This is a common question for someone who is just beginning their journey in gardening. Many people think they need the perfect soil, the right tools, all the seeds, or even the right outfit! I often tell people all you need is your hands. Honestly gardening is a lot of sweat equity and experimenting. There are some things that can help boost your growing at the very start…

First is SUN…

Locating a sunny spot for your garden is important. At 4-6 hours of sun, you can grow a lot of leafy vegetables. With 6-8 hours, you can grow a lot of your favorite summer vegetables. This is important to know due to failure. A lot of people think they are failures because their plants didn’t produce well, not realizing that their plants were not placed in the optimal spot for their growth. It is also important to locate the best spots for your perennial crops, such as berry bushes or vines. Doing a bit of research for the plants you want and studying the sun and shade in your yard are extremely helpful to get started.

Second is SOIL…

The quickest and easiest way to start a garden here in the south is to use containers or build raised beds. Our red clay is not super conducive to growth in the first year. Now it’s not as bad as some people make it out to be. It actually does contain some nutrients and obviously holds water longer than a lot of other soils. Learning how to work with red clay is important. It’s best to cover it. Clay forms a crust when it dries out, causing water runoff. Straw or living mulches are great choices to cover. Another tip for working with clay is to be careful adding sand. If you add too much, you might as well start making bricks and turn your garden space into a new house! If you want to begin amending your red clay, the best thing to do is begin to add organic matter. Compost is a great start!!! If I had the time, and I was creating a new bed, I would do a layering method of cardboard or newspaper, compost, leaves, and mulch. If you have enough green compost (kitchen scraps), add those before the leaf layer. I would plan to do this in the fall and let it rest over the winter, beginning my planting for this new bed in the spring.

Third is WATER…

Once you have your sun and soil down, the next most important thing to start your garden is water. You can have the perfect spot full of sun or the richest, darkest soil, but without water your plants will die. There are a few ways to water…hand watering, irrigation from city water, irrigation from rainwater, and of course let nature water your garden. Hand watering is pretty straightforward…you take a pail or a hose and spray your plants down, watering individually. This takes quite a bit of time! I actually did this myself for many years because I was afraid of irrigation. Next is irrigation which seems scary at first but really isn’t super difficult. You can irrigate from a spigot, buying kits online for this is the easiest way. You can add a zone to your current irrigation. It is important to put your garden on its own zone due to watering needs. Your grass has different needs than your vegetables. Another way to water is to irrigate from a rain bucket. There are a lot of videos on how to set up these systems. I personally use a mixture of city water irrigation and rainwater. Rainwater is obviously the best for your plants due to the treatment of city water and added chemicals. *One thing to note is that irrigation is not a set it and forget it. It is still important to pay attention to the weather. If it rains for a week and you leave your irrigation on during that time, your plants are likely to get root rot and won’t be coming back from it! Understanding watering and your plants’ needs are important to having a successful garden.

Fourth is ADAPTED VARIETIES

Besides accents, there is a difference between northern plants and southern plants. Or midwestern/western plants and our southern plants. For example a popular plant everyone from the north wants to grow down here in the south is lilac. Our southern summers just aren’t conducive to northern lilac. So again, we’re back to research, research, research. A little bit of research will save you a lot of time and money. Finding the right plant for our climate is key to a healthy, productive plant. This also goes for seeds. Purchasing seeds from a local supplier versus a seed company out west is a wise decision. The seeds from a similar climate as ours will be better adapted to our summer heat and humidity. Okra is a great example of a plant adapted to our area. You can grow it in clay, give it water about once a week, and it will still grow. Plants that are adapted to our area typically show less stress through the growing season, providing less chance for disease or pests to attack. If you’re not sure where to start, you can always reach out to us or head to a locally owned nursery where they can guide you in the purchase of local varieties.

Fifth is WILLINGNESS TO FAIL

“You must fail at gardening in order to master it.” - Unknown

This is probably the most solid advice to remember when starting your garden. You have to be willing to lose a plant or two in order to experience the lessons needed to grow in the future. I have killed thousands of plants at this point in my journey. Yes, each one hurts a little, but I learned every time I lost a plant. I’ve learned about the right soil for the right plant. I’ve learned pruning. I’ve learned plant diseases. I’ve learned about pests. I’ve learned so much just from failing. I often say I am a recovering perfectionist and my garden was my therapist. I used to be so afraid to start a new plant because I didn’t want to kill it. Or I was devastated when I lost a crop after all the time and work I put into it. But I started to realize that with each loss, I could learn a lesson for the next time I attempted that plant. The quote failing isn’t option obviously didn’t come from a gardener. Failure must be an option when you begin your gardening journey.

Starting your gardening journey can be a bit intimidating with all the information given on the internet or in books or from friends. I often hear people claim they have a “black” thumb, to which I often say with a little practice we can change it to green. The best advice I can give is to start with your hands and be ready to fail in order to learn!