Home Movers Guide to Growing a Garden in Your New Home

Congratulations, you just moved in your new place. It’s been a journey, and a waiting game, but you’re finally there. All of your furniture is placed in the right spots by a team of home movers all of your boxes are unpacked and you’re ready to start making your house a home. Maybe you have a green thumb, or maybe you’ve just always wanted to grow your own produce. Either way, a garden is what you deem the next project. Let us help you get started on your organic venture.

First thing to consider is the bed. You need to go ahead and prepare your bed before spring. The last thing you want to think about when you’re ready to plant is where the bed will be and how much space you allot for your new garden. If the area you choose is already a managed lawn area, use a sharp knife to cut sections from the lawn and roll it up (you can also use a sod cutting machine.) You can now use that sod in a different spot of your property to touch up or extend your lawn. Now you want to till that barren area and rake up as much green stuff as possible and then use as a barrier against weeds.

Even better, you can create a raised bed. You will get better crop yields, prevent weed infestation, and manage the water intake between your garden and the rest of your plants and landscaping. The key to these raised beds, is loose soil. That loose, untouched, unpacked soil is your ticket to some delicious tomatoes or zucchini, or whatever it is you fancy. Having a bed with dimensions that allow you to manage the garden without trampling the soil will help keep that loose soil. Watch out for using toxin ridden railroad ties or pressure treated timbers.

Plan according to the region in which you dwell. Depending on where you are, heat, shade, amount of water, types of soil, etc. can all be equally important. There are guides all over the internet to help you figure out a good starting point, but nonetheless you will need to dial in these values over time.

Using a compost can greatly impact the fertility of the soil and health of your crop. Rule of thumb, use 50/50 ratio of compost or aged mushroom soil with your native soil, unless your native soil is 100% clay. If you are trying to grow a healthy garden, clay will be the bane of your existence. Shredding leaves and using as a mulch can be a great part of your compost efforts and will have an enormous impact on fighting weeds naturally while improving your soil. Enriching your soil now, is the best early investment you can make when planting and planning a garden.

Growing salad greens, you will want to pull the mulch completely back where you plant seeds. Sow the seeds thickly and cut back your harvest as it grows. When your plants are 4 or more inches tall, use scissors and cut the plants back. Doing this a few times will increase the health, and strength/size of your crop. Now let’s consider some of the more involved crop: tomatoes, peppers, cukes, melons, etc. Start these plants with a starter crop. Don’t go with seed to crop when considering starting these guys. Pull back just enough mulch to plant these crops and leave the rest as a neatly placed barrier around the plant to fight weeds and retain water.

Lastly, remember to have fun. If you don’t have a knack for learning something new, or the patience to work with something that needs attention, this may not be for you. Keep in mind, plants are fragile and crave attention and love. The more you can put into your crop, the better your yield. Don’t expect to be an expert the first try, the first season, your first crop. We knew that our home movers need to be patient in order to become the best Nashville movers. Be able to laugh at yourself, because plenty of us have failed several times before getting it down and having success. Keep the end result in mind, once you master this art, you will have fun and thoroughly enjoy the work you put in. Be prepared to learn more than you initially intended. One of the benefits to growing and eating your own food, is learning. You will have a lot of fun and learn a ton in the process, just like our team of local movers in Nashville TN did. Happy harvesting!!