Gardening has many fantastic benefits beyond connecting with nature. It can improve your physical and mental health, boost creativity and help us form connections with others in our wider community.
There’s no denying that gardening is a highly rewarding activity but for people who are just starting out, it can seem a bit daunting. If you don’t know where to start, here are a few gardening tips for total beginners.
Equipment
Experienced gardeners often use equipment such as polytunnels and greenhouses to increase their yield and ensure their crops are perfect. However, if you’re new to gardening, you can focus on the essentials and build up your equipment as you go.
To get started gardening, you will need a pair of good-quality gardening gloves to protect your hands from thorns, nettles and cold or wet weather. You’ll also need a hand trowel, which can be used for a wide range of jobs including weeding and planting. A hand fork is essential for breaking up compacted soil and a watering can is a must-have for watering your plants evenly.
Planning
Before you do anything, it’s a good idea to sit down and plan your garden. This allows you to get to know your lawn, including its soil type and aspect, which will enable you to figure out what you will be able to grow and where.
Proper planning also means you can think about colour and structure and what you want your finished garden to look like all year round. The danger of just jumping right in with weeding and planting is that you may accidentally pull up plants along with weeds or end up sowing things that don’t suit your garden so as tempting as it is, don’t pick up your trowel until you’ve spent some time planning first!
Weeding
If you have a garden that you’ve been neglecting until now or you’ve moved to a new property and the garden is looking a little worse for wear, the chances are that weeding will be the very first gardening activity you’ll have to practice!
You can dislodge annual weeds like shepherd’s purse and nettle by working the soil with a hoe but be wary of going too deep as this may bring seeds to the surface. Perennial weeds like dandelions and Japanese knotweed will need to be forked out, making sure to remove the entire root. These weeds then need to be burnt or put in rubbish bags and thrown away to prevent them from taking root in your compost pile!
Sowing
Whether you want to start gardening to grow your own fresh produce to eat or beautiful flowers to enjoy, you will need to learn how to sow seeds. If you’re looking to add some colour to your garden, consider starting with hardy annuals like poppies and cornflowers. Hardy annuals can be sown outdoors and these plants germinate, grow, flower and die all within one season. You can also easily grow many vegetables outdoors straight from seed, including lettuce, radishes and beetroot.
Planting
Learning how to plant your plants properly will ensure healthy growth and long life. Take the time to prepare your soil before planting by weeding thoroughly and adding extras such as mulch, compost or fertiliser. If you’re unsure about what you’re planting, seek advice from more experienced gardeners or read up online to find out more.
Start Small
You might fall into the trap of making grand plans off the back of your initial enthusiasm which can quickly wane when you realise the extent of the work to be done. To avoid becoming overwhelmed or losing interest, don’t take on too much at once and scale back your plans. It’s much better to do a little bit at a time and do it well, ensuring that you can take care of it properly before moving on to the next patch of garden.
