Welcome, beginner gardener, this page is for you! Learn the basics of what you need to know to have a thriving garden…. Whether you’re completely new, or wisely want to get a better understanding of the foundations of gardening.
Learn how to fix a brown thumb, choose the right soil, choose fertilizer to feed your plants, or start your first garden.
Find out the easiest type of garden for beginners, or learn what you need to grow veggies in pots if you prefer. Figure out why your garden isn’t producing well, or make sure you’re not making any common watering mistakes.
You can also check out how I set up my garden to be hands-off and do the work for me!
What an exciting thing to see so many newbies jumping into vegetable gardening this spring! If you’re new, I can’t wait for you to literally taste the exciting, rewarding feeling of growing your own food. But, gardening still takes work and practice so you may find it has its challenges! With these solutions in hand, …
Does starting your own seeds seem too intimidating for a beginner gardener? Sure, germinating and caring for seedlings it is a little more challenging than some might think. But it doesn’t have to be complicated either! Read on to find out what you need to sprout or germinate seeds and grow vegetable seedlings successfully—and simply.
Perhaps you’ve noticed–2020 and 2021 have seen a huge surge of people starting their first garden! Since this site was created for the purpose of sharing newbie tips for starting a garden, I’m excited to offer the best info I can to make it easy and accessible for anyone to learn to grow vegetables. Whether …
Have you ever wandered among stacked bags of dirt at the garden store, wondering how there could possibly be that many types of dirt? If you’re wondering if you need to use special soil at all, the answer is YES. As an old gardening saying goes, “If you have a dollar and a garden, spend ten …
Demystifying Dirt: Choosing & Preparing Soil for Your Garden Read More »
“It’s so green,” I gushed excitedly, gazing out the airplane window as we flew over the Netherlands on our way to Ireland for the first time. “I didn’t expect it to look almost as green as Ireland….Is it pretty green where you live?” I asked the young German man next to me (it was September, …
Would you love to have a garden, but the thought of digging, weeding, bending, and working a plot sounds like a bit too much? A raised bed might be your perfect solution. Here are 10 reasons to give raised bed gardening a try.
Would you like a monthly email roundup of tips and previously published posts all about what your garden is facing that month? Subscribe to our new “Very Easy Veggie Garden Monthly Digest!”
So maybe you don’t have a good spot for a garden bed, or you’d just prefer to start small. But do know that container gardening has added challenges. Previous failure at growing plants in pots does not necessarily mean you are bad at gardening, or that you wouldn’t be successful with a different, more fool-proof …
I don’t think you’ll ever hear anyone use the word “easy” to describe life with twins, especially the first couple years. I suppose most of the smart people in my life figured I would take the year off from gardening. Maybe I should have. But gardening is like a breath of fresh air to me, something that turned out to be invaluable when it felt like we were barely keeping our heads above water.
I suppose it still feels that way sometimes. But suffice it to say I never seriously considered giving up my garden while my babies were young. I just had to find a way to make it work for me, instead of making me work for it.
So you’ve got a veggie plant or two (or ten). Who could blame you? That springtime planting fever is hard to resist. But now what? If you want to know how to start a garden, let me be your guide. In short, your plant will need three (maybe four) things:
This site is for everyone who has ever said, “I’d like to have a vegetable garden, but…” Whether your schedule is too busy, your thumb is too brown, or your spot is too small, my goal is to help you find simple solutions to make a garden work for you. You’ll also find my favorite recipes, …
Do all the lists of planting dates you see just leave you more confused about when to start a vegetable garden? Maybe I’ve got a unique perspective writing this post… I don’t know about you, but when I see lists on Pinterest of suggested planting dates–exact, actual dates–I shake my head… because where I come …
When to Start a Vegetable Garden: Planting Dates Read More »
For a gardener, there are few things as exciting as looking ahead to spring and planning a vegetable garden! This garden planning series will guide you in all you need to know to plan your vegetable garden. Especially for a beginner, planning in advance will help you succeed and get the most out of your …
“…I Just have a black thumb when it comes to growing things!” To be honest, I don’t often really believe this statement when I hear it from someone. Or rather, I don’t believe that it’s an unchangeable fact! Sure, I believe you’ve accidentally killed some plants. Haven’t we all? But I also believe that with …
Spring planting is often filled with hope and excitement, visions of a bountiful harvest and plans for what you will do with all of your extra garden produce. But does summer have you feeling discouraged as you wait for a harvest that is slow or nonexistent?
How do you choose a fertilizer? Did you know that different types of plants have different fertilizer needs? And that those needs can be different at different times in their life cycle? Don’t worry though, I’ll help you sort out what you need in a few steps.