Gardening is great hobby to pick to keep yourself occupied during your leisure time. You get to learn and develop new skills, spend some time outdoors and gardening is an activity everyone can take part in and therefore a great way to spend some quality family time together. Picking up gardening as a hobby can be as confusing as it is exciting, what with the many gardening books and websites filled with technical jargons that require some level of expertise to understand. Gardening doesn’t have to be that complex. Here are the Gardening Tips to get started and have an enjoyable experience in your new hobby.
Get started
Don’t spend a lot time fretting over a suitable location for your garden. If there is insufficient space in your backyard, you can still start a container garden which can be set up in any available space including the balcony. Each set up has its own pros and cons. For instance, a container garden is easy to manage since you control the soil type and fertility and they are not as vulnerable to weeds and pests like an outdoor garden but it’s time-consuming since you have to water the plants and put them in the direction of the sun. An outdoor garden, on the other hand, benefits from the direct sunlight which many plants need in order to grow and stay healthy. Plus it gives you the liberty to plant a variety of flowers and vegetables which may not be possible in a container.
Small beginnings
Too much enthusiasm may lead you to start a big garden which may overwhelm you in maintaining. In gardening tips for beginners, you are advised to start small and gradually grow your garden as yolu get the hang of it. Plant one or two species as you start out. You can increase the number of species and the size of your garden as you learn more about gardening and the requirements of each individual plant species. More importantly, know the right timings to do your planting. Different plants thrive under different conditions and it is important get the timing right if you don’t want your plants to wilt and die.
Soil treatment
Plants need suitable soil conditions to grow. The type of soil in your area determines the kind of plants you can have in your garden although you can always import the suitable type of soil for your container gardens. Generally, most plants need good drainage and this is why you will seldom find plants growing in sandy or clay soil because they leak too much water and are waterlogged respectively. Improve the fertility of your garden soil by adding compost and organic fertilizer, and mulching to regulate soil temperatures.
Water your plants right
A common mistake among gardening newbies is wetting the plants’ leaves while watering them. This is wrong and usually leads to rotting of the leaves and spread of diseases. The proper way to water plants is direct the nozzle at the roots which makes it easier for the plants to absorb the water.