A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion New Members Your Member Benefits The Clueless Novice

Hello everyone!

Well... I'm a beginner and, as the title implies, I'm clueless about gardening. However, I always had a fascination for it; probably because of my childhood summers were spent watching my grandmother till under the Carolina sun and then helping her pick and prune all the rewards of her efforts. (Blueberries straight off the bush taste like CANDY!) I always wanted to start gardening, but the fear of failing after so much anticipation and hard work kept me from starting.

But that's the past and I'm not going to let the prospect of failure hold me back! However, I would love some advice to get me started, please?

Hi = I am in Northern CA also and this last spring was my first gardening adventure. My advice (as a beginner) is to have fun. Pick out your garden space, see if you can work out a rough plan of what you want to plant and where. Get some seeds or seedlings and give it a try. You can make it as simple or complicated as you want. I did lots of research before I got going. You still have time to do some reading if you want.

I try to read a little every day, in books or on the internet, about what I am growing, or planting or what I can do to make my garden better.

As you get a plan together, I would post lots of questions here. There are lots of knowledgeable people here in the forum who can help.

Good luck and have fun!
~Beth~

Oh yay! I was wondering when I may run into someone from Norcal. So far I have been having a lot of fun! The plot I picked out is small but just big enough. And boy are you right about the reading! I've been doing so much reading on everything. I even created my own little manual for all the seeds I'm planting so that I can keep track of it all. @_@

My biggest trial right now is the huge amounts of clay soil I have! The positive side: I can make clay pots for my plants! ;D

Thank you very much! And the best of luck to your garden as well! What is your favorite plant in your garden, btw?

It is a great idea to keep track of what you are planting. Be sure to keep track of where you plant also. Crop rotation, even on a small scale, is a good idea.

I don't know if I have a favorite yet. I loved the watermelon and the beans we got last year. We're in a community garden, so I got to try lots of veggies from other gardeners plots as well. It's all fun and exciting to me. And I have a four year old daughter who helps a lot, too.

Maybe you can send up some pictures as you get going. I think we all love to see photos and cheer on your progress. I'll have to upload some more this spring. We do have some stuff growing now, but it's not very pretty.

~Beth~

I got photos! I got photos! And even better, I have sprouts! Lots and LOTS of sprouts!

That's definitely a good idea to keep track of the plants. Each time I put a seed in my little "greenhouse", I have to note where all these are or I'll lose track!

I'd love to see what a community garden looks like. It sounds really nice. =)