How to Start a Garden

A garden can be a bed in the yard, a box by the door, or three pots on a balcony. Begin with the space and time you already have. You can grow more after the first small garden feels easy to care for.

Choose the kind of garden that fits your space

• Plant in the ground when the soil drains well and is easy to reach.
• Use a raised bed when the ground is rocky, shallow, packed, or slow to drain.
• Use containers on a patio, balcony, driveway, or any sunny hard surface.

Keep the first garden small enough that watering does not feel like a job. One short bed or a few roomy pots can teach you a great deal. Large wet containers become heavy, so choose their final spot before you fill them.

Watch the light before you buy plants

Check the space in the morning, near midday, and late in the day. Most food plants prefer plenty of direct sun, but leafy crops can often use a spot with less. Walls and pavement can make a sunny space hotter. Match each plant to the light you truly have.

A spot near the kitchen or a door is easy to notice. You are more likely to catch dry soil, weeds, and ripe food early.

Make water easy

Put the garden where a hose or watering can can reach it. Containers and raised beds can dry faster than the ground. In hot, dry weather, some pots may need a check every day. Water slowly enough to reach the roots, then let extra water drain.

Give roots a good home

For a yard garden, test the soil before adding fertilizer or lime. Work the ground only when it crumbles into loose clumps instead of sticking to your tools. For containers, use fresh potting mix and pots with room for the roots.

A raised bed can start with good topsoil and compost. Keep it narrow enough to reach the middle without walking on the soil. A bed about three to four feet wide works well for many adults.

Pick a few plants you will use

Choose food you enjoy. Then check the plant's season, full size, sunlight, and time to harvest. Compact or bush varieties can fit small spaces. Herbs, leafy greens, and strawberries can make a first container garden feel useful without taking over the patio.

• 

  Easy

  Radish

  A quick, cool-season root crop that is ready in weeks when soil stays loose and moist.

  • Full sun
  • 25 to 35 days
  • Grows in a pot
  • 2 to 4 in apart
• 

  Easy

  Green Beans

  A warm-season crop picked while the pods are crisp and the seeds inside are still small.

  • Full sun
  • 50 to 60 days
  • Grows in a pot
  • 3 to 4 in apart
• 

  Easy

  Lettuce

  A fast, cool weather leaf crop that you can pick from for weeks. It is at its best in spring and autumn, and turns bitter in a hot, dry spell.

  • Part sun
  • 50 to 70 days
  • 1 gal pot or bigger
  • 5 to 12 in apart
• 

  Easy

  Peas

  A cool-season vine grown for sweet seeds or tender edible pods.

  • Full sun
  • 55 to 70 days
  • Grows in a pot
  • 1 to 3 in apart
• 

  Easy

  Basil

  A tender summer herb that grows fast, hates cold nights, and gives more the more often you cut it.

  • Full sun
  • 50 to 75 days
  • 2 gal pot or bigger
  • 6 to 12 in apart
• 

  Easy

  Cilantro

  A cool-weather herb with fresh leaves called cilantro and dried seeds called coriander.

  • Full sun
  • 45 to 80 days
  • Grows in a pot
  • 3 to 6 in apart

Plant for your weather

Planting time changes with the crop and your local weather. Cool-season plants can grow in cooler conditions. Warm-season plants usually need warm soil and protection from frost. Use the crop page and your local frost dates instead of trusting one national planting date.

Your first garden in six steps

1. Choose one small place that gets useful sun.
2. Make sure water is close and extra water can drain.
3. Prepare the soil or fill containers with potting mix.
4. Choose a few plants that suit the season and space.
5. Plant at the depth and spacing shown on each crop page.
6. Check the garden often and change one thing at a time.

Your first garden does not need to be impressive. It needs to be close enough, small enough, and useful enough that you want to visit it.

Sources

• Planting the vegetable garden (University of Minnesota Extension)
• Growing Vegetables In Containers (University of New Hampshire Extension)
• Raised Beds (Clemson Cooperative Extension)