3 Simple Steps to Garden Success Part 2: Healthy Starts

There are 3 Simple Steps to gardening success. Last week we discussed step one – healthy soil. This week we are going to discuss having healthy starts. A lot of people like to use seeds, but they can be unpredictable. Growing with starts gives you a higher success rate as well as a higher understanding of what a plant looks like when it sprouts.

When you are picking plants for successful starts here are some things you want to avoid:

1. Look for visible roots underneath. You don’t want to have visible roots.

2. Root bound plants. The roots shouldn’t be spiraling in the pot. The size of the plant should be smaller than its soil base. Usually, about 1/3 the size of the soil base.

3. Yellowed plants should be avoided.

4. Damaged plants should be avoided.

5. In general: anything the plant will have to recover from first before thriving delays its production.

When you plant your starts you will want to remember your spacing. It is important that they have the appropriate spacing to grow. You can visit https://gardenplanner.agriscaping.com/ to plan out your garden ahead of time to see how much space each plant needs.

Plant the furthest plant first and work your way towards yourself so that you don’t compress the soil or cause any other challenges when you are planting. Anytime you have a garden bed, don’t put the bed up against the wall unless you can reach all the way across (about 1/2 your height). You want to make sure you can reach all parts of the garden bed.

When you are planting make an impression in the front and back of the plant so that the plant will soak in the water. This will keep the plant from drying out quickly and the first watering will soak into the roots.

Join us next week to get more information about Step 3: Healthy Routines. To learn more and get some amazing free guides check out Agriscaping Green Thumb Thursday at https://agriscaping.kartra.com/page/greenthumbthursday