5 Gardening Tips Every First-Time Gardener Needs to Know

Welcome to Bri Books, and Happy Earth Week! Today, I'm sharing the tips first-time gardeners need to know: how to start a vegetable garden, raised bed garden, herb garden, or kitchen garden without breaking the bank. These easy gardening tips and gardening hacks that'll make your life easier. Follow theBriGarden on Instagram, listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and show me your garden by using #bribooks on Instagram.  

• 1:30 - #1: Identify your USDA hardiness zone. The Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. It's divided into 10-degree zones based on the average annual minimum winter temperature. According to the stats for Bri Books and the top markets that listen to the podcast, here's a cheat sheet for hardiness zones: NYC is zone 7, Chicago is zones 5 and 6, OKC is zone 7a, Philadelphia is 7a and 7b, LA is zone 9 and zone 10, Detroit is zone 6, and Houston is zone 9. 
• 3:10 - #2: Find your sunspots. Here’s how to identify North, South, East, and West: First, point your left arm towards the sun in the morning. Now, take your right hand and point it toward the west (stretch arms like you’re giving a hug.) You’re now facing south, and your back is facing north.
• 5:23 - #3: Find out your last frost date. It's important to know is how many weeks you have until your frost date is upon you. Find the frost dates at almanac.com, and then count backward how many weeks you have remaining until that day to calculate the number of weeks you have left in your traditional summer-autumn season. In NYC, our last spring frost was April 4 and our first fall frost is November 13, meaning NYC has 222 growing days in the year.
• 6:45 - #4: Select good soil, seeds, and supplies. I recommend beginning with a seedling mix like Black Gold from Sun Gro, or Epsoma Seed Starting Potting Mix. My favorite seed company is Botanical Interests, a company I’ve been celebrating for over 5 years now. The second resource I love for seeds is CaliKim Garden and Home. She has a great selection mix. A lof the mixes are good if you want to place one order and get a half dozen crops at your doorstep. Furthermore, Kitazawa Seeds is excellent for Asian heirlooms.  I’d also recommend Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm! They sell all the worms that are great for composting and adding overall health to your garden.
• 9:15 - #5: Pick the best short-term and long-term containers for your plants. Keep vertical growing in mind when it comes to space. Listen to a recent episode of Bri Books about 8 garden-starting hacks for details on how to begin seeds on your window sill in an egg carton or fruit carton.  

Follow theBriGarden on Instagram, listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and show me your garden by using #bribooks on Instagram.