Spring is here, and this is the perfect time to think about gardening. It’s a great pastime and a perfect way to ensure that you and your family have healthy and delicious vegetables to eat all summer long.
However, for some gardening can be a daunting task, especially if they have no experience doing it. Also, many people are wary of the chemicals and other products that are such a part of the gardening experience for most people. While this is understandable, you shouldn’t let these sorts of concerns prevent you from engaging in what is a very rewarding and fulfilling past time.
This article will give you a few tips on how to get the most out of gardening while still doing so in an ecologically friendly manner that is consistent with your overall environmental concern.
Compost is your best friend
This is something that is true even if you’re just tending to a lawn or to landscaping such as shrubs, but becomes doubly so when you’re tending to a garden. Creating and maintaining a compost heap in your yard will go a very long way in making sure that you have all the nutrient rich fertilizer that you’ll need to grow healthy and nutritious plants. It also is an incredibly eco-friendly way to get rid of old food and other biodegradable waste without having to resort to wasteful landfills and other methods. Other than the obvious recycling benefits, you’d be surprised at how much better plants grow with the assistance of compost in the soil.
Planning is vital to a good garden
Since you’ll be starting from scratch the planning stage will be one of the most important ways to spend your time. After starting a compost pile and getting some good fertilizer, you will want to decide exactly what it is that you’re going to plant. This will depend of course on personal preferences, and whether you want your garden to be more decorative or functional. Obviously for a decorative garden flowers will be the centerpiece, and for a functional garden you will want to concentrate on fruits and vegetables.
The good news is that you can actually have both in a garden, and most people do. Generally speaking though, if you’re combining, you will want to leave more of the soil space for the vegetables, as they are meant to help feed your family, and their root systems tend to be larger and more nutrient intensive on average.
Tending is easier than you might think
Although gardening has a reputation as a labor intensive process, and occasionally it is, that doesn’t mean that tending to your typical household garden is a back breaking endeavor. In fact, if you plant hearty vegetables and strong species of flowers, it’s likely that you can go an entire spring without putting too much effort into the garden. However, it is often the case that you get out of a garden what you put into it.
Whatever ratio of vegetables and flowers you choose, you can be sure that with a bit of effort and a surplus of planning in the early stages, soon you will have a great garden that is the pride of your entire home and will provide you with delicious food for years to come.
About the author: Sam Gerald has written many articles on gardening and organic pest control. He suggests treating a garden with products such as pre-emergent weed killer to prevent problems ahead of time.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Tobin.