Best Random Beginner Gardening Tips For New Gardeners

This is the gardening post I wish I had when I first started my vegetable garden! If you’re a beginner gardener like I was, you are likely getting overwhelmed with all the conflicting information out there. Here, I am sharing my best (and random) beginner gardening tips for new gardeners! I’m covering all the things that I wondered about when I first started gardening, and I’m keeping it simple! 

>>You may also enjoy: How To Raise Backyard Chickens – A Beginner’s Guide

Know Your Growing Season

The first of these beginner gardening tips is all about your growing season. Knowing your growing season is the most important thing to know when you start gardening. Depending on where you live in the world, your growing season will look very different than others. If you live in a warm and tropical environment, your growing season will be very long – maybe even all year! But if you live in a cooler northern climate like I do, your growing season will be much shorter. 

Along with your growing season, knowing your hardiness zone gives you valuable information like your first and last frost dates. There are lots of online tools to look up the hardiness zone of your area. Simply type “plant hardiness zone”, along with your location into google, and it will pull up exactly what you need! 

It’s important to know your first and last frost dates because not all plants can handle cooler weather, and not all plants can handle extreme heat. Knowing when you can plant certain things gives you more control over your garden, and ultimately a better harvest!

Choosing What To Grow

This is just as important as knowing your growing season! Some plants can grow almost anywhere, while others need specific climates in order to thrive. Trying to grow fruits and vegetables that don’t grow well in your area, most often results in failed crops. And that usually makes you, as the gardener, feel like a failure as well.

But you’re not a failure! It’s just really hard to grow things like oranges when you live in cold, northern climates that only get about 2-3 hot months per year! So rather than fight nature, work with it and choose to grow what grows well where you live. 

How do you know what will grow well for you? Well, you can do a quick research online about what plants are native to your area and which ones will do well in your climate. You can also simply read the back of the seed packet! Each seed packet has almost everything you need to know about growing that plant written right on the back. Seed packets will tell you things like:

• the type of soil that is best suited to that plant
• how far apart to plant each seed
• what type of organic matter to add to the soil
• which plant diseases/garden pests it is most susceptible to
• companion planting ideas (which plants will grow well alongside it – although don’t get caught up in this, as it’s not an exact science!)
• how many days until plant maturity (meaning when it will be ready to harvest)

Grow What You Eat

Out of all the beginner gardening tips I’m giving you, this is probably one of the best tips on the list – grow what you enjoy eating! 

I know it can be tempting to grow every kind of kale, bean, tomato, and pepper that you possibly can! It’s exciting to see all sorts of different things pop up out of your garden soil as proof of all your hard work! However, if you’re spending all this time growing stuff you don’t eat, or maybe even like (such as kale for us), then you’re wasting your time and efforts. 

One beautiful thing about the garden is that you can customize it to be your own unique space! I know there are tons of garden ideas out there, but just make sure you are spending your time growing things you and your family already love and consume on a regular basis. Sure, add a plant here and there that is new and exciting to you! But try and grow mostly stuff you know you will enjoy eating. This saves a lot of time and money, and really is one of the best beginner gardening tips I can give you!

Garden Beds

Raised beds and in ground garden beds are both good options, and they both work well! But knowing which is right for you depends on a few things:

• Mobility – Can you physically get down on the ground and work an in ground garden bed, or do you need something higher? 
• Soil type – If your soil is really rocky then gardening in a raised bed may be best, as you can bring in soil that is easier to work with. If you have really good soil, in ground beds are a great option.
• Space – If you have a small garden and want to maximize on space, a raised bed might work best and you can do square foot gardening. On the other hand, if you have a large garden space and aren’t sure how you want it laid out yet, in ground beds are great because you can easily change up the design down the road. 
• Budget – Raised beds definitely cost more, because you need to build or buy the beds and then purchase the soil to go inside of them. If you’re on a tighter budget or simply don’t want to spend much money, in ground garden beds utilize what’s already there and are much more affordable. 
• Planters – Even though these technically aren’t garden beds, you can grow a LOT of food in planter pots! They are great for areas like balconies, backyards, and even scattered throughout a larger garden. 

