: Great tips for caring for tomato plants – which are pretty easy to grow in my opinion!
How to Plant Garlic: It may not be the right time to plant garlic – but I’m really excited because I followed the instructions in this post last fall and have very healthy garlic plants that sprouted without me doing anything else! So pin this one for the fall! Note: I used some organic garlic cloves from my Organic Box – I’ve heard other people say to ensure that you use organic garlic when you do this, not cheaper garlic, otherwise you may not get good results.
DIY Raised Garden Bed: Easy to follow instructions – I did something very similar to this last year!
12 Spring Gardening Maintenance Tips You Must Do Now: I follow Anna Hackman’s GreenTalk blog and really love it. She gives very sage advice for us beginner gardeners!
Coffee Grounds in the Garden: Friend or Foe?: If you have a coffee drinker in the house – this one is a great read for how to use coffee grounds in the garden! I put a ton of them on my hydrangeas last year and got beautiful luscious blooms! Here’s another resource for ways to use coffee grounds in your garden.
16 Foods That’ll Re-Grow from Kitchen Scraps:I tried the celery last year and indeed got a little celery plant out of it! I did it late in the season so this year I’m going to try it ASAP. Fun to do with the kids!