Gardening Guide for Beginners

Choosing a Planting Location

The first and most important step is choosing the right location for your plants. Consider the amount of sunlight the area receives. Most vegetables and flowers need at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. Without enough light, plants will struggle to grow and yield low productivity. Observe your garden throughout the day to identify areas that receive the most sunlight.

Preparing the Soil

Good soil is crucial for healthy plant growth. Before planting, loosen the soil, remove weeds and stones. You can mix in organic fertilizer or compost to improve soil fertility. The soil needs to drain well to avoid waterlogging which can rot plant roots.

Common Soil Types:

• Clay soil: Retains water well but drains poorly.
• Sandy soil: Drains well but retains water poorly.
• Loam soil: An ideal combination of clay and sand, retains and drains water well.

If your soil isn’t good, consider improving it by adding organic matter such as well-rotted manure, mulch, bark…

Choosing Plants

Choose plants that are suitable for the climate and soil conditions of your area. If you’re a beginner, choose easy-to-grow and care for plants such as lettuce, water spinach, or gourds… Don’t choose too many plant types at once, start with a few to manage well.

Planting

After preparing the soil and choosing the plants, you proceed to plant. Dig holes appropriate to the size of the plant’s root system. Place the plant in the hole, cover with soil and water gently. Note that you should not plant too deep or too shallow.

Plant Care

Plant care is essential for good plant growth. You need to water regularly, especially on hot days. Fertilize regularly to provide nutrients for the plants. Regularly inspect plants to detect pests and diseases and treat them promptly. Prune dry and withered branches and leaves to allow plants to grow better.

Harvesting

Harvest time depends on the type of plant. Refer to the seed packet instructions or search online for the appropriate harvest time. Harvesting at the right time will give you the best quality products.

Important Notes

Patience: Gardening requires patience. Don’t be discouraged if plants don’t grow as expected. Learn from experience and keep trying.

Seek Knowledge: Learn more about gardening through books, the internet… to be able to take better care of plants.

Join the Community: Join gardening groups to learn from others.