July 23, 2021
I’m not a seasoned gardener, by any means. I think I’d find myself somewhere in between beginner and intermediate. But the best thing about gardening? You only need to know the basics to start growing.
My first year gardening, I started with sunflowers, zucchini, snap peas, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes in a (probably too) small raised bed. Here are the things that I was actually able to harvest: peas, zucchini, and carrots.
For this year, I started with sunflowers, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and jalapenos. I had some disease take out a few plants but so far I’ve been able to harvest a little bit of the tomatoes, cucumbers, and jalapenos, with a lot a bit of zucchini.
I’m not here to tell you how to garden or what to garden. I’m only telling you to start.
Here’s what I use to get started. Nothing gets me more motivated that having aesthetically pleasing supplies. Maybe you’re the same?
Seeds – Honestly I haven’t noticed a difference between the seeds I bought from Walmart vs. our local Natural Food Store. So buy your seeds wherever. Make sure to read the sun, water, and spacing specifications on the back. This way you can make sure to set yourself up for the most success! You will have other things to worry about, you don’t want to be guessing if you put them too far apart or too close or if their spot is too shaded or too sunny.
Seed Storage Box – This was my first year using this and I’m never turning back. In the past I’ve lost track of seeds, the packets have gotten wet, etc. This doesn’t happen with the photo storage box. You can keep seeds fresher this way, making sure you don’t waste any.
Label Maker – I’m confident you’ll find a use for this outside of your garden. If I could marry my label maker, I would. Sorry, Lucas. It’s one of my favorite things to have around the house. Label your photo (seed) boxes. Think ahead to what kind of things you’ll want to grow in the future or leave some boxes blank. I put all similar seeds in one box. For example, all tomato seeds, no matter the type, go in one box. Then I put them in ABC order for easy access.
Garden Note Cards – When did I plant? When did I start to harden off? When did I transfer to the ground? When was my first harvest? One of the best parts about gardening is taking what you learned from the year before and using it to be even more successful the following year. I take notes on my seeds so I can go back and reference if I need to troubleshoot, either this season or next.
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