Do you know how to make a garden? Well, these days most adults immediately response “Of course I know how to make a garden!” Yes, but do you know how to make a garden that actually grows the fruits, veggies, and flowering plants that you want? And, a garden that grows them in a healthy way?
Let’s look at some of the keys to how to make a garden successfully.
- Soil is all. Your have to have well-turned soil that is rich in nutrients and has the correct pH balance for what you plan on growing. Then you need to keep it well-watered,but also well-drained. You will have to fertilize it and provide it with compost or rich manure. Get your soil tested professionally or by using a home kit before you plant anything. You need to know in advance if you have to balance it out for more or less alkalinity or acidity.
- Buying cheap plants is fine–if you know how to make a garden. If you don’t know how to make a garden, the most expensive plants will fail.
- Use organic methods to control pests and plant diseases. You can use heavily diluted bleach (diluted by water) as a “pesticide” spray. You can have Lady Bugs and other natural predators of aphids and such things in your garden. Spray “green” herbicides on weeds. Use these and other organic gardening methods.
- Make your garden in 4×4 raised beds (four feet, that is). This gives you much more surface area in a more limited space in which to work. It keeps the soil richer.
- If you don’t have a lot of space for gardening, mix things together and maximize what space you do have. Why not use red cabbage for an edging, marigolds to keep out pests, and then have some herbs as your main “food crop”? You can also try container gardening if you lack acreage.
- Water, water everywhere. The key to successful watering, besides knowing in advance what amount of water each one of your plants requires, is doing it consistently but never overdoing it. Too much water causes root-rot a and breeds fungi, while not enough obviously causes plants to wither.
- Make a garden that is colorful and the form of which gives pleasure to the eye.
- Use the seasons to make different gardens with appropriate plants, colors, and layouts. Do a little research to achieve this.
Now you’ve got the basics of how to make a garden.
