According to the Agri-Food Analytics Lab survey, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 17.4 percent started growing food at home, which is nearly one in every five Canadians. In 2020, 67 percent of new gardeners believe that the pandemic played a role in their decision to begin growing food at home.
One of the most satisfying things you can do amidst pandemic is to start a garden. It can be difficult to know where to begin if you’re new to gardening. But you can ease into gardening at your own pace if you break your project down into manageable measures. And soon, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with stunning views, delectable flavors, and vibrant blooms.
Here are the steps that can help you get started from scratch. But if you have a specific idea in mind, a garden plan will help you get started.
Choose What you Want to Plant
Are you interested in starting a vegetable garden? Or a flower garden? What you should plant in your garden will be determined by your answer. If you chose a vegetable garden, one bit of advice: put attention to the fruits, vegetables, or herbs that your family prefers. If you want flowers, decide whether you want that bloom in summer or that have a shorter bloom time.
Each one, or even a mixture of them, creates a beautiful garden, but each has its own set of upkeep requirements.
Pick the Best Gardening Location
Regardless of where you place your garden or what you intend to plant, water and sunlight are two simple requirements that your location needs for the best garden results. Almost all vegetables and many flowering plants require 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
So you’ll need to monitor your yard during the day to determine which areas get full sunlight or full shade. Also, make certain that your new garden will have easy access to water.
Prepare a Garden Bed Layout
Decide on the form and size of garden beds once you’ve decided where you want to put your garden. Rectangular or square beds are the most common layout. Plants should be arranged in a grid pattern or row within the garden beds. The intention is to reduce walkways while increasing space.
Begin with a small area and make sure each plant has enough space to grow. Although the seeds and transplants are small, full-grown plants can be very large. Note that plants have a hard time surviving when they are overcrowded.
Invest in Basic & Right Gardening Equipment
Gardening becomes a pleasure rather than a hassle with the right equipment. You wouldn’t cut raw carrots with a steak knife, and you shouldn’t work in the garden with rusty or flimsy tools. The following is a list of standard gardening tools:• Dirt rake• Garden hoe• Scuffle hoe• Leaf rake• Garden shovel• Garden scissors
Test and Prepare your Soil
Before you begin planting, you must first learn about your garden soil. What is the pH of your soil? Is it acidic, alkaline, or neutral? Are you dealing with sand, mud, silt, rocks, or a combination of the four? Any of these characteristics can be deduced simply by looking at the soil. Others can require at-home or professional laboratory tests.
Most plants grow in the 6.0 to 7.0 (slightly acidic to neutral) pH range, so a pH of 6.5 is nearly right for most home gardens.
Start Planting with Care
Basic planting instructions can be found on seed packets and transplant containers. Be sure to read the seed packet for information about depth, planting time, and spacing. Buying young plants, also known as set plants or transplants, is a simpler way to get your garden started. Here are the basic guides when start planting.
For seed packets, unless otherwise specified on the package, plant seeds 3 times as deep as the diameter of the seed. Some seeds need to be exposed to light in order to germinate.
For transplants, the majority of transplants are planted at the same depth as when they were in the pot.
Take Care of your Lawn
Unlike conventional overhead sprinklers that must be moved constantly, you can use innovative gardening products like the Garden Grid™ garden watering system. It provides a modern, simple way of watering plants at ground level, with a drip or stream of irrigation.
The frequency at which you should water is determined by your soil, humidity, and rainfall, but once a week is a good place to start.
Even before the pandemic, gardening was already touted as a way to maintain our mental wellness. The lockdowns gave people a chance to fully embrace this hobby and you’d do well to continue honing your gardening skills even as the world starts to return to normal.
