My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view.
~ H. Fred Ale
Since I started my garden the third week of May, I was sure that everything would die. Every flower or plant that I’ve tried to grow in the past has always bit the dust early on. I heard all kinds of advice imaginable and I started to think if I didn’t follow everything, my garden would be a sure failure.
But what I’ve learned over the past 6 weeks is that the process is unique for every gardener and the best tips and tricks are those learned from personal trial and error. There is no better teacher than experience and the lessons that I’ve learned will stay with me always!
Here are some lessons I’ve learned over the past 6 weeks…
1. Plants aren’t always better than seeds.
Case in point- my pea plants! The pea plants that I started from seed have grown three times the size as compared to the plants I bought in the store. Next season, I will plant more seeds now that I have more gardening confidence.
Pea plant planted from seed…huge!
2. Greens are great for beginners!
Next season, I will likely plant more varieties of greens as I’ve seen how easy they are to grow. Very low maintenance! Umm, except for that spinach failure…
3. Keep your garden within arm’s reach.
This year, I decided to put my potted tomato plants on the opposite side of the house because that’s where the most sunlight is, but honestly it’s a huge pain in the butt to water them so far away. I might move them to the other side of the house and just make sure they are in direct sunlight! When your garden is in arm’s reach, you are much more likely to water them on a regular basis. Try to keep everything as close as you can.
4. Raised garden beds are amazing!
We used this raised bed tutorial and I’m so glad we spent the extra time, money, and effort to build raised beds. Raised bed gardening is beneficial for several reasons, including better drainage, more aeration in the soil, less bending over, more control over the soil, closer plant spacing, and an earlier start to the season and later end (due to the raised bed being warmer than the ground).
5. Don’t be afraid to crowd a few plants
I followed plant spacing guidelines to a tee when I planted everything (I even measured with a ruler!!), but now that I see the growth, I know I could have spaced things closer together and still had success. Next season, I won’t be so afraid of a little crowding here and there! Also, with a raised bed, you can plant closer.
6. Chicken wire is great for keeping small animals out, but annoying when gardening.
We haven’t had any major issues with small animals eating our plants thanks to the chicken wire. However, occasionally I will see a bunny eating my KALE through the chicken wire! The bunnies are too cute to get mad at…and can you blame him? That’s good kale! I laugh when I see a leaf nibbled on next to the wire, but again, it has only happened a couple times.
With that being said, the chicken wire is really annoying when it comes to gardening because it’s always in the way. Unhooking it eats up time, so I usually just bend it down when I’m weeding and picking.
7. Before picking herbs, give them a rinse with the hose.
This way, you won’t have to fuss with washing them once you bring them inside!
8. There are no mistakes in gardening, only learning experiences!
The best part about gardening is that you are in the trenches learning every single day. There is no better teacher than experience! I’ve learned much more by actually doing it, than from reading a book. I will never forget about my bolted spinach and if I plant it again, I will try another variety more resistant to bolting and I will plant it earlier in the season!
9. When picking kale and lettuce leaves, pick the outer leaves and leave the inner ones
Seems logical, but I had to Google this before I did it!
10. Plant only the produce that you LOVE to eat.
Only plant produce that you get excited about. Kale is one of my favourite vegetables, so I planted the most of it- 20 plants. I’m not worried about having too much because I can always freeze it and enjoy it all winter long!
11. Nothing is better than tasting fresh peas.
Sweetest peas ever.
12. Seeing a bell pepper sprout is like Christmas morning :)
Happiest moment of gardening to date!
More progress pictures…
The tomatoes have surfaced :)
The tomato plants didn’t want to wrap around the pole and one of the plants actually fell over!! I don’t know if it was from another animal or from the wind, but I loosely wrapped a twist tie around the upper stem to support them. Seems fine now. :)
Peppers are growing!
This is our banana pepper plant. Long and slender. :)
Cucumbers! Which have little pricklies on them…..cuteness.
Our two cucumber plants have grown the most out of any of the plants in the garden.
Here they are May 28, 2011:
July 7, 2011:
BEETS! Grown from seeds (which I’m especially proud of)
Carrots sprouting ever so slowly, also grown from seeds. :) And a few weeds to pull out!
The peas love to hook onto things for support.
Another pea plant which was planted from seed is doing well. It managed to hook around a stick for support.
I laughed when I saw that the plant has grabbed onto this long piece of grass (below) and strangled it!
I also read that I should put string across the pea plants horizontally so they can spread out more…I’m hoping to do that this weekend.
And the best lesson of all?
