The best tips to grow a home garden

You saw the word home garden in the headline and it took you less than five seconds to read this first line. You love gardening just like us. Considering the time, effort and love you put into caring for your plants at home, we can surely understand your plight when you see them wither. But worry not as we help you plan, prepare and plant a successful plot. 

Start small

 
If you’re taking your first steps into the world of gardening, it’s always best to start small as there’s very little margin for error. This way, you’ll get an idea if you’re good at it and what you like and dislike about it. A decent size to begin with is a spot that’s 6x6 feet. And since variety is the spice of life, choose at least five different vegetables and plant a few of each. 

Invest in good soil

 
Your plants won’t be able to grow if the soil isn’t nourishing enough. The ideal mix for this is to have 60% of top soil, 30% compost and 10% aged manure (always go organic, it’s the very best). Also, the right texture is important. Too sand or too much silt, clay or stickiness (or too much of anything) is a bad thing after all. You just need to hit the sweet spot and get a combination of this in the right proportion. 

Grow what you like to eat

 
The best part about growing your own garden is that you will get the chance to eat those veggies and fruits too. So why not plant stuff that you love to munch. It’s also important to not make the rookie mistake and go all out by doing a lot. Add to that, keep in mind that plants grow well in pairs so choose the right combination. Take for example tomato and basil, onion and lettuce. Many beginners make the mistake of planting too much. Vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and squash keep providing throughout the season, so you may not need many plants to serve your needs. Other vegetables, such as carrots, radishes, and corn, can be harvested only once and then would need to be replanted.

The perfect balance of sunlight and water

 
Remember your school days where photosynthesis was one of the most spoken words in class? It’s time to put that into good use. Sunlight and water, are a plant’s two best friends. 6-8 hours of direct sunlight should do your plants good. And the closer they are to a water source, the better. At the same time, do keep them covered (but not under too much of shade). Be it during the summer, or the winter, you don’t want to expose your plants to too much heat or cold. 

Warm up to the worms 

 
Yup, you heard that right. You might consider them as creepy crawlies, but worms can actually do wonders for your home garden. Not only do they convert what you put in the soil into something nutritious, but they also keep the soil extremely wewell-ventilated

Lift your plants like you lift people up

 
Just like all living things, plants too have feelings. And you need to keep them in the best of spirits. That means making them feel good too. You can do this by removing the lower dead branches that’ll better their shape, make space for them as well as allow them to breathe. Now ain’t that good?