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Gardening Skills to Master

Gardening Skills You Can Master

Focus on these Simple Skills

Spring is quickly turning into summer and creating a garden is an age-old skill pursued for several reasons; not only does it provide food and flowers and help you live in a more beautiful world, it also can be peaceful or even a workout at some points. Experienced gardeners say the few simple skills below if focused on can get you off to a really productive start to your first home garden or even revamp one you already have that needs some extra care.

1. Get to know your soil. Before you plant, it’s important to know first, the kind of plants your soil will best support. If you’re living in a neighborhood try asking a neighbor or local garden shop if the soil is alkaline, acidic or neutral.  Or you can test the pH yourself with a commercial test probe you can buy. Once you know the soil’s pH content, you can visit your local gardeners or a simple online search will help you choose the food and flowering plants that will thrive best in your soil environment. This is important, wrong soil can hinder a plants health greatly.

2. Starting with Seeds or plant starting. Most seasoned gardeners say planting from seed has more advantages, the two big ones being; there are more varieties available, and it’s far more economical. I know what you’re thinking “but isn’t it more work starting from scratch?”, yes there is some truth to this in that it takes a little more time but it’s fairly easy, most have good instructions or a good gardening book can show you how to get started. 

3. Container Gardening. But what if where you live space is limited? Or your soil is less than welcoming? What can you do if these are the cases… well you’re in luck cause it’s also easy to grow vast amounts of food or flowers in containers! And they don’t have to be all expensive terra cotta pots. You can grow in plastic storage tubs, old buckets, wooden crates… you can get creative with it.

4. Cuttings and Transplants. Succulents, and a host of other plants are perfect for cutting, which you can use to expand your landscape by re-planting and/or place in a pot thats attractive, or little containers to give away as gifts for others. Investing in a gardening book will show you the best candidates for cutting and transplanting and the simple steps in order to do that.

5. Watering. Everyone knows that plants die from under-watering, but did you know they most commonly die from too much water. If your garden is outside your local rainfall will impact your watering schedule, so keep an eye on that. When you learn proper watering techniques it will make you a more successful gardener.

6. Pruning. While tree pruning should be left to professionals, you can go right ahead and prune your own roses and other small plants, its easy to removing dead or dying parts damaged by insects or weather. And doing this regularly will keeps your plants producing, happy and healthy.

7. Tool maintenance. If your goal is to save by producing garden plants and such, then it would be meaningless if you spend a fortune replacing garden tools constantly. Look for and take your time choosing good quality rust-proof tools, make sure you additionally clean them after each use and store them in a dry place. If you take the little time to do this you will have tools that last a lifetime!


Gardening doesn’t have to be a daunting task, whether you choose to go all out or just want to dip your toe you have so many resources you can tie into to help grow your skills. Most of the time all it takes is a little extra time before actually planting your first seed or buying a plant. If you follow these first initial seven steps you are well on your way to growing a lush thriving garden as well as becoming a master and someone who can help others on their plant journey!

We hope this read has been helpful in your pursuit to widen your knowledge, and we hope we can further assist you in any other realms you need!

-BHT

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