1) It’s an experiment- First and foremost, this one changed the game for me. Our renter taught me this and hearing her say that, gave me permission to let go of the pressure of “getting everything right” that I had put on myself and gave me so much freedom to make mistakes and unfroze me from my need for perfection. It will never be perfect so learn to embrace that. She also told me that if you get your flower seeds planted by Mother’s Day, consider it a success!
2) Give yourself plenty of grace- This follows the first truth. You will make mistakes (prune something wrong, forget to weed, plant things too close or too deep,etc.) and when you do, don’t beat yourself up about it. Learn from it and try to do it differently next time.
3) You won’t know it all, ever- Gardening, whether it be produce or flowers, on one hand is so simple but on the other hand is so complex. There is so much to know about gardening and when you start to dig deeper into it, it is so easy to get overwhelmed. Don’t let that happen to you. Learn as much as you can, when you can. That might mean focusing on a few aspects one year, working hard to put them into practice and then focusing on other aspects the next year, so on and so forth. Even Master Gardeners who know a LOT about gardening are constantly learning new things they’ve never learned before. So don’t try to learn everything at once. Though gardening is work, it should also be a joy and if you get bogged down with trying to research your way through it, you will miss the whole point.
Now that I’ve shared three things I wish I had known before I started, here are some tips.
1) Start small and only plant produce that you’ll eat/use- this seems pretty common sense but it is sooo easy to get a little excited about all the possibilities, especially that first year. Acknowledge that you’re learning a new skill and start small so you can be successful.
2) If you can afford it, seedlings are a great way to start- Seedlings are obviously a bit more expensive than seeds but for those first couple of years, when you are learning, you have a really high chance of success. While seeds usually have to be planted indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost date, seedlings on the other hand can be planted straight into the ground after the last frost date (You can find that date for your zone online and always check weather forecasts) and there you are with a healthy, solid plant ready at the get go. Hence, why they cost more money. Someone has already done that work for you. We will be using seedlings with a lot of our produce this year as we weren’t able to plant indoors.
3) Spend some time learning how to care for the handful of plants you’ve chosen- Another reason to start small is you have to learn how each plant needs to be tended. You might need to guide cucumber vines up a lattice or learn how to prune tomato suckers and all of this information will give you the best yield for your veg so make sure you spend some time learning how to care for each plant but don’t get too deep that it paralyzes you!
4) Make sure you research when to plant and harvest lettuce. Most lettuce need cooler weather so don’t try to plant them in the heat of summer. It won’t work. Also, make sure to harvest the leaves before it “bolts” or you’ll be left with super bitter lettuce that is only good for feeding the chickens. (can you tell this tip is one that I learned the hard way?)
5) If you can afford it, soaker hoses on a timer are life savers. This was an upfront cost we invested in and it was beyond worth it. It allowed us to only have to focus on weeding, pruning, and harvesting and even allowed us to go on short vacations knowing that our garden would at least get watered while we were gone. Not ever having to water will greatly increase that joy I was referring to when it comes to gardening.
6) Check your soil- we know for a fact that our soil is pretty disgusting so we decided to build raised beds and had a ton of compost delivered to fill them with. We have a lot of compost we have made from our kitchen scraps/chicken manure/yard waste that we are able to refill them and replenish their nutrients but we needed that original compost dump to get them filled. Again, it was an upfront cost that needed to be done. You, however, might have really great soil and can plant straight into your ground. If you want to know, you can take samples and send them into testing places. The goal is to not get gross toxins leeched into your beautiful produce (and then your body) from unhealthy soil.
7) lastly, I know a lot of folks who grow quite a bit of produce in pots, if you’re unable to have raised bed, this might be a great option for you.
I’m going to stop here, I know it seems like a lot but I hope it will give you a little more confidence as you start on this gardening adventure. Always remember that this is an experiment, it’s a lifelong learning experience and, in the end, we are at the mercy of nature.
Happy Gardening! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I’m no expert by any means but as a collective group, I’m sure we can figure out the answer.