A garden is such a wonderful thing to have in your own yard, if you can. When we moved into our house we decided we absolutely wanted to have a garden. We knew we had the space in our yard for it and we knew it would pay off to be able to grow our own vegetables, even if just seasonally. We had dreams of growing our own tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and more. Our yard was a blank slate, so we really were creating from nothing, but looking back I think that’s one of the best parts. We were able to decide where we wanted our garden, how big, and what to grow.
Tending to a garden is a responsibility, but well worth it (in my opinion). One of the most important aspects is to always choose plants that are meant for your specific climate and that can withstand your lifestyle. What I mean by this is: if you know you are busy and will only be able to tend to the garden (watering, pruning, etc.) twice a week, choose resilient plants that will do well with that level of water. In addition, pay close attention to the amount of sun your garden will get and choose plants that can withstand that amount. Our garden gets a lot of sun, so we have to make sure to choose vegetables and herbs that will thrive in full sun.
When we first began to plan our garden we decided that since we had no idea what we were in for, we would start small. We decided on a square space in the side of our yard that gets full sun but was out of the way. This is what we started with.
The process was so simple and we kept it even simpler by just using four wooden posts we had laying around for the outer barrier. It was a super low-commitment process for our first year gardening and I think it was a great way for us to slowly become accustomed to having a garden.
We used a rototiller and tilled the square area until it was loosened dirt. This was the most time consuming portion of prepping the area, but the rototiller simplified the process. Once the dirt was loosened we were able to choose our plants.
For our first year of gardening we kept this part very simple. We chose multiple variations of tomato plants, jalapeño plants, and green pepper plants. These are easy to grow in our climate so they were a good first choice for us.
Once the plants were in the ground we added fertilizer soil and placed it throughout the garden. The final step was to lightly water the plants to get them settled into the ground.
We saw success relatively soon after finishing planting our plants. We watered the plants in the evening regularly and picked the vegetables when they were ready to allow the plants to continue producing.
Do you have a garden? What is your favorite part? Let me know your tips to a great garden in the comments below!
