Gardening for beginners this Summer.  So you want to start a garden?  This post is an easy-to-follow garden for beginners guide.  This post is perfect for someone looking to learn how to start a small garden to provide wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables for their family and maybe some leftovers for friends too!

When it comes to a small basic garden, it really isn’t all that hard to get started.  I live in the country on 160 acres and could easily have a huge garden, but I chose to have small raised beds. 

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Raised Beds

Raised Beds will be my focus on this post, but you can incorporate other techniques also.  The main reason I prefer raised beds, I don’t have the time to keep up with a large garden.  I currently have a full-time job, a 5-year-old and 16-year-old, there is not enough time for me to keep up with a large one.  Plus, I really don’t see the need for it.  I want enough vegetables and fruit to sustain my family through the summer, and have some extra to freeze or can.  Even with a small garden, you can have a good variety of plants.

Simple gardening

I want to share with you how to get started simply.  I want to give you the best advice I can, by telling you what has worked for me, and I hope that it will also work for you.

Gardening for Beginners

First, you need to decide what you want to grow, and when you want to start.  In the beginning, I did not have much luck starting seeds inside, they always ended up dying when I transplanted them.  So, I’m going to share with you what worked for me when I started out (since you are a beginner).

Which Gardening Zone am I in?

Find out which Gardening Zone you are in so you know when to plant! We are in zone 6B. Click here to find out your zone.

What to Grow in a Garden for Beginners

Find out what is easy to grow in your area.  For us, there are 5 things that I have found super easy and an easy start for gardening for beginners. I’m in zone 6B, so this may vary on hardiness for other zones. I’ve lived in 7a & 7b and had good luck with these plants too.

1.  Squash (zucchini and yellow squash)
2.  Cucumbers (English and pickling)
3.  Okra
4.  Peppers
5.  Cantaloupe
6. Pretty much all herbs.  My favorite are cilantro, dill, and parsley.  Herbs are great companion plants or container plants.

I also have had varying success with (mostly good)

1. Tomatoes
2. Watermelon
3. Bell Peppers
4. Potatoes
5. Onions
6. Eggplant
7. Carrots
8. Spinach

Where to put your garden for beginners

Raised Beds

Next, you need to decide where your garden will be. This could be the hardest step with gardening for beginners. The best place is full sun or as much sun as you can get.  You can plow directly into the ground, set up raised beds or use containers.  I’ve done all 3, but my favorite is our raised beds.  I also use containers for several things too.  There are lots of options when it comes to containers.

Container Gardening

You could upcycle all kinds of things when it comes to container gardening.  You just want to make sure it is food safe.  We’ve been using Mineral buckets for some of our plants (potatoes and herbs).  These are buckets that farmers put minerals in to feed their cows. 

Amazon and garden stores have grow buckets you can buy, and they are supposed to last for years.  With raised beds, you can build your own or buy kits.  My husband built ours.  We have 6 beds total, and they are probably 3×6 feet.  That’s an estimate, I’ve never actually measured them.

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Protecting your garden

Animals

We live in the country, and learned quickly we needed to protect our garden from rabbits and deer.  They were our biggest issues. 

My husband put a four-foot chain length fence around our garden.  We had some issues with cats for a while, so he put a hot wire around the top.  They learned pretty quickly not to climb the fence.

Weeds & Grass

Weeds are another issue.  We put sheets of weed block in each of our beds.  My husband also had some old carpet that was leftover from his office when they put new carpet in.  So, we put these in between our beds (as pathways), to keep grass and weeds from growing. 

You can use other things, such as mulch or stones.  We went with the carpet because it was free.  It’s not super pretty, but it works for what we want it to, and it doesn’t look that bad.  It certainly keeps weeds and grass out.

Our Beautiful Garden

Planting your seeds and plants

I start everything with seeds outside, except tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries.  I buy those as plants.  You will need to find out when your last chance of frost will be in your region.  You can find that out here.   Our last frost date is April 19, but I usually don’t plant any seeds or plants outside until May. 

Plan Ahead

I  plan out my seeds and where I will plant them ahead of time.  I just draw out my beds on a piece of paper and decide what plants will go where.  It is best to see what plants complement each other, but you don’t have to do that.  You can find a guide on companion planting here.  

Soil for beginners’ garden

Once you decide where you’re going to plant your seeds and plants,  you can start growing your garden.  I put topsoil in most of my beds and that’s it, the first time I gardened. Most of my plants did well. I’ve never had a lot of luck planting directly in the dirt.  We have red clay here, and I would have to add all kinds of nutrients, etc to get some things to grow.

I’ve mixed compost in with my topsoil also. It is recommended to use 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 other organic material in your raised beds.  You should check the PH of your soil if you are planting directly in the soil, you can get testers at most garden centers.  Every area of the world is different, so research what grows best in your area.  We have lots of sunlight in Oklahoma, so I have good luck with all of my vegetables because they love the sun.  If you live in an area that is cloudy and rains a lot, you may have better luck with other plants.

Tomato & Pepper Plants

I do one special thing for all of my tomato plants.  I save up banana peels, eggshells, and coffee grinds then ground them all together in the blender, and put them in the dirt before I plant my tomato plants.  Usually, I pour about half a cup of this mixture into the hole, then cover it with topsoil.

My daughter and I made this video on how to start seeds inside.  Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Some of our harvest

Seeds

I plant the majority of my seeds directly in the soil outside, usually around the first of May.  I’ve had great luck with it!  This saves the hassle of starting plants inside (but you can do this if you want).  I have started seeds inside, mostly for my youngest daughter to have an indoor project.  We bought the little garden seed starter kits, like the one below, and started some of our seeds inside.

Make Gardening Easier

If you want to make things easier, and less expensive you can easily start most seeds outside (buy your tomatoes and peppers as plants, or start them inside in March). Read the instructions on your seeds and follow them closely.  I usually plant my plants and start seeds a little closer together than the instructions say.  This is because I’m working in a smaller area and raised beds.

Keep Your Garden Small

If you are planting a variety, and only want enough for your family and maybe a little bit for canning or pickling, be conservative on the number of plants you will start.  All of your plants are going to produce multiple vegetables.  So, you may only want to plant 3-5 seeds per plant.  This will also give you room for more variety, especially if you have a small area to work with. If you are planting onions, radishes, or carrots (or any other seed that produces only one plant), plant more.

You can also plant several seeds, then wait 2 or 3 weeks and plant more seeds.  This will spread your harvest a bit on these types of plants. This works well with onions, radishes, and carrots.

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Mulch

We also mulch around our garden, we usually use straw, but you can also use wood chips or hay.  This helps keep the moisture in, and weeds out.  Once again, making your garden easy to grow

Watering

Regular watering makes a successful garden.  We have invested in an above-ground watering system and a timer, this is the exact timer we use.  You do not have to do this though, it just saves us a lot of time and makes for an easier garden.  You can use sprinklers or soaker hoses.  We water our garden every morning at 6:30 am for 20 minutes.

When to Water Your Garden

It is best to water in the morning (never water in the heat of the day), because your plants will have a chance to absorb all the moisture, and slowly dry out during the day.  We do not get much rain in the summer, so you may have to adjust how much you water according to the weather in your region. Having a timer makes this much easier!

Conclusion

Now all that’s left is to enjoy your harvest when it comes in!  I hope you found this post helpful and you begin your garden without feeling overwhelmed.  I absolutely love my garden and look forward to working on it every year.  It is a lot of work, especially starting out, but it is so worth it.  Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.  I will do my best to help you out or point you in the right direction.

Are you growing a garden this Summer?  I would love to hear your progress!