Starting a garden from scratch can feel daunting, especially for a new gardener. After all, there are so many things to think about – I will give you gardening secrets to give you a good start.
Here is a list of 10 gardening secrets:
- Garden Direction
- Weed Control
- Soil Conditions
- Watering and Drip Systems
- Wildlife Fencing
- Raised Beds or Mounds
- Last Spring & First Fall Frost Dates
- Planting Zone
- Companion Planting
- Garden Rotation
My expanded garden idea started with my goal of canning 100-pint jars of tomatoes!
If you are planning on planting tomatoes in your garden, check out my article 12 Things That Will Produce a Dream Tomato Harvest
One of the reasons for moving to the country was to become more in control of the food we eat by having our chickens for eggs, raising cattle for beef, and growing quality vegetables, including an unnatural amount of tomatoes! Haha. But seriously, with the price of fresh organic vegetables going crazy, we decided to expand our little garden and put in a more extensive one. We had fenced a 60’ x 90’ for some fruit trees and four raised beds for what I now call our starter garden.
Here are some pictures of us clearing the land around the fruit trees for our garden expansion.
We just started our new garden last year, and we’ve got you covered in our learning process. It can be hard to know where to begin!
Let’s go over things you should consider.
1. Garden Direction
Gardening secret number one is one of the most important considerations when starting your garden is in which direction it should face. This will determine how much sunlight your plants get each day, so it’s essential that you get this right! Generally, vegetables grow best in full sun (6-8 hours of direct sunlight), while herbs do better in partial shade (4-6 hours). From my research, most agree that planting north-south is better. The rationale is that when rows run east-west, a tall crop in the south row will shade out a shorter crop in the north row. This helped us make the decision that we would run our beds north to south.
2. Weed Control
One of my biggest fears when starting our garden was that I would spend all my time weeding! I am sure everyone can agree that the last thing we want is to have a garden overrun by weeds.
It’s vital to take steps early to ensure this doesn’t happen. To do this, use newspapers, cardboard, or plastic sheeting as a weed barrier and then cover it with soil in the beds and mulch in the walkways.
Gardening secret number two is that cardboard is a great free option, and I found a local furniture store that had just received a new shipment. The employees were bringing large amounts of cardboard out of their back door. They let me have it all, which was quite the mother lode and filled the back of my pickup full. I found all the cardboard I needed between the furniture store and a couple of other local retail shops.
Next, we needed something to cover those walkways. Straw, bark, or wood chips make a good walkway. Close to our home is a company that produces round fence poles, and we were excited to find that they will sell you wood chips as much as you can fit into your truck for $10. What a bargain! We put down a cardboard barrier and then covered this with a thick layer of wood chips. This is the best way to prevent weeds from popping up unexpectedly and ruining your gorgeous garden.
3. Soil Conditions
Your plants need healthy soil for them to thrive.
To ensure your soil is at its best, test the pH levels and add fertilizer or compost if necessary. You should also ensure the soil is well drained by checking for standing water after rainfall or watering the area heavily once and seeing how long it takes to absorb the water.
Our soil is terrible, full of rocks and fine silty dirt. To ensure success and keep my spirits positive during this adventure, we added 20 yards of new garden soil for our beds. Hopefully, this is something you do not have to do. Having that much garden soil delivered can put a dent in your pocketbook.
4. Watering and Drip Systems
When starting your new garden, consider your water source and how you plan on keeping your garden watered. Our options included hand water, sprinklers, soaker hoses, and drip systems. Not all plants do well with overhead watering, so that was an option we decided against. Installing a drip system would be an excellent option to keep the plants hydrated without manually watering them daily. A drip system delivers just enough water directly to the roots of your plants without over-watering or wasting any water. Hand watering was just not an option for our busy life. We went to a landscape supply company, and they guided us through the process. It was easy to set up with their guidance.
When we did our water system as laid out by the landscaping store, we should have determined our water pressure at the garden spigot. It turned out that we did not have enough pressure to execute the exact plan.
We reduced how many garden beds could be on each water feed. This helped, but we still needed more pressure. This was accomplished by changing some sprinkler heads to a lower volume type of head. Then we increased the water cycle duration to achieve the right amount of water.
Not sure how much water your garden actually needs? This simple guide breaks it down by plant type and soil.
5. Wildlife Fencing
One of the first things we did when we moved into our property, even before
building our house, was plant some fruit trees. Moose, deer, rabbits,
Chickens and even your family dog will destroy your garden and fruit trees.
We quickly fenced our 60′ x 90′ garden and fruit tree plot so the moose and deer did not feast on our tender trees. Ten-foot t-posts with welded wire fencing were the answer for us.
My husband Rick stood on our 4-wheeler (we use only proper equipment for all jobs around here?) and pounded the 10′ t-post with a handheld fence pole pounder, which was difficult with our rocky soil. He pounded about half of the t-posts in and then decided it was time to rent a gas-powered fence pole pounder. This made the rest of the job much easier, and I got the rest of the t-posts in the ground in no time.
As you can see from our pictures, we ended up with 10-foot fencing around the entire orchard/garden.
If you live in an area with lots of wildlife, large or small, we recommend protecting your garden and orchards with fencing to keep animals out and protect your crops from being eaten or trampled on by deer and other animals. The importance of fencing cannot be overlooked.
