With lockdown encouraging everyone to take up a new hobby, it’s the perfect time to get into gardening.
Whether you’re growing plants to decorate your home, or you’re looking to make your own food literally from scratch, gardening can be a very rewarding pastime.
So, if you want to get into growing your own but don’t know where to start, we’ve got the ultimate beginners’ guide:
Find the sun
One of the most important aspects to get right is the actual setup.
Make sure your plants get the right amount of sunlight every day, as this will help them mature and develop in a healthy way. This is ideally around eight hours.
So before you plant, identify a space which will be suited to growing your new project. Whether it’s a sunny spot in the garden or a window sill, you’re sure to find somewhere which will work, so be creative.
Pick the right plants
Not all plants are created equal. Although there’s a wide variety of flowers and fruits which may be attractive to look at, a lot of them are more suitable for more experienced gardeners.
Start off simple. There’s a bunch of easy-to-grow options we’d recommend for beginners, including sage, lavender, mint, thyme, basil, parsley and oregano. And, bonus - they can all be used to spice up your lockdown larder recipes.
Water well
It’s important to remember to water your plants, but not too much.
Keeping the soil moist is key to germinating and growing plants sustainably, but you have to be careful to not drown them at the same time. As a general rule, aim to water once every couple of days, less when it’s colder and wetter, and more when it’s hot and sunny.
Don’t get ahead of yourself
If you want to properly take care of your plants, it’s important not to take on too many at once.
Start small, and build up the amount you’re growing over time, so that you can give them the attention they deserve and they don’t get forgotten about when lockdown ends.
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