The First 5 Steps to Starting a Garden

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Are you thinking of starting a garden soon? There is so much to plan. Let’s start with just the first 5 steps to starting a garden. If we break down starting a garden in easy to do steps maybe it won’t seem like such a daunting task!

The first 5 steps to starting a garden

If you are thinking about starting your herb garden with seeds instead of plants, check out this Seed Starting Class first. It’s a very affordable way to learn about growing from seeds. I took the class myself from the Online Gardening School. The instructor Rick has 18 years of gardening experience! He really knows what he is talking about!

Pick a few places that could be potential for a garden.
Pick a day when you would have time to go outside every 2 hours and note if these spots are sunny, partially shaded, or completely shady. Most things growing during the spring and summer want lots of sun. Winter growing foods require less light and can be in a partially shaded area. Find a good spot yet?
Look through seed catalogs, think small and realistically. Order only what you know you would actually eat.
Read lots of books and even blog posts on gardening, if you are a beginner. Especially this one I found very different from the rest but probably most helpful as far as pests go.
Get a piece of paper and map out the garden area. Then, figure out where everything will go. Keep your records so you can remember what is what and where. Next year you will want to rotate everything, to help minimize pests. An easy way to do this is to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise each year.

I also wrote a post on 4 0 things to read before you start a garden check it out! Another thing to think about is garden signs. Here are some, I think are cute, or you could just make your own!

There is so much more to do, but these first five steps are not so bad, breaking it down into easy steps is these best way of tackling a big project.

Let Me Know What You Think

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About Kristi @HomesteadWishing

My family thinks I am the world's best cook. I currently have too many hobbies to list. My favorite being crochet. I also love growing my own food, making homemade items, and escaping to new worlds through books.

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Comments

Perry @ Stone Hill Ridge says
May 26, 2016 at 11:07 am

For step number two, I have read that it it strongly recommend doing this a couple of specific times a year. Make a shade map on Spring Solstice, Summer Solstice, and Fall Soltice at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm.

This will give you a better picture of the sun and shade patterns for your gardening area. For example you could plant cool weather plants like lettuce in an area with Spring sun, but is heavily shaded by summer.

Reply
- Homestead Wishing says
  May 26, 2016 at 1:45 pm
  
  That’s a lovely idea. I am sure that I would have to do this every couple of years or so. We are surrounded by trees. When they get taller and wider, the shady areas might grow. Thanks for the excellent add to number two on my list!
  
  Reply
Becca - The Well Prepared Mama says
January 13, 2017 at 6:54 pm

I wish I would have read this last year! It was our first year planting a garden and we didn’t plan anything except the spot. It was so disorganized in there and it wasn’t very functional. We learned our lessons though and this year will be so different!

Reply
- Kristi @HomesteadWishing says
  January 14, 2017 at 6:53 pm
  
  I tell you what, I learn new things every year.I want this year to be better also, just not sure if I can afford to up my game lol!
  
  Reply
Lee @ Dragon'sEyeView says
May 21, 2018 at 5:39 am

I’m in a new place (lots of shade) and recently heard about the mapping idea — it was called a SUN map instead of a shade map. I love the idea of doing it on the equinox and solstice!

Reply
- Kristi @HomesteadWishing says
  May 21, 2018 at 3:00 pm
  
  Oh yeah I think I heard that the almanac has information on planting by the moon phases. I’ve heard that women used to do this a long time ago and swore by it. Very interesting! If you do it let me know how it goes!
  
  Reply

The First 5 Steps to Starting a Garden