Simple Tips for Gardening

Gardening is not difficult and it doesn’t have to be time consuming either. There are three basics – planting the seed, nourishing the soil, and watering.

Buy your seeds early in the season. You can do it online or from a garden supply store. Check out my sample planting guide on the Grow and Share Facebook Group. Find it here. Choose several plants to try this year. Starting seeds indoors is not difficult. I use a Hoffman seed starter mix and keep the soil constantly moist. You can place the seeds in a south window or buy a grow light. Let them grow a couple weeks and then plant them out in your garden.

Enrich your soil at least yearly by adding some compost or manure. You buy it at the garden supply store or make your own. Our chickens and goats provide us with bedding straw which is loaded with nutrients needed by plants. An easy way to enrich your soil is to add mulch beside your plants. This also keeps out weeds.

Finally, plan ahead for a way to water your garden if it becomes necessary. Sprinklers are easy and handy. Last year I bought enough hoses to hook up two sprinklers in my garden, so watering was as easy as turning on the faucet.

I wrote about gardening in my memoir, Searching for the Sacred, My Life on a Homestead. You can buy it here.