One of the other little beginner gardening tips I’ll give you when it comes to choosing your garden beds, is that it doesn’t always have to be one or the other! Many gardeners, including myself use both methods in different areas of the garden. If you have a really wet area that tends to flood easily when it rains (like I do), then putting a few raised beds or planters there is a great option, while other areas can thrive with in ground beds. So don’t think it HAS to be one or the other – just know the pros and cons of both and choose what’s right for you and the specific area of your property. 

Use A Garden Planner

Out of all the beginner gardening tips I’m mentioning, this one is the easiest! Find a good garden planner and use it to track what you plant, where you plant it, and when you plant/harvest it. Keeping a record of your planting each year becomes your most valuable resource, because the information you write down is specific to where YOU are! The internet is great and will give you lots of advice, but the information you collect each gardening season about your soil, your zone, and your successes will always be the most accurate. 

Analyze Your Outdoor Space

After you know your hardiness zone, start analyzing your outdoor space. Most properties have what are called “microclimates”, which is where you will have various different growing climates all around your property. 

The great outdoors is beautiful and diverse, which means that some areas are shadier than others, while some areas receive full sun, partial sun, etc. Spend some time analyzing the different zones or climates in your own space to see how you can use these areas to the fullest. 

It can save you a lot of work by planting the leafy greens that do well in the cooler areas, in a shadier microclimate. And if you are planting sun-loving plants like tomato plants, choosing a sunny spot that gets full sun every day will result in healthier plants and a more successful garden!

Seed Starting

For some plants, in order to maximize plant growth you should start them from seed indoors and then transplant the young plants into the garden. However, not all plants require indoor seed starting, and some even do better without it! If you’re unsure which ones you should start inside, remember to read the back of the seed packet! It will tell you whether or not it should be started indoors, or direct seeded into your garden. 

When you are starting seeds indoors there are tons of different seed starting options available to you such as seed trays and potting soil mixes. It’s a bit overwhelming when you’re first starting out! I want to make this easy for you, so here are a few beginner gardening tips for making seed starting easy!

Planting

• Don’t use an actual “Seed Starting” soil mix. These mixtures only provide nutrients for 2-3 weeks, and you’re going to have to pot up with different soil too soon after your seedling sprouts. This can cause extra stress on your baby seedlings and can effect their growth. Choose a good organic vegetable potting soil and use that right from the start. You will still need to pot up your seedlings when they get too big for the little seed trays, but they will be older and more established at that point which means they will handle it better. 
• You don’t need fancy growing containers or plant pots for your seedlings! I start my seeds in seed trays that are reusable year after year, and then pot up into plastic solo cups! Just drill a hole on the bottom of your cups for water drainage, and these will last you for years and years! Plus, they’re a fraction of the cost of buying all different sizes of plant pots. 
• Before you plant your seeds, mix some earthworm castings into your potting soil. This is going to boost your soil health, promote plant growth and healthy root structure. Earthworm castings can be purchased in large bags online or at most local garden shops, and they aren’t very expensive. This takes little effort, but yields big results!

Growing

• Use grow lights if you don’t have a sunny spot to keep your seedlings. Little seedlings need as much sun as possible, and this will ensure they get the proper UV light they need to grow well! 
• Bottom water your seedlings if possible, as this helps draw the roots down to the water which creates longer, healthier root systems. You can do this by placing your cups or pots in a plant tray, and pouring an inch or so of water into the tray. The water will be absorbed up into the roots through the drainage holes on the bottoms of your cups, and will water the roots from the bottom up. 
• If you see your seedlings start to lean towards their light source, just rotate them around a bit. Plants will naturally lean toward the sun, and if your seedlings stay in one spot and lean too much, they become “leggy” which can lead to a weaker stem. Here is a great article on what to do if you have leggy seedlings.

Transplanting

A week or two before you plan on transplanting your seedlings into your garden, you need to harden them off first. This means getting them used to being outside before permanently planting them in the garden. This is not hard to do, it gives the best results, and it just takes a bit of time and patience. Here are the steps:

• For the first day of hardening off, place your seedlings outside for about an hour and then bring them back in.
• Next day, put them outside again but for 2-3 hours and then bring them back in. 
• Each day you will increase their outside time until they are outside all day and night for a few days in a row. Once they have been outside that long, they are ready to transplant!

