Gardening Basics
Begin With A Plan!
Your garden will really benefit from taking the time and effort to plan it out as completely as possible. Start by thinking through all of your gardening space you have available (or want to build). This can include raised beds, containers, pots, your community garden plot, or even a tilled section of your yard. Draw out where you’ll want to place your plants, making sure you’re leaving enough room for each plant to grow. There are also plants that grow particularly well when near each other; these are called companion plants and you can find more information here. We typically just plan our garden on gridded paper, but there are apps and digital solutions out there. Next, use your local last frost date to plan out when you should start your seeds. (Our last frost here in Superior is in June, so we typically start our seeds from late March to early April.)
Read up!
There are a ton of excellent resources out there, from the most basic to expert-level tips and tricks. We recommend checking in with your local Extension office or community garden group; they have a wealth of locally-focused expertise on what grows best in your area, as well as important dates like first/last frost. If you’re looking for a great book to get started with, we’ve particularly enjoyed Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.
Start & Plant Your Seeds
We’ve got a full page of advice on starting your seeds here. We’ve designed our kits to have the right number of seeds to have a few plants of each. Remember that not every seedling needs to make it to your garden. Gift extra seedlings to friends if your green thumb works out too well! It’s better to have fewer, well-spaced plants than to overcrowd your garden. You may need to transplant your seedlings a few times before their final spot in your garden, but that’s part of the fun!
Keep Good Notes!
Your garden is like a beloved family recipe… each time you make it, it’ll be a little different, depending on what you put where, when you do certain things, and even the difference in weather. Take notes, print out pictures, and stick them in a notebook. We use this notebook and this instant photo printer that connects to our phone for ours. It makes a great way to look back on all you’ve accomplished and lets you leave advice for next year. (e.g. pull the radishes before it gets too hot outside.)