Beginner Gardening Guide

My experience as a gardener is rooted in the city, and that is what you will find in the 16 years of archives on this site: articles and stories on growing in raised beds, community garden plots, containers, high up on a rooftop, as well as directly in the ground. On this page I’ve compiled several of the posts that address how to get started gardening, but there are more to be found in the archive.

My books You Grow Girl, Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces, and Easy Growing: Organic Herbs and Edible Flowers from Small Spaces all contain invaluable resources to help guide you through the process of beginning a garden in small spaces on a tiny budget.

Please see my other growing guides for tips on growing herbs, tomatoes, salad greens, sweet and hot peppers, and more.

Plan

• Also see the Planning and Design category for more articles. From the Ground Up: Adventures in digging a plot. How to identify Cold Spots in the garden, and why this is important to know.Growing edible plants on the front stoop.
• How to make an easy and affordable pathway Part 1 and Part 2.
• Staking: tripod and pea styles that can be used in containers or in the ground.
• How I prune and stake tomatoes.
• Make a fence for free using pruned branches and twigs.
• A garden in a recycling bin. More examples are here.
• All About Soil

• The dirt on soil: learn how to amend in-ground as well as soil less mix for container planting.
• Better Living Through Fungi: Let’s learn about mycorrhizae and what they mean for the health of your soil.
• Guide to choosing organic soil mixes for container growing.
• The fantastic craptastic compost bin at my former community garden – It may not look like much but it gets the job done.
• Vermicomposting – Composting with a worm bin. Perfect for apartment dwellers and people with no outdoor space.
• An even smaller worm bin – Including a few extra tips I figured out along the way.
• Urban Composting – Make a small compost bin for a roof or deck
• Things you can compost that you didn’t think you could – The list is a lot larger than you think.

RECIPE: Mix up your own basic potting soil mix and seed-starting mix.

• Plant
• See the Seed Starting Guide for articles that can help you get started growing seeds and seedlings.
• See the Resources page for the planting and growing care of specific plants and crops.
• Making more herbs.
• Share your plants: Learn about propagating from divisions, cuttings, offsets, and more.
• Making more mint.
• Grow
• Word to the water-wise: irrigate well.
• Make your own pop bottle irrigation system.
• Make a pop bottle cloche to protect sensitive plants and seedlings.
• Simple and affordable methods to help extend the growing season.
• Organic and homemade fertilizers.
• Pests and disease archive.
• Seasonal Preparation
• My April garden to-do list.
• How I prepare raised beds for early Spring planting.
• Mid and late season planting.
• Preparing your garden for winter.
• Container garden cleanup.
• Bringing potted plants indoors for the winter.
• Strategies to help your potted plants survive the winter indoors.
• Build a D.I.Y lighting system.