Top 10 Ways To Get Your Dream Garden Ready This Year

Believe it or not, winter is ending, which means the time is ripe to get our plans in order for this year’s garden. Whether you’re dreaming of a bounty of vegetables, a balcony of colourful flowers, or some other sort of outdoor oasis, here are our top 10 get-ready-to-garden tips.

Title photo remixed from an original by Pinkyone (Shutterstock). Photos by Stacie, Pleuntje, Kate Bolin, OakleyOriginals, USDA.gov, robinsan, crabchick.

With gardening, timing is almost everything, so start as soon as you can to take advantage of the growing season up ahead.

10. Start Seeds Indoors

Starting seeds indoors gives you a leg up on the growing season and is cheaper than buying starter plants. While you’re at it, convert coffee grounds into starter pots for planting, and be gentle with your seedlings by spritzing them instead of pouring water on them. They’re just babies, after all. Protect them when you plant them outdoors with old paper towel rolls.)

9. Sharpen Your Tools

As with cooking tools, home improvement tools, and most other tools, the sharper the better. Get your pruning shears, shovels and other tools in shape before you have to use them and you’ll save time and effort in the long run. Even the lawn mower blade could use some sharpening. Bonus tip: Take care of your garden tools after each use and they will stay in good shape for years to come.

8. Try Beginner Gardening Projects

What if you want to garden but don’t know where to begin at all? Or have tried to but don’t have a naturally green thumb? These starter ideas and resources, such as container gardening, can ease you into gardening successfully for the first or fiftieth time. Bag gardens in particular are not only low-effort, they overcome soil issues and help build soil for next year. Also, if you have kids, make sure to have them pitch in too. It’s not only educational and fun, it might turn them into healthy eaters as well.

7. Get Your Soil Ready

Besides seeing your plants grow (and harvesting your vegetables, if you have a veggie garden), one of the most enjoyable aspects of gardening is buying the seeds or plantings and putting them in the soil. The manual labour of breaking up clods of soil, raking and aerating it? Not so much. But you have to get the soil ready before you plant. Gizmodo explains how to work the soil:

If last year’s bumper crop has depleted your soil’s nutrient content, you’ll need to amend it before planting again. The process of amending soil involves adding materials in order to augment or modify the soil’s physical characteristics. Sandy soils, for example, need amendments that increase its water and nutrient holding capacity, while clay soils need amendments that improve its aeration and porosity. Pick up a soil test kit from your local home improvement center to determine the plot’s pH balance. This, in addition to the type of soil you have, determines the type of amenity you’ll need. Make sure you bring a small bag of soil with you when you go to buy the kit and save yourself the return trip to buy the necessary amendments. Once you do have all the amendments you need, it’s just a matter of digging up the top 6 to 12 inches of existing soil, thoroughly mixing the materials in, and then raking them level.

It’s like one big geeky science project! Mix coffee grounds into your soil while you’re at it to deter slugs and other pests, as well as put a smile on acid-loving plants. If you’re preparing a particularly weedy area for planting, try using a piece of cardboard to get rid of the weeds en masse or these DIY weed killers to keep weeds from sprouting.

6. Make Compost To Supercharge Your Garden

Compost is the superfood for plants. You can turn food scraps, leaves, lawn clippings, and other otherwise useless “green waste” like these into nutrient-rich fertilizers and soil amendments for your plants. A compost bin powered by worms will produce compost in much less time than other kinds of the aerobic kind, but if you’re not keen on being so close to a big bin of worms, you can create a compost tea instead, blend old food scraps for instant compost, or see if your community offers free compost (and mulch). After clearing the planting area and removing weeds, add a 4-inch layer of compost to new beds and work it well into the soil along with any other nutrients.

5. Prune Shrubs and Trees, And Divide Perennials

Winter is the best time to prune your trees and shrubs, before new growth and warm weather can increase the risk of disease. Just make sure you do it properly, lest you do irreparable damage to the tree or shrub. BHG says to prune fruit trees before buds begin to break into bloom, otherwise you could get a tinier crop due to stressing the tree. It’s also a good time to divide perennials before plants have begun their spring growth.

4. Choose New Plants Wisely

Plants need to be matched to the environment that they will live in — the soil, lighting, and other climate conditions. Even the best gardeners probably couldn’t make sun-loving plants like daisies thrive in the shade. The good news is many plants aren’t too fussy. These are seven of the easiest vegetables to grow in your own yard, plants that don’t need too much water, the kinds of plants that work equally well in sunny and shady places, and the vegetables that save you the most money for your effort. You might also consider the plants that grow best together. In general, to choose the right plant for the right place, think of the amount of sunlight the location gets, the soil moisture, and your area’s hardiness zone.

3. Know When To Plant And Harvest Them

The other things you should know about your new plant friends are how long they will take to grow, how big they will grow, and, if they are vegetables, when you can finally eat them. For other kinds of plants, you might not need to worry as much. Nurseries tend to stock plants when they’re flowering, because that’s when they’re most appealing, so you can just walk in and buy what you like (and is appropriate for that spot to spruce up your outdoor space).

2. Create A Garden Layout That Works For You

The best gardens start with a detailed plan. If you’re short on space (and/or love symmetry), a square foot garden might be for you; this raised bed garden dedicates 1×1 square foot plots to specific plants and can be cost-effective. On the other hand, rounded edges could get you more planting space. We’ve also showcased several vertical and other small space gardens over the years, from the shoe organiser herb garden to the simple salad in a box.

1. Calibrate And Automate Your Garden

Finally, gardening is a fun hobby, but it’s also hard work at times. Make it a little easier on yourself with some gardening hacks. Make an automatic plant watering systems using plastic bags. If you’re container gardening, you can make EarthBox-like self-watering planters.


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