Gardening for Beginners

In short: Beginners should start with a small bed about 1.5 m wide, in well-drained deep soil and full sun. The most forgiving plants are directly sown annuals such as marigold and nigella, perennial herbs like lavender, sage or mint, and vegetables including peas, beans, carrots and zucchini. Bush fruit is planted in early spring or autumn.

If you want to start growing, it's good to first gain experience with less demanding species.

When growing in a bed, it's better to initially create a smaller one, where you can try your first year of gardening and expand later. Choose the location according to the type and species of plants you want to grow; usually, well-drained deep soil and plenty of sun are best.

The bed shouldn't be too wide, so you can easily reach its center; the optimal width is about 1.5 meters. Dig up the soil, remove weeds, and you can fertilize it with compost or mix in some slow-release fertilizer.

Annuals

Annuals can be purchased at garden centers throughout spring and early summer.

If you don't want to buy expensive seedlings, you can pre-grow them at home from seeds. However, you need to start with sufficient advance time. For the seedlings to be nice, not stretched and weak, they need as much light as possible, ideally a heated greenhouse.

Some annuals are sown directly into the bed; such species are the least demanding to grow. These include, for example, marigold (it can also be pre-grown, and additionally repels nematodes and insects from the garden), nigella (also suitable for drying), snapdragons, or strawflowers.

Among rewarding and beautiful annuals with medicinal effects are nasturtium and calendula.

Herbs

Herbs are excellent material for beginners. Most of them are perennial, so they will bring you joy for many years to come. Almost all of them also bloom beautifully or are interesting for their leaves. They can thus serve an ornamental function as well. It's advisable to place them in a sunny location as close to the kitchen as possible, where they will certainly find their use. Fresh herbs can be used as seasoning, tea, or for making refreshing drinks; for winter, they can be dried for storage. All herbs also have medicinal properties.

Care for most herbs is truly minimal; during the driest periods they appreciate occasional watering and weed removal. Thanks to their strong scent and taste, herbs are not usually attacked by pests, and they can also repel insects from surrounding plants. Among the least demanding species are lavender, sage, lemon balm, mint, oregano, and thyme. Chives are also excellent, flavoring both main courses and bread with butter.

Vegetables

Vegetables from your own garden always taste better than store-bought ones. So why not use a piece of your garden to grow them? Choose a sunny spot with good, deep soil.

Vegetables are more demanding in nutrient uptake, so a bit of compost or some fertilizer intended for vegetable feeding won't hurt. However, it's important to use artificial fertilizers in moderation, because vegetables especially accumulate harmful nitrates when over-fertilized.

Legumes are excellent at enriching the soil with nutrients, which is why it's great to plant peas or beans in the first year. These plants basically don't need fertilizing themselves and additionally provide a nitrogen supply for plants grown in the soil after them for one to two years. This saves you both work and money associated with fertilizing.

Other undemanding vegetables include carrots, beetroot, parsley, or onions. Tomatoes are very popular vegetables – don't forget to provide support for them. Dill grows vigorously almost anywhere and can also act as protection against wind and excessive sunlight. Various types of pumpkins or zucchini grow very well. From leafy vegetables, lettuce is suitable (especially iceberg or curly lettuce, which doesn't bolt as much) or spinach.

Fruit

Among fruits, bush varieties are the least demanding, such as red currants or jostaberries, raspberries and blackberries. Among trees, cherries are very suitable – they grow quickly, bloom beautifully, and bear fruit early. They also provide pleasant shade in the garden. Trees and bushes are planted in a dug-out hole, which we water thoroughly. The planting period is early spring or autumn.