3 Important Things Before You Start a Garden

Raise your hand if you’re planning a garden this spring, it can be a vegetable, herb, or just flowers and landscape plants.

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I am going to be planting some lovely landscape and also plan on having a large vegetable garden. Eventually when all of this is done and planted, it will be so nice to be able to sit on our 4 seater patio set to enjoy the views in front of us. It will be a lovely garden when we finish planting everything. As we’re deciding to buy new garden furniture to go with the vegetable garden that we are thinking of starting, we have been thinking about giving the whole garden a much-needed makeover in the process. It’s probably about time that the fencing gets updated, as it looks like it has been there for ages. I have always liked the look of the vinyl fencing so I will have to find a company local to us that is similar to this vinyl fencing in Los Angeles so we can get the ball rolling on this aspect of the garden. On saying that though, I think we will wait until everything else has been planted so I can focus all of my attention on those details.

Buuuuuut…..I just moved, to a gorgeous 50 acres in Montana, and know absolutely nothing about the soil conditions or light or anything for my new property.

I do know it is rocky and kinda sandy, but I don’t know the mineral composition, bacteria levels, pest problems. I know nothing.

I’ve gotta tell you something, I am not worried about any of those things. Sure I could send off samples and get my property tested for those things, but really when I first start a garden there are only 3 things I worry about.

The 3 Important Things Before You Start a Garden Are:

Moisture
pH Levels
Sunlight

Those are the 3 most crucial (in my opinion) parts of growing a healthy garden.

Fertilizers and supplements can be added to a garden as needed but if you do not have the proper moisture, pH levels, and light your garden is not going to make it. Perhaps it might be worth contacting your local company providing Trugreen california usa, or somewhere more local to you. Trugreen services will be able to offer advice on the perfect pH level that your soil needs depending on what you want to grow. It’s always better to get a professional’s opinion first before risking the potential of your garden plot. These experts should then be able to recommend the best treatment for your garden, whether that is giving your land a fertilizer or using lawn application.

Moisture is the easiest to see and remedy. If you know you do not get much rainfall or the area you are planting in is dry, make sure it gets water. If I can I like to use drip irrigation (google it, it’s awesome). If not I make sure to water my garden in the early hours of the morning, or the evening, or both. This way it does not evaporate in the midday sun.

Sunlight and pH. Both of these require some form of measurement. Most vegetables grow best between 6.0 and 7.0 pH and need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.

To test pH, you can get your soil sent off. Buy a home test kit that involves collecting soil, making slurries, and dipping pH paper into them, or get a meter. Or instead, you could look into different companies like this Las Vegas landscaping company and other similar local options that can provide yard and lawn maintenance services, this way you know every aspect of your yard and lawn is taken care of and in the best condition possible all year round.

Can you guess which method I prefer?

The meter method. You just stick it in the ground and it tells you all! The best part is most meters are under $15 and also test the sunlight and moisture levels for you as well!! This is the meter I use and love http://amzn.to/2DxyN3F

What do you do if the pH is too high? Many people use sulfur.
To raise pH many use lime or limestone or fire ashes are great as well. This is great for people like me who use a wood stove to heat my house during the winter.
I’d contact your local garden center or agriculture extension because there might be other additives that are cheap and readily available in your area. They can also help you figure out how much you need.

So what do you plan on growing this year?