Starting a veggie patch?
Tips of beginner gardening and starting the journey of growing your own food!
Starting anything as a beginner is always daunting and is a challenge in itself. However, when starting to learn anything new I’ve found its great to start small and let yourself learn, make mistakes and gradually build your skills.
If you are just starting out or want to start a veggie patch this spring, I hope this will be helpful, encouraging and inspiring!
So here are my 5 tips for beginner gardeners!
Tip 1: Start with 3 plants that you enjoy eating.
For example, one herb and two veggies you love to cook with and grow in the season and climate region you are in. To see if when a plant can grow in a season, look at a chart such as this one below by Mr Fothergills.
(Soured from Mr Fothergills website, Seasonal Planting Guide,
Webpage: https://www.mrfothergills.com.au/blogs/all/seasonal-planting-guide?srsltid=AfmBOooGWcNmS-z2fBqOLy8EZYOEui_9bnKBGz-VB2zciCgKg8XccwGr)
Starting small and simple is a great way to get a feel for learning a new skill and its the same with gardening.
Growing each plant can be done in seperate pots, or planted all together in a little 1 x 1m veggie bed.
Tip 2: Use Good Soil
This is a vital and important part to having success in your veggie patch. I recommend using a half and half mix of high quality compost and garden soil.
Using high quality soil for your garden bed will set your plants up for success and in return be able to harvest yummy and nutrient rich veggies or herbs from.
Tip 3: Water regularly and use mulch!
Regular deep watering is vital to keeping your plants happy. When watering, ensure that it is enough water that goes deep into the soil to the rootsystem. To test if the water is going deep enough, dig into the soil and look and feel if it is damp. If it starts to get hot where you are, I recommend watering twice a day!
Mulch is a great addition to your veggie garden. It will help with keeping moisture in the soil, maintain a steady temperature and add structure to the soil. I recommend using organic sugar cane mulch in your veggie patches.
Tip 4: Learn from the great resources out there!
There are some great gardening books out there that give in depth information about growing food. Go to your local library and find some that interest you!
I also suggest watching youtube videos about gardening, permaculture, self sufficiency and growing food! There are some amazing people out there sharing great tips that can help you on your growing journey.
Also, go to your local garden centre or to any gardeners in your life and ask questions! Gardeners will be so happy to help you and share their knowledge and tips with you.
Tip 5: Enjoy the learning experience!
This is so important! Gardening is so satisfying and comes with challenging and rewarding times. It is a journey that you can make your own and be creative with as you gain more skills.
Happy gardening and thank you for reading!