6. Raised Beds or Mounds
When we decided to expand our garden, starting with mounds made financial sense. Time and money made the decision easy for us to make rows of mounds instead of raised beds.
Raised beds are great because they provide excellent drainage and easy access when planting or harvesting vegetables. Mounds, on the other hand, are great for growing root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes as they provide perfect aeration for these types of crops.
I have four raised beds from when we first started our garden. I planted a couple with herbs and the other two with lettuce and a few other vegetables.
Here are some photos of the garden during its growing season.
7. Frost Dates
It is essential to know your first and your last frost date. Knowing these dates lets you know when your seedlings can go outdoors without overnight protection and will also give you the length of your growing season. This ensures you are picking varieties with the time needed to produce.
Almanac.com is an excellent source for your last spring frost, first fall frost, and the length of your growing season.
In the past, I planted over 100 garden plants from seeds started indoors. It would have been disheartening to have my plants not survive if I had planted them too early. To our surprise, after everything was planted (well after our last frost date of May 18th), we have had a storm come thru on June 3rd and pound all our tender vegetables with graupel. Luckily, most of our plants survived, but it was a good reminder not to plant your garden too early.
Once you know your dates, Starting Seeds Indoors walks you through exactly when and how to get a head start on the season.
8. Planting Zones
Knowing your garden planting zone is a vital gardening secret to successful gardening!
It can give you the critical information needed for success, such as when and what to plant to get maximum growth. Having your planting zone information will make sure you pick out fruit trees, berry bushes, etc., that can survive in your area. With this knowledge, gardens can flourish throughout the season!
PlantMaps.com will give you your plant hardiness zone.
Since I live in Zone 4, I have to be very cautious about which variety of fruit trees and berry bushes I choose so they can survive our winters.
9. Companion Planting
Companion planting is a gardening technique that allows the power of nature to create the best growing conditions for plants.
This can improve nutrient absorption and provides natural pest control by using beneficial insects like bees or ladybugs! This leads to better harvests with less effort, so consider the importance of planning your plant borders and beds.
I grew thyme, marigolds & nasturtiums as companions in my garden and loved seeing those colorful flowers between my veggies. In the future, I plan on doing more companion planting.
FarmersAlmanac.com has excellent information on what plants to plant next to each other and which ones not to.
For a full list of what to plant alongside your vegetables, 30 Flowers and Herbs That Repel Pests Naturally is a great resource.
10. Crop Rotation
This will be my first year thinking about rotating my garden crop. Something I should have thought about last year when I started our garden. I was so excited about my garden that I had not considered crop rotation’s importance!
From everything I have studied, crop rotation is essential to successful gardening.
Organizing your crop rotation according to these four primary groups is the best way to ensure you get the most out of your garden. Plan and rotate each group in a different area every season. This will help keep your soil healthy, reduce pest populations, and maximize the potential of your garden.
Here are things I have learned about crop rotation:
- Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce can be grown more frequently and harvested quickly.
- Fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers, and squash require the longest time from seed to harvest.
- Legumes, such as peas and beans, will help replenish nitrogen in the soil.
- Root crops, such as carrots, potatoes, and onions, should be planted in a different area every three or four years to avoid soil depletion and disease buildup.
If rotation isn’t possible in your space, cover crops are the next best thing — they restore soil health even when you’re planting in the same beds year after year.
Here is my garden layout this year to plan crop rotation better for the future.
The couple of things I will not plan on rotating are my indeterminate tomatoes and pumpkins. I was happy with the structure we designed for the tomatoes and wanted to keep the pumpkins toward the back of the garden. So, I plan to amend these plots yearly to ensure healthy growth.
I loved how well my first garden produced. I had a few failures, for sure. My corn did not do well, especially after a big windstorm. I also left the ears of corn on the stalks too long. The melons I planted did not do well. I did not have one that turned out; I definitely have more to learn there. My overall success from growing our vegetables gave me the confidence to learn more and do better.
My most important goal of canning 100-pint jars of tomatoes became a reality or very close!!! When the season was done, I canned 94 jars! I was thrilled.
In Conclusion
Starting a new garden can undoubtedly be intimidating. But with ten gardening secrets, it doesn’t have to be!
You can ensure that your new garden will succeed if you consider weed control, garden direction, soil conditions, drip systems, wildlife fencing, and raised beds vs. mounds!
So, what are you waiting for? I am sure you will enjoy the same joy as all gardeners, producing food with your hands!
There is never a better time to start and learn as you go!
Remember: the best gardeners are the ones willing to get their hands dirty and learn along the way. You’ve got this—now get out there and grow something amazing!
For more garden growing guides from setup to harvest, browse the Garden Problems & Fixes hub.
Please share my post and let me know if you have just started a new garden!
More Posts You Might Enjoy!
- Curled Tomato Plant Leaves? Tips on How to Correct
- Powdery Mildew: The Dirty Truth About Your Garden Squash and How to Fix It
- How To Attract Backyard Pollinators To Your Garden
- Create Your Dream DIY Garden Shed: A Complete Guide
Pin and Save for Later!
Hi, I’m Yvonne — the voice behind Our Country Life. I share from-scratch recipes, garden know-how, and simple living inspiration rooted in real farmhouse life. Thanks for being here ❤️
Leave a Reply