Starting a garden is very easy but the question is how large a garden you want to grow is the more difficult question.
I will break this into 3 categories for starting a garden, small, medium, and large. Within each of these, there are options that we will look at to provide you with the best way to start building a garden.
Whatever way you choose to garden to meet your needs we will help you to have fun and enjoy the experience of growing a garden.
How to start a Small Garden using Pots and Planters
Within this category, you can start with pots that can be placed on your porch, patio, or even placing pots in your flower beds to grow a garden.
To grow a garden in your pots and planters you need to decide first what kind of vegetable, herbs, or fruit plants you want to grow to know how large a pot or planter you will need to purchase.
The plants each have different requirements for them to grow and produce a crop. To grow herbs or small rooted vegetable or fruit plants you can use smaller pots and planters.
Here are some plants that can be grown in smaller pots and planters.
Strawberries
All Herbs
Lettuce
Spinach
Kale
The next decision is understanding if you will need to move the pots or planters since they can weigh very little using plastic pots or be very heavy for ceramic and cement pots or planters with many in-between like terra cotta pots.
Medium pots and planters made from plastic, terra cotta, and ceramic, can be moved as you need to and they can hold plants such as.
Eggplants
Patio Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers
Radishes
Carrots
Onions
Beets
For large pots and planters, you will most likely not want to move them since they are very heavy once potting soil is added. These can be made from many materials such as Terra cotta, cement, ceramic, and some plastic materials.
Depending on how large they are will determine what plants you add to them, and in what combination of companion planting you use.
Tomatoes
Squash
Peas
Beans
Blueberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Many Fruit trees
Companion planting a garden within your Flowerbeds
If you do not want to designate a specific area for a garden but you want to grow vegetables and fruit you can add companion plants to your existing garden that will provide you with a harvest of vegetables and fruit for you and your family.
This is one of the easiest ways to start gardening when you do not have much space and adds to your existing flower beds.
Companion planting in existing gardens not only enhances your existing flowers and plants but if they are matched correctly they can attract pollinators to your garden.
When you add herbs to an existing flower bed it will add textures and wonderful fragrances and even improve your soil for both plants.
When evaluating what to plant in your existing flower beds, you need to understand how much sunlight the area receives to get the best results.
Designating an area for Garden Beds
This will take a little more effort depending on what is currently in the area designated for a garden. You will need to remove any grass and clear the area so that you have a clean slate to work with.
Once you have the are cleared you should get your soil tested to know what your soil will need to be amended with to grow the best garden. You can either do this yourself by purchasing a soil testing kit or you can take samples of your soil to test the soil. (Home Extension Agencies or Garden Centers can assist you with where to go to get the soil tested).
If you are trying to determine the best location for your garden start by finding the area that receives the most sunlight.
Next, decide on what vegetables and fruit you want to grow to lay out the garden design on graph paper.
Building Raised Beds for your Garden Boxes
This is one of the most expensive and best-looking ways to grow a garden but is a great way to have a garden in your yard. This is also great for older people that cannot bend over or kneel down for extended periods of time in the garden since you can raise the garden up to make it easier.
This is also a great garden for people with disabilities since it can be more accessible and the same can be said for gardening in pots and planters.
You should go through the same process as you did with determining a garden bed as a raised bed in finding the area that receives the most sunlight.
The materials you use can be wood generally redwood or cedar are good choices and not treated lumber. You can also use cement or cement blocks, or metal to build the raised boxes.
Recap
All of these choices are great options to start a garden, it all comes down to how large an area you want to garden, how much time you want to commit to gardening and how much you want to grow.
I would suggest you start small and build on it year after year so that you do not get frustrated with the time commitment.
A garden is an adventure each year and no garden is perfect, you will encounter challenges each year along with many successes. You will find vegetables and fruit you love growing for you and your family.
Start a garden to see how enjoyable and satisfying it can be to grow your own food.
