There is no shame in being a newbie. Everyone has to start somewhere, and gardening is mostly a learn-by-doing hobby. So with that in mind, I’ve shared five tips that I wish I had known when I was potting up my first plant. Hopefully other experienced gardeners will also add a tip or two in the comments, to make this post really useful to newer gardeners.
- You’ve probably read many gardening books that suggest putting a pot shard over the drainage hole. You can ignore that advice. In nearly a decade of container gardening, I haven’t noticed a difference in pots with a shard and those without.
- Most of the time, the “right” time to water is when the top two inches of dirt in a pot feel dry. It seems that a lot of new gardeners want a more precise watering schedule, like “every other day,” or “once a week.” Gardening is more fluid than that sort of schedule. Plants need water when they’ve used up all the available moisture, not because it’s Monday.
- Use only potting soil in your containers. Garden dirt is too dense, and often times harbors pests, weeds, or diseases.
- Keep a journal. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn by paying attention to patterns and cycles in gardening.
- Get involved in some sort of gardening community or club, be it online or in the real world. Gardeners are generally a very supportive bunch, and it’s good to have a group of friends who won’t be annoyed by hearing about how incredible your iris blooms are, or who can help you when something goes wrong.
Related Posts:
- The Week of Lists
- Five Easy Flowers to Grow in a Container
- Five End of Summer Container Gardening Tips
- Five Fall Vegetables Every Container Gardener Should Try
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
You always have such great advice. I’ve read several things recommending against pot shards these days. I did find some great round mesh things at my nursery to put over the drainage hole. They keep bugs out much better than a shard. You could make your own if you have an old screen or maybe even pantyhose?
Also, I own a book (who’s name I can’t remember because I’m at a work – I think it’s by Sunset) that is a month by month gardening book, and has sections for journaling. For someone who’s horrible at journaling (like me), I found the pre-set sections for personal notes to be great guidance.
Hi Fern – I love point two, Well put! And totally agree on the shard theory, I gave up doing it after a few pots and I’m fairly sure my garden is just fine! Keep up the good posts in this ‘inspiring new people to plants in pots’ series
I still think your garden club is a great idea. How do we starts it?
I’ll never tire of hearing about your beautiful iris blooms.