How did you get started in gardening?

[jowjo5]

I grew up with my family being vegetable gardeners. Some for hobby but I am sure it was for the need for fresh food and food they could feed their family on.

I never really had an interest until now that I own a home and we have a family. I don't have the slightest idea on how to get started. I want to do some vegetables but also would like to do some yard work with flowers.

My kids are wanting to help which I think is wonderful. I home school all three of our children and have since day one. Now they are entering high school and middle school ages. I am pleased they have an interest in gardening.

I just don't know how to get started. Do I need special soil? Are there better plants to start with that are easier for beginners?

I have done the basics of tomatoes, but that is it. I am really a beginner! Any ideas of helpful hints would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[suzjbibby]

I grew up with my mum being a keen garder and so I've diddled around in the garden all my life I don't consider myself an expert by any meansand I'm always keen to learn more. I think encoraging the kids is great, it helps them appreciate natural environments. Soil preparation is important to get the best from your plants but there are plants that are pretty forgiving and will grow just about anywhere too. What sort of space do you have, and do you have any idea of what sort of soil you have? is it sandy, clay, dark dirt?

 

[claudine]

I wasn't interested in gardening when I was a child and my mother was never willing to play with me in our garden. A few years ago my wonderful boyfriend bought me my first miniature rose and it was the beginning of my obsession . I love miniature roses and because taking care of them is so much fun, it made me interested in growing other plants

 

[Yatte]

My mother and grandmother always had the most beautiful gardens. When I was a student I moved into an apartment with a very big balcony, and this is where my gardening started. First it was just potted herbs, then later some lily bulbs were added to the mix.

When I got my first place on the ground, the firs thing I did was start a garden. Now I am addicted to gardening. I day feels lost when I am not able to spend time in my garden. I still ask my mother for advise from time to time, though our gardening ideas differs quite a lot. As do our likes and dislikes.

It is absolutely fulfilling to eat and cook your own fruit, vegetables and herbs.

 

[ACSAPA]

My mother was not interested in gardening. The first plant I ever had was a potted Peace Lily that a friend gave me when I moved into my first grown up apartment. The first time I started really gardening as a hobby was in 2003 when I was at a bike path/jogging trail and saw a bunch of taro plants growing by the water and took a small cutting home and planted it. The small cutting grew more leaves and eventually grew into a big taro plant. Since then I've been gardening as a hobby and had all kinds of plants. I never thought of myself as a gardener in the past, but I have a knack for taking care of plants and they thrive under my care. So I guess I had a hidden talent for it.

 

[Jed]

My interest started when someone gave me a magazine called earth garden. It was a newly released magazine back in the early seventies. Not only did it give me an interest in gardening it changed my life. I quit my job and bought some land to do all that hippy stuff you read about. Still doing it to this day.

40 years later the magazine still exists
http://www.earthgarden.com.au/

 

[suzjbibby]

My interest started when someone gave me a magazine called earth garden. It was a newly released magazine back in the early seventies. Not only did it give me an interest in gardening it changed my life. I quit my job and bought some land to do all that hippy stuff you read about. Still doing it to this day.

40 years later the magazine still exists
http://www.earthgarden.com.au/

I love the earth garden magazine, I buy it regularly but I've never been in a position to go ahead and ' do all the hippy stuff ' in another life I might have been very happy to do that...
Still I do use a lot of tips and tricks I've learnt from earth garden even some building

 

[Pat]

I started in school. Our school had each kid start a plant, told us how to take the plant home and start our own garden. My mom grew up on a farm and planted something every year. When we lived in CA I was in heaven. I could have a garden year round. Now I am back on the East coast waiting for spring.

 

[Jed]

I love the earth garden magazine, I buy it regularly but I've never been in a position to go ahead and ' do all the hippy stuff ' in another life I might have been very happy to do that...
Still I do use a lot of tips and tricks I've learnt from earth garden even some building

Hi. I'm just down the road from you in Tassie.Well sort of. I married a girl from the central coast from Toukley.
The magazine does have some great tips. I contributed many years ago with an article called "Stop the Garlic Rot" in EG issue 101 about onion white root rot that affected our garlic.I wanted to help people from getting the disease into their gardens. I was surprised and still am that not many people know of the disease.
Nice to meet you on here.

 

[zigs]

Think I started at about 7 with some Beetroot thinings my neighbour gave me. I remember growing Radishes & Grape Hyacinths too.

Jowjo, whatever soil you've got can be improved as you go on, by digging in well rotted manure, compost etc.

Potatoes are a good thing to start off with, as the amount of digging & earthing up they need helps to clear the ground, their foliage helps shade out weeds too.

 

[Earl Mike]

When i was child i didn't took interest in gardening. But there was a small lawn in our home. So my father used to took care of it after his duty timings. So after some time i started to like walk on grass and play on it. Specially in evening time it becomes so cool and foot feels so good that chill effect. So i also started to take care of that lawn with my father.

 

[Lacey]

I grew up gardening. We had a really big garden and we always were working in it and helping out, it was a great way to spend time together as a family when I was little. I continued to grow vegetables even when I was in a tiny dorm room in college with a cup and a window. Now I have two pretty big gardens that I love to work in and spend time with my family in.

 

[skywatcher]

I'm pretty new in the field, but my father and my grandmother are really into this, and sometimes they take me during my free time to help them with the garden here in the backyard. My grandfather buys these landscaping magazines that have tons of things about gardening, which really makes me interested.

Now, I'm planning to be a gardener in my own right, but because I'm not earning a lot yet (still a student), and I'm not really familiar with all the terms (we just refer to random tools as "this and that", and I'm not really well-versed with how they are used), I think this will take me time to practice and be knowledgeable with them, haha!

 

[JGPangi]

I'm new at gardening too, but I'm proud to say that I was the first one who tackled out front yard last year and got it to bear vegetables. I did it for my mom, who loves to garden, but at the time, the front yard was overgrown with really persistent bougainvillea. And the bugs! So many bugs...

We haven't really devoted much time to the garden this year, but it look much better than it did last year. I'm also reading up on permaculture so that continuing the maintenance won't have to be such hard work.

 

[Rosyrain]

My dad was a gardner, but sadly gave it up when life got too busy. I used to love looking at his plants and he did something called square foot gardening. I picked it up a couple of years ago after reading some books on urban homesteading.