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How To Raise A Fruitful Garden

If you don’t have a natural green thumb, raising a garden can prove to be a difficult task. While you might grow something by just putting seeds in the ground, having a productive garden takes a lot more effort. You’ll need to know where to plant the seeds, how to water your garden, and how to manage the soil. Here are a few tips, brought to you by Timber Creek Honey. 

Plant Your Garden In The Right Spot

In order to benefit from a productive garden, you need to set it up right. Take some time to decide where and how you want your garden to be planted.

• Choose a space that gets at least six hours of sunlight
• Make sure you aren’t planting on your neighbor’s property by hiring a professional surveyor.
• Plant your garden in a flat area to avoid soil erosion. 
• Decide which layout your garden will benefit from: rows, four square, block, square foot, vertical, or raised beds. 

Keep Your Plants Hydrated

The key to growing healthy vegetables is to keep your garden watered properly. This doesn’t mean drowning your garden. Overwatering can be just as bad as underwatering. 

• The best times to water your garden are in the morning or evening. This will give your plants time to absorb the water before it gets hot outside. Also, be sure to mulch everything to keep the water from evaporating. 
• Consider investing in a drip irrigation system to prevent water waste and directly water the roots. 
• You can even DIY the installation process for the drip irrigation system. 

Maintain Healthy Soil

Vegetable plants leach nutrients from the soil to grow. Because of this, it’s important to keep your soil healthy and nutrient-filled.

• Know what makes soil healthy: stable pH, good soil structure, nutrients, organic matter, and level of biodiversity. 
• To keep the soil fertile, consider putting together a crop rotation plan.
•  Adding compost to your garden will help keep up the nutrients in the soil. It will also add more micro- and macro-organisms. 

Once you’ve found the perfect location, you will need to maintain the nutrients in the soil and keep your plants watered regularly. Having a good idea of how to care for your plants will make it much more likely that you’ll end up with the produce you desire. 
Once you’ve developed the skills it takes to garden, why not try your hand at beekeeping, too? Timber Creek Honey offers beekeeping mentorships to help you get started with your own beehive. You can contact them at (503) 575-5672 to learn more.