Three Simple Gardening Tips to Become an Overnight Pro

Who would’ve thought that in 2020 we’d all be gardening? According to the National Gardening Association, 1 in 3 households is now growing some of their own food.

There are numerous benefits to growing your own food.

• Besides the fact that you are growing vegetables, which are extremely healthy, you won’t be eating all those added preservatives.
• You will never need to wonder where your food came from, or who has touched it.
• Buying the plant and growing the food yourself will save you more money than buying the finished product from the store.
• It’s a great way to get fresh air and stay active for those normally inside all day.

I spoke with a seasoned, home gardening expert (my mom) and got gardening tips for the beginners out there.

Gardening Tips: Water… A LOT

The first tip stressed to me was to make sure the garden gets enough water. If you think you are watering enough, water more. And if you think you are watering too much, it’s probably the right amount. Be aware vegetables require a good amount of water, just don’t overdo it and drown the neighborhood.

How much water you need depends on several factors: the type of plant, the soil, the weather (heat and rainfall), and the size of the overall garden bed. Unfortunately, there is no secret magic number that will help you out. Figuring out the amount of water is a trial and error basis.

And the best time to water them? In the morning. If you are watering in the middle of the day, it’s usually too hot and the water will evaporate and won’t reach the roots. Watering at night may cause the garden to stay too wet overnight.

Also, don’t forget rain is nature’s way of watering for you.

Gardening Tips: Make sure the plants are spaced out enough

Why do vegetables need space? Well, all living things need space. Imagine being stuck in a small room with your sibling your whole life, it wouldn’t go well.

The roots need adequate space underground to absorb water and other nutrients. Above ground, the leaves need space to get light from the sun. If your plants are too close together, they have to “compete” for these resources and may not grow properly.

Every breed of plant needs space, though there are different spacing requirements for different plants. Usually, there will be instructions on the tags of the plants or the back of the seed packets.

The inches of space needed between plants can vary from as little as 2 inches to as many as 48 inches. I’d advocate for selecting vegetables with small space requirements such as green beans or lettuce. If you have limited space this will allow you to try out more options.

Here’s a brief spacing guide for popular vegetables (and one if you wish to learn more):

Cucumber – 12 inches

Green beans – 4 inches

Lettuce – 6-12 inches

Tomato – 18-24 inches

Gardening Tips: Easiest crops to start with

Grape tomatoes

There are many types of tomatoes you can grow. However, grape tomatoes are a good place to start. It’s easy to get them mixed up with cherry tomatoes, but the difference is that grape tomatoes are a longer, and more oval shape, while cherry tomatoes are rounder.

Grape tomatoes should be a bright red when you take them off the plant. Once cleaned, they can be eaten as a snack or cut up for a salad. They are healthy for you too, as they are a good source of fiber and vitamins A and C.

Green beans

Believe it or not, there’s more than one type of green bean plant. There are pole beans and bush beans. As the names hint at, pole beans grow fairly straight up and need a pole for guidance, compared to bush beans which grow more horizontal than vertical.

Pole beans are recommended for cooler summer climates whereas bush beans are for hotter summer climates. Both will produce beans in about two months. Bush beans are usually easier to grow while pole beans historically give you more beans.

So now that you know some gardening tips on how to grow and what to grow, it’s only a matter of time until you have a vegetable empire.