Lessons From My First Year Gardening🌱

This year, I decided to try my hand at gardening for the very first time. I went in armed with hours of YouTube research, learning terms like companion planting, composting, and all the other “pro gardener” buzzwords. I bought seeds, potting soil, and garden soil. I was ready to turn my backyard into my personal mini-farm.

In March, I started small, planting Roma tomatoes, red bell peppers, Thai chili peppers, and spinach in little indoor pots so they could sprout early. I had big dreams of transplanting them to the huge yard I had my eye on.

Then life happened.

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The Unexpected Move 🚚

By early April, I had to move suddenly. My dream yard? Gone. The new place? A tiny backyard. Not ideal for the grand garden I’d been planning.

Still, I refused to give up. All my spinach failed to sprout, but my tomatoes and peppers survived, and I still had leftover seeds. So, I started again, this time planting Roma tomatoes, peppers, and onions directly in the ground. I edged them with marigolds and basil because the internet told me it was “good companion planting.”

No one, and I mean no one, warned me about weeds when you plant in the soil. It was like a horror movie for beginners. On top of that, the soil was muddy and waterlogged. The onions never sprouted, and the other plants took forever to grow, when they finally grew, their leaves didn’t have that vibrant green color, they had a yellowish hue. I quickly learned: my backyard is NOT suitable for in-ground planting.

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The Basket Garden Experiment 🧺

Determined, I rescued the plants I started in March and transplanted them into large outdoor baskets filled with garden soil. The leaves grew beautifully, but no fruit in sight. I panicked, Googled endlessly, and worried like a new plant mom.

Finally, in August, my Roma tomatoes began to fruit. Cue my happy dance in the yard. 💃

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The Herb Stage 🌿

When I transplanted my tomatoes, I also planted some herb and vegetable seeds in large baskets: basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, oregano, kale, and spinach. The herbs were in one basket, and the leafy vegetables were in another basket. They sprouted within a week, and I was so proud. Then the Georgia thunderstorms rolled in in May/June, and I lost everything.

With no seeds left except basil, I restarted in an indoor pot, bringing it outside when the weather was nice. That basil has been going strong for weeks.

I read that sometimes it’s easier to transplant established plants, so I bought mint and rosemary from Walmart. The mint thrived. The rosemary? Turned black and died. Still no idea why.

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The Kitchen Scrap Magic 🧄

One day, I bought green onions for a recipe and learned you can plant the root ends, and they’ll regrow. I tried it and now I have an endless supply.

I got bold and tried the same with lemongrass. The problem was, it didn’t have roots like green onions. I found an article saying to soak stalks in water until roots form. Out of five stalks, only one rooted. But with everything I’d been through, I celebrated that one tiny victory. Now, it’s happily growing in a pot.

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What’s Thriving Today ✅

After all the highs and lows, here’s what’s currently doing well in my little garden:

• Basil 🌿
• Mint 🍃
• Green onions 🧅
• Lemongrass 🌾
• Roma tomatoes 🍅

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Lessons Learned 💡

1. Start small, and be ready to adapt. Life happens, so does the weather.
2. Know your soil. Muddy, soggy soil = frustrated gardener.
3. Containers are your best friend if your yard isn’t ideal.
4. Use garden soil to avoid constant weeding and unpredictable soil.
5. Kitchen scraps can be gold. Green onions and lemongrass are proof.
6. Celebrate every win, no matter how small.

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This first year was far from perfect, I lost plants to weather, bad soil, and sheer inexperience. But I also learned more than I expected and discovered the joy of seeing something you planted grow and thrive, and maybe I’m just biased, but the basil that I grew is the best basil that I’ve ever tasted. That feeling might also be because “na only me know the premium shege wey my eye see” before I could finally get a basil plant, the rewards of hard labor are delicious.

Next year, I’ll be even better prepared. And yes I’m still chasing my garden dreams. 🌱✨

Have you tried gardening or are you a gardening pro? kindly share some tips for me to keep in mind towards the next season.