Methods to Grow a Garden

Understand the various methods used when gardening and how to apply them while enjoying your garden.

These simple methods will be repeated many times during the building and nurturing of your garden.

From this lesson you will identify practical methods used by gardeners when completing many gardening activities.

Gardening Activities.

Sowing seeds – placing seeds into soil or potting medium ready to grow.

Propagate new plants – using a cutting, root, stem or leaf of existing plant to grow new plants.

Planting seedlings – placing small plants (seedlings are the new plants grown from seeds) into the ground or into pots for growing.

Making a No-Dig Garden – building a garden following a method of layering natural ingredients which will decompose over time and create soil within the garden. This method doesn’t require digging to build the garden, rather it’s building layers above original ground level.

Digging over garden beds – turning over soil within the garden bed. Used to aerate soil or prior to fertiliser being added.

Creating a composting system – composting is the decomposing of natural ingredients and the compost system is the way in which composting is done. This can be in small plastic tubs, in a round of chicken wire or in a large open bay, depending on space available for the system, waste required for composting or the size of the garden (as a larger garden will require more compost for garden beds)

Weeding gardens – removing weeds by hand to eliminate the weed seeds germinating and creating further weed problems.

Planting bulbs – small bulbs are placed into the soil or into pots to grow. Once they are in soil and watered, then the first shoots will appear and growing into larger plants. Most bulbs die back after the growing season and reappear the following year.

Worm farm – worm farms contain composting worms, which differ from earth worms, and they feed off fruit and vegetable scraps. The worms produce casting and liquid which are beneficial resources for the garden.

Completing a soil pH test – (per Hydrogen) testing the soil pH level to determine the acid or alkaline level of soil. It’s important to know the pH level of soil in gardens before planting as each plant has varying pH needs. Use a simple to follow pH test kit and a small sample of your garden soil.

Creating a sustainable garden – following environmentally ethical methods of creating a garden. This includes following organic gardening principles, eco planning, considering nature and considering the environmental impacts of all activities. A sustainable garden also includes saving time and money. By creating a garden that you can sustain financially and with time available creates an enjoyable gardening experience.

Container gardening – growing plants in containers or pots. Any container can be used provided it hold the potting mixture and has drainage holes for water run-off.

Feeding the garden/soil – by ‘feeding’ the soil we are providing beneficial nutrients and minerals for the plants to access in the form of plant fertilisers.

Knowing soil types – with all soil worldwide, there are varying types of soil depending on the location. Coastal areas usually have sandy soil, inland areas could be clay soil. The various soil types include sand, clay and loam.

Planting trees and shrubs – these are the methods of placing trees and shrubs into a hole in the ground, covering the roots with soil, watering and growing. A similar method is followed for any sized tree or shrub.

Pruning shrubs – to contain the size of shrubs, or to remove damaged foliage, shrubs will require pruning, also known as trimming, to keep at a manageable size, for visual purposes or to remove diseased or damaged foliage. Sharp secateurs or hedging shears are used for this.

Crop rotation – the practice of growing different plant families in different gardens each season. Eg tomatoes in one bed, followed by beans the next season. This helps to reduce pest and disease problems and also reduces nutrient deficiency in soils.

Potting up plants – repotting plants into a larger pot size. This helps to reduce the roots become tangled and overgrown within the pot or container.

Improving soil – similar to feeding soil, but other natural ingredients are added, like compost, manure, or mulch.

Maintaining the garden – nurturing a garden to grow flowers, produce food and also look aesthetically pleasing. Includes watering, pruning, feeding and mulching.