Organic Pest Control

Dealing with pests in the garden is inevitable, but not all pests are bad, and they all serve a purpose in the ecosystem of your garden. However, there are times when you need to deal with them if they are destroying your plants.

I believe it’s important to stay away from harsh chemical insecticides for a few reasons – how they affect the ecosystem, and your own health. I know that there are lots of beginner gardening tips that tell you to just grab what’s at the store and kill every bug in sight! Chemical insecticides will get rid of the bugs eating your plants, BUT they will also kill off many other beneficial insects like bees, spiders, and ladybugs. They are also extremely toxic and pose a threat to your own health. Doing things organically can be a bit more work, but it’s so much healthier for you and your garden!

Some great organic pest control options are things like coffee grounds, diatomaceous earth, and essential oils. I use diatomaceous earth to help with aphids, slugs, or any soft bodied insect that is threatening to take over my plants. Sprinkle it on your plants or even just around the base, but be sure to reapply after it rains. 

Peppermint essential oil diluted in water is also a great way to help with bugs because they don’t like the peppermint smell. I dilute some oil in a spray bottle and spritz it over my plants and the surrounding soil. I’ve had really great results with this when I’ve had ant invasions in my garden!

Basic Tools For The Garden

Much like anything, you can get as advanced and fancy as you want with your gardening tools! But when you’re just starting out, the basic tools you need are easy to find and can be quite affordable. It’s important though to make sure you do have what you need, because having the right tools for the job makes a huge difference! Here is a list of the things you will want to make sure you have on hand to get started:

• Hand tools such as a weeder, trowel, transplanter, and clutivator
• Long handled flat rake
• Long handled garden hoe
• Garden shovel
• Garden gloves
• Watering can
• Hand held pruners
• Garden twine

Mulching

There are so many opinions when it comes to what mulch to use in your garden, but one thing is true – mulching IS a good idea! Not only can it improve your weed problem, but depending on the mulch you choose it can also help feed and nourish your soil. 

Wood chips make a great mulch because they break down over time and turn into amazing topsoil for your garden! Other materials you can mulch with are leaves, hay, straw, even grass clippings. My advice is to use whatever is easily accessible to you so that you don’t have to spend a bunch of extra money. 

Rake up your leaves in the fall and spread them over your beds, or collect the grass clippings when you mow. I contact local tree removal companies that run trees through a wood chipper and ask if they would offload their woodchips in my driveway! If you are on their route, they will likely give you these wood chips for free because it saves them having to haul them to their drop off point. Be resourceful and don’t stress over which mulch you use – just mulch! 

Furnish Your Garden

Maybe this sounds weird to you, but hear me out! The best garden is the one that the gardener spends time in! Therefore, make your garden a place that you WANT to hang out in! Set up some garden furniture like a picnic table, or a little patio table and chair set. Create a cute seating area that invites you in and encourages you to spend time with your garden. 

Being in the garden is a very spiritual thing for me. I feel so close to my Creator when I’m walking through His beautiful bounty. It never ceases to amaze me how plants actually grow! Sure, I put in a lot of hard work! But all of that work would be in vain if it weren’t for the DNA God puts into each and every seed. So for me, bringing my cup of coffee out into the garden, walking around and sitting down to breathe in essence of God in my plants is something I cherish deeply. 

Whether that’s the case for you or not, creating a space for you to just “be” in your garden will foster a love for gardening you never knew existed. It’s not all about the work….you need to take the time to enjoy it as well!

Just Plant!

The last of my beginner gardening tips for new gardeners like yourself, is to just get planting! It’s so easy to overthink things and yes, you will make mistakes and have some failures along the way. But you will learn so much from those moments! The beautiful thing about plants is that they WANT to grow! That seed wants to germinate and grow into a plant that produces delicious food. It just needs YOU to give it the chance. 

So get out there, get some seeds planted and enjoy the gardening journey. It has changed my life for the better, and I know it will change yours too! 

Blessings!

~Maryann