They say that your property is what you make it, so why not take advantage of your backyard to turn it into a fruitful garden with lovely flowers, homegrown fruits, and veggies? After all, consuming fresh-picked products provides nutritional benefits that the supermarket can’t provide. By taking care of your garden, you’ll bring outstanding homegrown flavor to your table and improve the appeal of your property.
If your yard is dormant and you have the necessary time on hand, get outside and take charge of your need for healthy food, exercise, and an inviting environment. Here are the things to consider before kicking off your project.
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Pick your type of garden
If you’re new to gardening, it might be challenging to visualize how it will look in the end. Wild or tame, multicolored or full of green? Will there be a lot of hard work, or will plants and edibles grow by themselves?
The first step to taking the guesswork out of your outcome is to decide on the purpose of your garden. According to experts from www.elho.com/en, planning ahead is the key to perfect timing.
Here are some unique types, for inspiration:
- Feed plot garden serving as feed plot for rabbits, deer, and other critters, ideally placed along the perimeter of your property
- Edible garden dedicated to growing fruits, herbs, and vegetables, preferably planted close to the kitchen
- A sensory garden is dedicated to tickling your senses, appealing to smell, touch, sight, taste, and sound
- Native plant garden full of low-maintenance plants that attract butterflies and birds
- Moon garden that blooms at night and that’s thrilling to be enjoyed after-hours
- Rain garden with water-loving plants best for wet yards to reduce flooding
- Container garden built above the ground in containers.
Consider The Factors That Impact Your Gardening
Not every plant can be grown in a garden. To keep your greeneries healthy all year and to get the most out of them, you must choose the right plants based on a few factors. The environment is among the most important details and comes down to the climate and the soil type.
Since plants grow in all shapes and sizes, you must consider how big they’ll be when fully matured. Roots can spread significantly, and you don’t want them to outgrow the area in which they’re planted.
Mint, for instance, is a great-smelling and practical herb to grow yourself. However, it can spread invasively if you don’t take proper care of it, which is why it’s best to plant it in small outdoor planters and trim it regularly.
Are you going to enjoy gardening?
If you’d like a thriving garden but aren’t sure if you’ll enjoy taking care of it or if the soil is qualitative enough, you can consider a raised bed garden. This one is perfect for growing flowers, vegetables, or herbs. You’ll basically fill a frame with soil and only need four planks, rebar, a rubber mallet, and cardboard or newspaper.
Raised beds are good for your plants’ health because they allow excellent drainage. But the soil can dry out quickly, so you may consider using a programmable drip irrigation system if you don’t want to stress about watering them.
Remove Grass From Garden Bed
After deciding what you want to grow, it’s time to get rid of the grass in your yard. You can use a shovel, rototiller, or sod cutter.
The rototiller has spinning blades that “churn” the grass and is easy to use. This method basically mixes several inches of soil up and raises the seeds to the surface, meaning that they may germinate and cause problems later. However, the advantage is that it allows the retention of the original organic matter in the garden.
The sod cutter, on the other hand, is quick to remove the grass but is expensive and requires reading the instructions and utilizing it carefully.
Tip: The soil is easier to work when moist (not soggy), so ensure you water it a few days ahead of time.
Start Small With Plants That Thrive On Neglect
Assuming you’ve new to sowing seeds, trimming plants, or gardening generally, and lack time to create the garden of your dreams, you can still make something beautiful out of your yard. There are plants that pretty much take care of themselves. Here’s a list of low-maintenance fruits, vegetables, and plants to opt from.
- Potatoes. You can easily grow potatoes in pots by adding a few seeds to a layer of compost, covering it with more compost, and giving it time to grow. Add another layer of compost when the leaves start to appear.
- Beetroot. Beetroots are a great source of iron, folate, fiber, and more. You can grow them from late April to July by sowing their seeds 5 cm apart and removing the alternate roots when they’re half-grown. However, you need to consume them moderately.
- Strawberries. Strawberry plants should crop well for three years after you plant them, and they don’t require much maintenance besides being tidied in spring.
- Radishes. You can get a crop of radishes in up to four weeks, and they are one of the easiest crops to grow.
- Hardy Geraniums. Almost indestructible plants and hardy geraniums can flower for months on end. Instead of deadheading, trim back to the ground after the first flush of blooms.
- Bulbs. Bulbs are easy to grow if you dig enough to place them at the proper depth.
Final words
Turning your lawn into a garden is among the best things you can do with the outdoor space available. You pick the type of garden, remove the grass, test your soil, and start your crop. Gardening will improve your diet since you’ll eat freshly-picked, nutritious edibles, and your well-being because you’ll exercise more.
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