Are you starring at your backyard and thinking, I’d like to start a garden this year.
Well first off, that’s awesome!
Gardening has been proven to offer many physical and mental health benefits.
But before you let your self doubt stop you from moving forward with your plans for a garden, I wanted to offer you 3 tips for the newbie gardener.
You can be successful at growing your own heirloom veggies and these 3 tips will help set you up for success.
#1 Start Small
This might sound counterintuitive to me telling you about my Seedling Sale, but truly, don’t buy all the things this year.
If this is your first or second year of gardening, keeping things small and manageable is best.
Gardening is a skill & you don’t want to become so overwhelmed by it all that come July – when you’re trying to keep up with weeds, watering, harvesting, and all your summer plans – you give up & leave your garden for the rest of the season.
I don’t want that to happen to you.
So start small.
Choose 2-3 varieties and 1-3 plants of each.
And choose varieties that you will actually eat, cook with, or use.
This way, when you come across a problem or a question, you aren’t trying to retain information for 10 different varieties (days until harvest, how to harvest, what plant disease is this, am I watering enough, what is eating this plant, etc.).
Keep it simple, friend!
#2 Know How Much Sunlight Your Garden Receives
You might be thinking, I would loooove to plan 5 tomato plants to make sauce….
Maybe you’ve already started looking into buying a canning set…
But how many hours of direct sunlight does the area where you are planning your garden receive?
I know what you’re thinking, I don’t know, as much as there is sun? (shrugs)
Use this weekend to track the hours.
Direct sunlight means there is no trees, branches, buildings, or other structures blocking the light. There is no shadow.
Typically you want to orient your garden so that it has unobstructed access to the south (that’s where the sun shines for most of the day – it rises in the east, lingers in the south, and sets in the west).
Go to your garden spot at 8am – is the sun shining on your garden?
Is there a tree that will block your sunlight when it’s branches are in full leaf?
Go out to your garden at 12pm. Where is the sun? Come June the sun will be higher in the sky than it is now, but still in the same longitude at noon.
Anything blocking it?
Go to your garden at 4pm. What’s the sun status?
If you’ve had sun shinning on your garden from 8am-4pm, then congratulations, you have at least 8 hours of sunlight and could plant varieties like tomatoes, peppers, flowers, cucumbers, and zucchini that need “full sun.”
If your garden only had sun shine for 4-6 hours, then you have partial sun. You can still grow vegetables in this garden spot, but you have to choose different varieties – you need leafy greens like lettuce, kale, chard or onions or herbs.
#3 Be Honest about Your Capacity
In Western New York, prime garden season runs from mid-late May until mid-late September.
You might run out of steam before then, TBH.
But right now, think about future you. What does their summer plans look like?
Are there multiple vacations or work trips? Lots of summer camp & family committments?
Be honest with yourself – do you think you’ll be able to water your garden every day, harvest 2-3 times a week, and pull weeds once a week?
You know your capacity, so if what I just described above sounds resonated, then please return to Tip #1 Start Small.
You can still have a garden, but as you get your bearings or navigate a wild summer ahead, maybe this year is just a chance for you to get your feet wet vs. a full on jump off the diving board.
Ready to plan your garden this season? Download my Seedling Sale Catalogue!
Schul Farmstead 