Start small
- Enthusiasm for gardening is great but can rapidly dry up when the work mounts. Start with a small flower bed, say 25 square feet, which is room for around 20 to 30 plants with perhaps three types of annuals and one or two perennials. You can always increase you plantings as your experience grows.
- Some people will want to make a detailed landscaping plan and dig a flower bed to fit that scheme.
Choose a site
- How much sun an area gets is a prime consideration. Six hours of sunlight will do for the greatest variety of plants. Stay away from underground utility lines and allow at least three feet from a building or fence.
- In hot climates it is best to have some shade from the relentless afternoon sun, so a flower bed to the east of a building or fence usually works best. This also gives some protection from the hot drying winds that usually come from the west.
- You can grow a garden even if you get 12 hours of full sunlight, but you should be more careful about which flowers you choose to grow. Pick ones that love full exposure to the sun. Your garden will also need more watering on a consistent basis.
- Choose a site with good soil, if possible. All soils can be improved, but avoid areas with shallow rocky soil, areas where water stands, or steep slopes. Stay 20 feet or more away from a large tree or five feet away from a sizable bush.
- Trees will compete with your garden for water and nutrients. A soil test will help to determine what nutrients the soil requires and will tell you the fertilizers that soil needs as well as its pH.
- You don't necessarily need a soil test to get started, but if you are serious about gardening, you may want to get a soil test from your local Department of Agriculture extension service.
Start digging
- Once you locate a site and mark out the boundaries with a water hose, remove all sod and pieces of grass or weeds that may resprout. Using a spade or garden fork, completely dig up the bed to at least eight inches deep, a foot deep is better. Remove rocks or any debris.
- Using a rake, level the bed and break up any clods. Add one or more inches of compost or manure, more if the soil is poor. If the soil is sandy, it would be a good idea to add peat moss or grass cuttings to improve the soil's water holding capacity. Add lime if the soil is too acid. Most plants like neutral to slightly acid soil.
- Soil amendments such as compost can be bought by the bag or sometimes by the truckload. Work the amendments into the top six inches of soil along with a general purpose fertilizer such as 10-20-10.
- Buy the plants or seeds then plant according to their directions. Smaller plants go in the front of the bed. Most plants are planted at the same depth they were growing. Firm the soil around them. Water thoroughly. And most of all - enjoy!
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Gardening for Beginners
