Gardening for Beginners: Getting Started

If you’ve been reading along, you probably know that my cousin bought a house last year and we’ve been working on renovating and finally got to move in this winter! One of the things I was most excited about was finally having a backyard space! After living in an upstairs apartment with no outdoor space for five years, it was about time! One of my goals I’ve had for years was to start a garden once I had a patch of yard to call my own. So this year I’ve decided to attempt to learn how to garden! I don’t have a green thumb at all but my Aunt and Uncle have the most incredible gardens at their house and they said they would be willing to help me start my own! So I’ve decided to share the journey on here – partly because I need the accountability so I actually go through with it (ha!) and partly because I’m so excited about it and am hoping someone else might want to jump in with me and start your own! Today I’m just taking you through the beginning steps that I’ve taken to get things started!Here’s a run down of what I’m growing this year:
Carrots, garlic, sweet potatoes, rhubarb, asparagus, cucumbers, jalapeño, brussels sprouts, kale, greens mix, thyme, cilantro, rosemary, lavender, and basil.

Some of the regulars (tomatoes, onions, etc) are missing because eww or I just wouldn’t use them enough for it to be worth it. But I’ll share some tips for all of the veggies and herbs that I’m trying out this year.

What to buy:
-Potting Soil
-Seed Starter Kit
-5″ Plastic Pots
-Seeds

Getting started:
-Set up a space where you won’t mind soil getting everywhere.
-Take your bag of potting soil and set aside a few handfuls of dry soil.
-Leave the rest of the soil in the bag and mix water directly into bag until the soil is about the texture of pie crust – not too wet! When you squeeze it, it should stay together but you should still be able crumble it apart easily. I started with my seed starter kit – it had five little trays inside with 10 holes per tray. I assigned one vegetable per tray so that if one starts growing quicker than the others, I can remove it and plant it as needed. I used this for the kale, mesclun greens mix, cucumbers, jalapeño, and brussels sprouts.
-Fill each hole with lightly packed soil up to the brim of the tray.
-Create a small hole for the seed (make sure you are making them the depth noted on each individual seed pack.)
-Place two seeds in each hole.
-Cover with a thin layer of the dry soil.
-Label each tray so you remember what is planted inside – I used popsicle sticks.
-Cover tray with a plastic cover (mine came with one) and place in a warm place.
*-Once they start sprouting, they must be in a warm, sunny place.

For my herbs (thyme, cilantro, rosemary, lavender, basil), I used 5″ plastic pots.
-Fill each pot mostly full with lightly packed soil.
-Lightly scatter seeds across the top of the soil.
-Cover with a thin layer of dry soil.
-Label each pot.
-Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place.
*-Once they start sprouting, they must be in a warm, sunny place.

For the sweet potatoes
-I purchased organic sweet potatoes from the store
-Fill glass mostly with water and place one end of the sweet potato inside.
-You can use toothpicks in the sides to help hold it up in the glass.
-Wait until it starts to sprout.

On my TO BUY list for the next step are:
-Carrot seeds (these will go directly into the garden)
-Rhubarb plant
-Asparagus plant
-Garlic

Are you still with me? Have you done any gardening? Planning on trying this year?

xo. Caitlin