5 Tips for Starting a Garden

1. Choose Your Space. Maybe you have a large backyard, a small patio, a windowsill, a rooftop. Guess what? You can garden just about anywhere.

2. Pick something to grow. Start small, maybe just a few plants, or maybe one type of vegetable. Make sure it’s something you enjoy! I grew tomatoes for the longest time and don’t actually eat tomatoes.

3. Consult your local cooperative or extension office. This will help you choose what to grown and when you can grow it. When I first started, I got a helpful growing guide from my local extension office that had start and finish dates for just about every plant I’d want to grow.

4. Figure out your watering system. This could be as easy as a simple watering can that you bring to your site, a hose, or an intricate soaker hose system. Tip: the easier you make your garden to water, the more likely you will remember and be willing to water it.

5. Visit your seedlings/plants daily. Make it part of your routine to give daily care to your plants. If you visit them each day, even just for five minutes, you’ll be able to observe all phases of the growing cycle. You’ll remember to water or weed around your plants, you’ll get to see whether you have any garden visitors (good or bad), and you’ll have a few moments of joy each day.