Planning your first garden can be incredibly exciting but it’s also confusing and overwhelming as well. It’s not enough to decide you want a garden and just start planting seeds. You need to put some thought into it. Realize your challenges, create long-term goals and come up with a plan to have the most successful harvest. Below are tips to help you with your planning process.

Determine Size

What size garden is most appropriate for you? This will depend on how many people are in your family, how much time you have to devote to your garden and if you’ll have any help. Don’t think that just because you’re single that you have to have a small garden though. If you have time to spare, plenty of people would be happy to take your extra vegetables off your hands.

Choose Your Products

Sure, the picture on the package of eggplant seeds look great but if no one in your family likes it but you, then you may want to rethink your selection or simply plant one row of it. Choose vegetables that will most likely get eaten in your home.

Determine Quantity

After you decide what you’re going to plant, you need to determine how much space to devote to each vegetable. You may also want to consider if you intend on freezing, canning or making soups, etc., for winter. This should play a role in your decision as well.

Evaluate Your Space

How much space do you really have for your garden? You don’t want to till more land than you need. If you have a dog, consider how much space he still requires to run around.

Positioning

Natural sunlight should always be considered in your decision. If your yard is heavily shaded, you are going to need to cut back a tree or even more it to allow your garden to receive adequate sunlight.

Group Plants Appropriately

You may find your gardening easier if you group your plants according to their growing period length. Spring crops should go near one another while perennial crops should be placed off to a side where your annual tillage won’t disturb them.

Crop Rotation

It is not a good idea to grow the same exact crop in the same location every year. Rotate them periodically for a more bountiful harvest.

Use Containers

Not all of your vegetables have to be planted in the ground. Many crops do quite well in containers. This is especially handy if you are experimenting with a new vegetable and you’re just not sure if you want to commit to providing garden space yet.

Get a Jump Start

You may be surprised to learn that a large percentage of your crops can be started indoors as early as January or February. Then, you just need to transplant them when the ground is ready to be worked.

Consider Plant Height

Depending on what crops you’re growing, you may find it helpful to remember to plant your tallest crops like corn and those that are trellised on your garden’s north side. This will eliminate the chance of them blocking the sun.

While the polite name is invasive plants, when foreign greenery is attacking your garden, there’s no time for polite words! Weeds are a common problem that everyone has to deal with from time to time. Sure, they are not causing any problems when they sprout up in the cracks of the driveway or around the garage but when they start stealing nutrients from your vegetables or flowers, they are not welcome. So, how do you get rid of them?

Identify

Understand that not all weeds are the same, nor should they all be addressed or expected to respond in the same way. There are grassy weeds and broadleaf weeds. The grassy variety pop up all over your landscaping; these include bluegrass, Dallas grass, Bermuda grass and crabgrass. Broadleaf weeds are extremely invasive and include ivy, spurge, dock, dandelion and plantain.

Landscaping Project

Starting over fresh is the most effective way to get rid of weeds because you clear the land and till the earth. This refreshed soil eliminates any root systems. Although this is not always a practical choice, it is the most effective. When you do start a new project, make sure that you properly prepare the land to help prevent future problems.

Fabrics

There are an array of landscape fabrics that are designed to protect your plants from being infiltrated by weeds. These should be used when possible with new landscaping projects. Fabrics are also ideal to place around shrubs and then cover with mulch.

Aeration

One of the primary causes of weeds is compacted soil. The first four inches block water, air and nutrients from penetrating the ground deeper. Although aeration may seem like a huge project, it really should be done occasionally to allow essential elements the opportunity to reach deeper into the ground. Understand that plantain, chickweed and crabgrass love soil that is compacted so if these are the weeds you’re seeing, aeration is your solution.

Fertilizing

Many people believe that fertilizing actually promotes weed growth but this isn’t always true. The goal is to fertilize at peak growth times. Avoid fertilizing during dormant periods or you are essentially stimulating weed growth. There are some fertilizers that even have weed killers mixed in.

Organic Mulch

Natural compost occurs when you mulch with organic products like leaves, grass clippings and food scraps. This is one of the reasons composting has become so popular. When you mulch heavily in the fall and winter, you will be surprised at how minimal your weed problem is in the spring and summer.

Soil Solarization

This involves uprooting plants, trees and even grass if you’re that ambitious and then tilling the land again. The soil gets turned, raked and moistened over and over until all traces of roots are removed. Then, a clear polyethylene sheet is laid down in the middle of summer and secured in place. The sun literally cooks the soil and destroys unsprouted seeds and remaining weeds.

Herbicides

Before you reach for chemical solutions to address your weed problem, try your luck with organic herbicides. Distilled vinegar and corn gluten are both highly effective but you need to be careful to only apply them to the weeds and not your surrounding plants.