13. Mother Nature knows best!
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that nature is pretty darn good at working things out for itself! While it’s important to take care of a garden, it’s equally important not to smother the plants. Like a mother sending her child off to their first day of school, sometimes you just have to let them go grow. :)
Initially, I was watering too much and the plants began to yellow and die. Once I backed off a bit and let it do its thing, the plants just took off with growth!
Weather means more when you have a garden. There’s nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox
Wow, GARDEN ENVY. And I really hate gardening. :) But I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as adorable as that pea plant!! It was funny, at first I thought you wrote “Before picking herbs, give them a rinse of hope”…ha! :)
I envy your garden SO much! It’s beautiful. I want fresh peppers and cucumbers! One of my biggest goals is to have a garden like that one day. If I ever do, I’ll probably backtrack through some of your posts for tips, because your greens look amazing. :)
This is my first year having a garden too and I love it! It’s so fun seeing the progress… next year I think I will definately expand it now that I know what I’m doing a little more! Do you think you will expand yours?
I love veggie gardens! Yours looks awesome! My peas were attacked by some sort of pest, which makes me sad since they are my favorite. Your cucumbers look great mine are so small I can barely see them! And not tomatoes for me yet. I will keep my fingers crossed for now :)
congrats on the success this season! i’m not struggling with bunnies, but this year i’ve been catching a big lovely robin nibbling at my beet & radish greens! haha, oh well, at least i’ve always got the great big squash plant growing out of our compost heap! can’t wait to see if it will sprout zucchini or butternut or pumpkins!
Awesome lessons! I’m not quite as scared to plant my first garden next year now :)
Your garden looks great! Aren’t home grown peas the best? I also started mine from seeds…just kind of plopped them in the ground with a kiss and a prayer…and now we have SO MANY! I finally got to pick them last night. I sauteed ours with olive oil, salt and pepper and they were amazing!
I see bunnies around our chicken wire, too. And they’re so cute I don’t really care if they get some of my carrots :)
I hope you are so proud of yourself for diving into so many challenges this summer. GF baking AND gardening!
The garden is absolutely lovely! Must be really inspiring to see the plants growing!
Do you drink coffee at all? The used grounds are fantastic in your garden. (I come from farmers)
GREAT overview and tutorial! This was my first summer gardening (deck garden) Believe it or not, my biggest fail has been herbs. UGH. My dill and cilantro bolted, without me knowing what that even meant! (the thyme, basil and parsley have fared well, though) Kale is super easy, super good and thank goodness because kale is my heart! My red romaine lettuce started strong and I’ve had some amazing salads. I went on vacation this week and returned to bolted lettuce. Not sure, but I think my lettuce is over for the the summer :( My peppers are popping out and my cherry tomato plant brings more joy than I could ever imagine! So, yes, here, too. Hits and misses. And I’ll do it again next summer ;)
One thing to keep in mind with the spacing guidelines is that more than anything, they’re there to make sure that there’s enough space underground for the roots so they can adequately spread out and pick up enough nutrients to make our veggies even healthier.
Great garden!
that makes sense, thanks!!
I planted my radish seeds too close together and now they don’t have enough room to grow big and round, some are long and skinny because they are crowded. The seeds were just so small, I couldn’t see spacing them out so much, but it matters! Your garden looks beautiful!
I LOVE your garden beds. The wood + soil + green is just gorgeous! I can’t wait to grow veggies of my own. Hopefully I’ll have a green thumb like my mom…and like you! Good job!
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Great work, Angela! I can’t wait to have a house with a yard one day so I can try my hand at a garden like this.
Well done Ange!!! You’ve done such a great job and I think everything looks fantastic, especially the kale and that baby green pepper!! I’d say you’ve definitely got a green thumb now!
Lookin’ good! We are doing our first veggie garden this year too and I agree that it is like Christmas when those first plants start to grow :)
Love this :) Did you plant your greens from seed or were they small plants? I can’t remember… I tried starting mine from seed and I think they got overcrowded… I didn’t have the heart to thin them out when I probably should have so I may just got with plants next year. Other than that, I totally agree with you on everything, especially the sweet pea part! (Pea shoots are also just about the tastiest thing ever, so if you have any leftover peas to plant, just let them got a couple inches and eat them, they’re amazing!)
Great post, especially the tip about seeds vs. plants. My fiance and I are house hunting right now and at each one, I always imagine where I’m going to put my raised beds!
I would definitely be the one to choose plants over seeds because I would assume that they’ve already started growing and all I have to do is keep them alive! I guess that’s not always true. I’m learning so much!!
Great advice. I can’t wait for the day till I have the room to make my own garden. I am a little nervous because I feel I would not be very good at it. But I have learned so much for your experience so thank you!