I come from a long line of gardeners so you could say it’s in my blood. You see, I’m a bit of a late bloomer and only started seriously gardening last year. In my first year, I battled flooding, blistering temperatures, spider mites, squash bugs, and so much more.
If you’re dusting off your trowels for the first time in years or starting a small garden patch for yourself, these are some of the best lessons I learned as a first-time gardener.
Roses Have a Mind of Their Own (& a Serious Death Drive)
Naturally, I did what any newbie to gardening would do for their first project — try to save a sad, lonesome, stalky floribunda rose from the Walmart Garden Center. Thanks to mom’s help and guidance, I learned all about transferring our sad stalk, keeping her fed and watered, and trimming her leaves when needed.
Of course, as any rose caretaker knows, one of my first trials to overcome was the dreaded black spot. Now, our potted rose bush (aka Mrs. Lady) has gotten and survived black spot at least five times, due in large part to attacking it early and cutting her bald.
You’d think after surviving black spot once, she’d learn her lesson. But no, too much rain or too little sunshine, and she’ll start speckling like a plague victim. But Mrs. Lady is nothing if not resilient, especially considering she’s refused to go dormant once this winter. She spent all of December, January, and February green as a rainforest, and while she makes me think she wants to die, she doesn’t have the heart to actually give it a whirl.
My big takeaway? Roses have a reputation for a reason. They need a firm hand, immediate attention, and love to play games.
Hay Bales Aren’t Always a Safe Haven
My parents love the ease of a hay bale garden, so I decided to give it a go under my mom’s tutelage. I spent weeks following a strict fertilizing schedule to create compost within the bale to provide our squash and zucchini plants with a hospitable environment.
For all of my ancestral green thumbery, nothing prepared me for an onslaught of bright red spider mites that viciously attacked the roots and stems of our plants. No amount of natural spray could rid the bales of the spider mite colonies, so we decided replanting was our best option.
Incredibly, the plants survived! The lesson here? Keep a close eye on your hay bales before planting in them.
Not Every Pot Is Ready for Planting
After a heavy rain, I discovered several of my replanted vegetables floating in their pots. Naturally, I was perplexed (and panicking). After losing half of the potting soil in an attempt to drain the poor waterlogged onions and carrots, I noticed something. Well, the distinct lack of something.
I assumed all planters had pre-punched draining holes. Turns out, some of them you have to drill out yourself.
So, before buying any new pots this spring, make sure to check the bottoms first.
Plants Are Prickly — Especially the Ones You Think Won’t Be
If you spend any time outside, you know that the natural world has a unique way of defending itself. By this time, I’d been pricked by Mrs. Lady so often that I’d learned my lesson about grabbing things without thinking.
However, the deceptively unguarded plants are the ones that always pack a punch. Trimming a squash plant without rash guards? Get ready for your entire forearms to be covered in tiny scrapes and scratches.
The lesson here? Don’t let sweet-looking plants sneak up on you.
If the Birds Don’t Get Your Tomatoes, the Calcium Deficiency Will
Tomatoes take an agonizingly long time to ripen — or so I thought. Turns out the wait was for nothing. Each ripe tomato came off the vine looking bite-worthy from the top and grotesque from the bottom.
Why? Turns out, if the birds don’t eat your tomatoes, the calcium deficiency will. Blossom Rot comes from a calcium deficiency in the soil and will literally rot your tomatoes from the bottom, up.
But a few doses of calcium watered into the soil, and voila! Goodbye, Blossom Rot.
Want to prevent blossom rot? Add crushed eggshells to your soil every few weeks for a natural calcium boost.
Fertilizer Is Your Friend
From my Shasta daisy shriveling in the center to my niece’s zinnias sprouting from seedlings into beautiful, tall blossoms, I found evidence of how important fertilizer is in gardening everywhere.
Watering is important enough, but supplementing your plant’s photosynthesis with nutrient-rich soil can make or break its longevity. And while not everyone has the money or time to wait on a custom soil test, anyone can pop in a cup of all-purpose plant fertilizer to help their plants thrive.
Related: Our 12 Favorite Plants for a Walkway & Why You'll Love Them
Herbs Are Small but Mighty
Herbs are deceptively small. I decided to plant a trio of herbs (basil, common sage, and mint) in a small potting box to dry and gift. It took a little while for them to find their footing, but once they started growing, they really got going.
I’ll be honest — I got busy and didn’t worry about trimming them for a few weeks. Without realizing it, the plants had grown to over a foot tall, spilling over the box and wrapping around the porch behind it.
So, I’m not saying you can’t live out your indoor herb garden fantasy. But I am warning you that some herbs are small but mighty.
Plants Need a Haircut (& No, It Won’t Hurt Them)
As an overly empathetic person to plants and animals, it sickened me to cut off most of Lady’s branches when she got black spot the first time and deadhead her as her blooms faded. But it only took a few months of trying to keep my flourishing Shasta daisy plant in line to learn how important trimming your plants can be.
Of course, trimming all depends on how much room you have to let your plants grow. Potted plants will always need more trimming than border plants. But, taking out those clippers and trimming things back encourages growth during the growing season.
So, if you want enviously beautiful blooms get comfortable with giving your plants a regular haircut.
Get Going & Start Growing
I won’t lie. Gardening takes a lot of work. It’s sweaty, dirty, and tiring work. Your plants will piss you off, and you’ll wish several times you hadn’t tried to grow anything in the first place. But there’s nothing like watching your seedlings turn into mature plants under your care. Now that I've done some lesson learning for you, you can get going and start growing!
