How to Build a Garden for Beginners: a Step-by-Step Guide if You’re New to Gardening
In this post: Here's how to build a beginner's garden step-by-step, that will grow easily, produce plenty of fresh food, and be convenient for you to maintain; plus basics on picking plants for your garden and getting started if you are new to gardening.
Starting a garden is one of the most rewarding home improvements you can do! Even if you are new to gardening, these simple steps to starting your first garden will help you unlock the potential in your home and yard space.
What is a garden, anyway?
When I was 12 years old, I joined the local 4-H club and focused on crafts and horticulture. I learned how macrame in crafts and created my own garden for the horticulture. I’m not sure if I ever made macrame again, but I still remember that 4 by 6 foot patch of soil and growing those plants. Many places in the world use the words yard and garden interchangeably. I personally love when I hear people talk about the whole yard as “the garden”.
In the past, a garden was defined as a plot of soil in an enclosure used to grow plants. Today, and in reality, a garden can be in-ground garden beds, raised beds, in containers, an indoor garden, in a field, an orchard, food forest, an entire front or back yard, and much more.
Fundamentally, a garden is a space where things grow and often people interact with those things, and while plants are usually thought to be the main characters, other organisms live and grow in gardens, like fungi, insects, worms, etc.
Considerations for beginner vegetable gardening
I’ll be honest with you, while it sounds easiest to be told the steps and follow them, it’s far more important to know the ‘Whys’ than the ‘How's’ of gardening, because when you know the ‘Whys’, you can mostly figure out the ‘Hows’ on your own. Knowing the ‘Whys’ helps to build gardener intuition. Whether you are a newbie gardener, trying to create your perfect garden, or have been gardening for many years, understanding why you’re doing all of the hows makes it all so much easier.
As a start, here are some considerations when you are new to growing vegetables or any other plant, really.
Learn - Learn as much as you can, whether it’s from another gardener, books or magazines, or podcasts. Try to find trustworthy resources that explain the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ for doing things and less about the quick-fix gardening tips.
Experiment - Think about gardening as an experiment because gardening is always an experiment, no matter if you’re new to gardening or have gardened for 30 years. Sometimes I try something different just to see what happens.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes - You can be assured that “mistakes” are part of the learning process. “Mistakes” help you get to know your garden, the plants, and yourself better. Think of them as lessons learned.
Soil, Soil, SOIL - I cannot emphasize enough the importance of soil! Soil health, well, what does that mean? Soil health depends on four things: minerals, air, water, and organic matter. I would add all the living things in soil too, like fungi, earthworms, other invertebrates, and the plants. Too much or too little of those components affect the soil health and the amounts of those components change because of many things, including compaction, what you add, or weather. Key message - soil is key!
More on soil in this article: Potting Mix Versus Garden Soil - Picking the Perfect Soil for Your Garden
Consider your climate - how cold and how hot your region influences what and when you grow vegetables in your garden. Rain, snow, and sun amounts and frequencies are also to be considered. Because vegetable plants have different needs for temperature, light, and water, they will thrive or struggle depending on if their needs are met, not met, or exceeded.
Location - whether you’re growing vegetables indoors or outdoors, in containers, or in a field, the location of the vegetables must be considered. Location is related to light/shade, heat, and other environmental aspects. You might want to consider how far you’ll have to drag the water hose, or lug watering cans. Not just the location of the garden, but types of plants to other plants.
Plant choices - when I started growing vegetables, I wanted to grow all the vegetables. I quickly found that I needed to think more what I eat, the garden location, how the varieties of vegetables grow, and other factors when choosing which vegetables to grow.
How to choose the right garden plot size
Okay, you’re ready to start gardening, but you might be wondering how large the space should be for your garden. Really the right size depends on what is the right size for you. If you're new to gardening, you might want to start small to test out, gain experience, practice, and not feel overwhelmed.
Here are a few considerations for choosing the right garden size for you.
Your available space - you might have a small space available, like with a balcony or window, or larger spaces, such as a field or farm, a backyard with trees and hedges and other things. Or perhaps you have a community garden plot or allotment.
Type of garden - multiple types of gardens, like raised beds, farm fields, container garden, garden beds, etc. can be used at the same time for different reasons and/or locations.
Vegetables you choose to grow - some vegetables take up a lot of space; you may choose perennial vegetables, like asparagus, that must grow in one place for years; others need support to grow up, like tomatoes or peas.
Budget - You can spend a little or a lot of money building and maintaining a garden. Costs for inputs to gardens, like compost and structures, increase as the garden size increases. Consider not only the costs to build and start a garden, but costs every year after.
Time you have available to work on/in the garden - You might dream of a large garden full of vegetables for harvest, but if you have a busy life, you may want to consider a smaller garden to be able to enjoy it and not become overwhelmed.
You might ask “what about if my choices are limited for where to have my vegetable garden or plot size because my garden beds are already built?” Perhaps your garden plots were started by previous property owners or maybe your property has limitations where a garden plot can be located because of buildings, large trees, fences, or hedges.
Consider the above factors and start with the size that works for you. The rest of the space can be used to grow cover crops or flowers until you are ready to expand the vegetable garden into the other areas.
The Best Garden Tools for Beginners
You probably already have most of the garden tools you will need as a beginner gardener. Here are the tools I recommend and why.
Basic garden tools
Butter knife - a butter knife is a great tool to use for weeding, digging small holes, popping small plants out of trays, and other slightly delicate tasks (it’s one of my favourite tools to use).
Chopsticks - chopsticks are great for supports for shorter plants, carefully removing small seedlings from soil to move to bigger pots (also known as pricking out), planting seedlings into containers or out in the garden.
Scissors - simple scissors are handy for cutting string or twine, snipping leaves, harvesting lettuce or other leafy greens (mine are a pair of school scissors).
Gloves - gloves help protect your hands from sharp rocks or errant glass or plastic shards, keep hands from drying out too much, and prevent injury from splinters, prickles, or thorns.
Next level garden tools
Trowel - use a garden trowel for digging tasks bigger than for the butter knife, but smaller than the shovel. Coming in various shapes, styles, and sizes, you can choose which feels most comfortable in your hand and for your anticipated tasks.
Hori hori knife - with a slightly curved pointed blade (not too sharp), with one serrated side and the other straight, a hori hori knife, another of my favourite tools, can be used like a trowel and for knife tasks, like splitting roots or perennials.
Pruners - depending on what you choose to grow, you may need pruners. Even tomatoes and kale need pruners if they get big enough. Less expensive pruners are alright in the shorter term, but you will want to invest in good quality pruners to rely on year after year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you grow vegetables on an apartment balcony?
Yes, many plants, including vegetables, can be grown on balconies. The amount of sunlight and heat that the balcony receives are two main factors that determine which vegetables can be grown. Consider which direction the balcony faces (north, south, east, or west). Vegetables require different amounts of light and heat. If you're facing into the sun the space can get very hot and it can be too hot for a lot of vegetables without the use shading.
How do you plant a garden on a slope?
If the slope is of shallow steepness, you can plant in rows across the slope, following the contour (i.e., not up and down the slope). Raised beds are another great way to plant on a slope. Building a raised bed with the downslope side deeper to make sure that the bed is level can be a way to grow on a slope. Another option is to create a stepped retaining wall from your chosen material (rock, wood, concrete) and plant within the steps, like a terraced garden.
