Tyler Durden's Fight Club Blog

My partner Reuben and I began dabbling with growing our own vegetables a couple of years ago. Though we are still far from experts, with each passing season we do a little better and learn a little more. Here are 10 tips for beginner gardeners that we have picked up along the way.

Don’t make the mistake of going overboard when you are just starting out. If you’re overly ambitious and set out to achieve too much with your garden on your first try, you’re likely to become overwhelmed. It is best to ease yourself in, take your time learning, and expand your veggie patch with each season, as your knowledge and confidence grows. There is no shame in starting with just a few tomatoes in pots or a small herb garden.

Since you are going to start small, choose plants that are good producers and are most likely to thrive in your area, so will give you the most bang for your buck. Plants like tomatoes and zucchinis, which produce in abundance, are great options for beginner gardeners and small spaces.

Zucchinis are easy to grow and prolific producers but if no one in your household likes zucchini, they aren’t a great fit for your family and will probably go to waste. To make the most out of your hard work in the garden, grow the things you’ll be excited to eat.

The first season we had a go at veggie gardening we planted everything out at the same time. As a result everything was ready to eat all at once, so we had a couple of weeks where we couldn’t keep up with the glut, but the rest of the season was bare. Stagger your plantings and choose a variety of plants that will be ready to eat at different times, so you’ll have fresh produce available all the way through the season.

Plant the garden close to your kitchen so you can easily pop out for what you need while you’re cooking. Buy a soaker hose or sprinkler and a timer to make watering a breeze. Put down mulch or copper tape to keep the slugs and snails at bay. If you take measures in the beginning to make the gardening process as simple and stress-free as possible, you are more likely to stick with it and succeed.

Borrow some gardening books from the library, browse gardening websites and watch gardening TV programs. Consume as much information as you can, continue to expand your knowledge and try to enjoy the learning process. You never know when that little titbit you heard about pumpkins on the radio will come in handy!

If you know someone with a successful patch or experience with growing vegetables, take advantage of their wisdom. If you have a query, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask. There is no such thing as a silly question. You might find some of the best tips and secrets are only shared via word of mouth, especially when it comes to local knowledge.

Take some risks. Try planting some unusual heritage varieties or a vegetable you don’t normally use but would like to give a go. Growing your own veggies should be fun, so keep things interesting by thinking outside the box.

Take note of what works and what doesn’t and use that information to improve your garden the next season. Record varieties that flourished and the ones that didn’t, jot down helpful tips and tricks that were successful and note anything else you may want to remember in the future. It can also be helpful to record the weather patterns in your area, so you can better determine the best times to plant and harvest.

It is inevitable that when you grow vegetables there will be some failures. Some plants will be eaten by bugs or have a rough time with the weather and others will just fail to prosper for no good reason. Don’t let that discourage you! The disappointments will make you better appreciate the successes. Nothing beats the feeling of eating something you have grown with your own two hands.

Do you have a veggie patch?