Growing greens in the garden are no easy feat. This is particularly true for people who have no background in cultivating.

We would understand if you’re confused and have no idea how to start a garden. No need to worry, because we’ve all been there.

But the good thing is, applying some top gardening ideas to good use can make you achieve the best out of the greens you plant, grow, and harvest!

9 Useful Friendly Gardening Tips

Whether you’re a neophyte or seasoned grower, you are free to use our gardening tips for beginners guide so you can start digging and planting in no time. Our garden experts have compiled the best and essential tips that every green-thumb wannabe should know.

1. Soil Quality

Some of you may think that fertiliser is the answer to grow the best outdoor plants, but a seasoned gardener knows that it’s all about the soil quality. If you’re a beginner, you should know what to add to your soil, e.g. organic amendments like compost and well-aged manure.

If you wish to use fertiliser, you can opt for the organic one to add phosphate, nitrogen, and potash into your garden’s soil.

2. Ideal Soil for Plants

Never dig or plant in damp soil as it can bring damage to the soil structure. It doesn’t have to be completely dry, though. Just wait until the soil is crumbly. If your soil is continuously wet, there will be no air pockets for the roots to thrive.

Most of the plants prefer well-drained soil. With that, you have to reform your soil with organic materials to improve its quality.

3. Applying Manure

Fresh manure is high in nitrogen. So if you don’t want to burn your plants, make sure only to apply composted manure that has been cured for at least six months to your soil. If you use fresh manure, it can damage your plants as they contain pathogens or parasites.

That said, you should never use manure from dogs, cats or even pigs in your garden or compost piles. Not only do they contain parasites, but they can also infect humans if you aren’t careful.

4. Compost from the Leaves

Composting leaves is one of the best things you can do to create a nutrient-rich garden soil and recycle at the same time. This kind of compost helps not only in increasing the porosity of the soil but also in raising its fertility and creating a bedspread over your plants.

So, instead of dumping the fall leaves away, why not use them as compost ingredients by chopping them up?

If you want to take composting to a higher level, meanwhile, make sure to know the perfect recipe for your pile.

5. Pruning Shrubs

Did you know that pruning keeps your plants healthy and encourages green new growth and rebirth?

And though annual pruning is suitable for your plants, knowing when to prune which plant can be tricky.

If you’re unsure when to prune, you can trim spring-flowering shrubs like lilacs and climbing roses right away after the blooms fade. These sort of buds set their flower buds in autumn on last year’s growth.

Pruning them during the fall or winter time means you are removing next spring’s flower buds.

Various gardening tools can be used for pruning, such as secateurs, loppers, long reach pruners, tree pruning systems and saws.

6. Amount of Light Plants Need

Just like humans, plants also need light to live. If you are planning to grow vegetables, ensure that their location will make them receive eight full hours of sunlight every day.

Sufficient supply of sunlight makes vegetable plants perform well. However, you shouldn’t worry about your favourite cool-season crops such as spinach, lettuce, radishes and cabbage — you can still grow them in a place with some shade.

The USDA Hardiness Zone and the RHS Hardiness Zone guidelines are a perfect guide to know when to plant fruits and vegetables in your area. These tools can also help you track your trees, shrubs, and perennials if they can survive conditions in your area.

7. Controlling Weeds

Hand-weeding and hoeing are the best approaches when it comes to controlling the weeds in your garden. Deep hoeing can bring weed seed to the surface of the soil so you must avoid it.

If you want the weeds not to reach the seed, remember to remove them early and often. You can use a mulch to smother and avoid annual weeds.

8. Water Care for Your Plants

Watering your plants can add extra zeros to your monthly utility bills unless you plan things out properly. Here are some helpful tips:

Mulch. Mulching helps in keeping your plants moist for a longer time. That way, you won’t have to water them often.

Rain Barrels. Obviously, rain barrels collect rainwater, and they’re perfect on your home’s or garage’s gutters. In this way, you won’t end up spending too much money on water bills. Don’t worry; rainwater is brilliant for the plants.

9. Vegetable Gardening

If you wish to grow tomatoes and pursue vegetable gardening, the optimal temperature for ripening the vegetable is between 68-77 degrees F.

When the temperature goes up to 85 degrees F, it will be too hot for tomato plants to produce lycopene and carotene. These are the pigments which are accountable for the vegetable colour.

So when the temperature dropped to 50 degrees F and below, the green fruits and vegetables will not ripe. When the tomatoes are showing a bit of colour change, it can be brought inside to finish ripening.