Years ago it seemed as though only the most thrifty people were taking the time to use a rain barrel, today they are seen everywhere! Although everybody has their own reason or using them, they all offer the same great benefits. Rain barrels are quite affordable today too! You no longer have to go to your local winery and barter for a barrel. Today they are available in an array of sizes, styles and with different features in a variety of price ranges.

Save Money

You don’t have to be an environmental-enthusiast to appreciate this benefit. You don’t even need to have a garden! Rainwater can be used to water hanging flower pots, clean your car, spray your patio down or anything else you use your hose for. Why does anyone want to spend their hard-earned money on something that they can get for free?

Save Water

Believe it or not, the average person can save 1,300 gallons of water in the summer months alone by using a rain barrel. It is estimated that water usage goes up by nearly 50 percent for outdoor use during this time. People reach for their garden hose constantly without thinking about the fact that water sources are rapidly dwindling. There is so much talk about cutting back on water; why not just use collected rain rather than leach into tap water sources.

Drought

How often do your plants suffer because of drought? This seems to be a problem occurring more and more often. When this happens, there are often restrictions placed on water supplies which means you can’t run your sprinkler or water that young tree you just planted three times a day. You don’t have to be concerned that your vegetables are going to become parched when you can at least provide then with some water from your barrel.

Protect Water Sources

Many people don’t realize that rain barrels have a huge impact on streams and rivers. Rain captured and stored doesn’t have the opportunity to turn into run-off water. This reduces stream erosion and pollution that is resulted that impairs waterways. When you use water from your rain barrel, you are essentially contributing to a positive change in the big picture. One person can’t do everything but everybody can do something. The more people that start using rain barrels the bigger the beneficial impact is on water sources.

Better for Your Plants

Many people are brainwashed to believe that tap water is so pure and fresh when it’s not. Do you think your plants and flowers really need those dissolved minerals and fluoride to soften and treat water sources? Rain water is naturally softened. Sure, it picks up pollution from the atmosphere on the way down but your plants are drinking it up every time it rains anyway.

No Cold Water Shock

How cold is the water that comes out of your hose? Do you know that cold water can shock plants? Rain barrel water is warmer which is more pleasantly received by root systems.

Reduce Flooding

Rain water can destroy foundations of homes, cause flooding and really make a mess of flower beds that surround a home. Catching the run-off from your roof means less water is going to find its way to your basement.

Trendy

Hey, if none of these great benefits get you overly excited, you could buy a rain barrel because it’s the thing to do right now. You don’t want to be the only person in your neighborhood without one do you?

     There are few people who can say that they started their compost pile

and never had any problems. Contrary to what many believe,

composting is not just about tossing scraps into a bin and letting them

turn to organic matter. To create the most beneficial product for your

garden, there are  times  you are going to have to make adjustments.

Pile Doesn’t Heat Up

Until you compost yourself, you really can’t appreciate this statement but it is definitely a concern that causes a lot of frustration. If your pile isn’t heating up, it’s either not getting enough air and/or moisture, the pile is lacking in size, there isn’t enough nitrogen to feed the chemical reaction or the compost might simply be finished. There are a few different things you can try including making the pile larger, turn the pile while watering so moisture is evenly distributed, aerate the pile more often or add nitrogen. When watering, it’s not a bad idea to poke holes and water from the top if you don’t want to turn the pile every time.

Pile is too Hot

Although this problem isn’t as prevalent as the pile not getting hot enough, it’s still a concern. If your compost pile exceeds 160°F, it either is not receiving enough carbon or there’s just not enough air. This is easily remedied by mixing in some carbon materials (a little at a time) and turning the pile more often to aerate.

Rodent Problem

Did you put meat scraps in your compost pile? The number one rule of compositing is that meat scraps never get added to the pile. Not only does meat disrupt the balance, it attracts rodents. If you have an abundance of wildlife that visits your yard, an animal-proof bin isn’t a bad idea.

Items Not Decomposing

If you notice when you turn your bin that there’s still a lot of items not decomposed, it’s because there’s a low surface area. The only thing to do is remove the large items and make a point to shred or chop pieces into smaller sizes before adding.

Warm and Damp Core

If the contents of your bin are warm and damp in the center but cool and dry on the outer edges, your pile is just too small. Simply add more material and give it a little time and the problem should work itself out.

Undesirable Odor

Compost bins shouldn’t smell so unpleasant that you can’t stand to go near them. If yours has a foul odor, it’s likely not getting enough air because the contents are too compact or you’re overwatering. Address this by turning the pile more frequently to aerate and add in dry materials like leaves, corn stalks or wood chips to soak up the extra moisture. If your pile happens to smell like ammonia, this is due to excessive levels of nitrogen. Simply add carbon materials and aerate.

Bugs

Does your compost pile have slugs, flies, earwigs and white substance throughout? This is a cause for celebration! Many people assume this is a problem but insects signify a productive pile. That white stuff you’re seeing belongs to the microbial community. You don’t have to do anything to it if it’s like this however, if the flies are in abundance, you may want to bury your food a bit deeper.