Ten ways to make gardening simpler

I love to garden, but have to fit it in when I have time. Over the years, I've learned to do a few things that make gardening more manageable for me. Maybe you do these as well! 

1. Clean out your garden in the fall before the snow hits. This can be before or after you get your first frost. I used to do this sometime in November-December, depending on how things are going with school, but the snow came early last fall, and I missed my chance. (Ugh)

Usually, I give myself an hour or two (tops) to run out there and pull out the dead plants. I compost some of the plants, but try not to compost squash and tomatoes, unless I want next year's garden to be overrun with squash and tomato plants! Anything with mold or seeds should really be "thrown away". We have lots of hedgerow edges around our property, so I just put our dead plants there, where they can break down naturally. Of course, some people have to throw stuff like that away in the garbage.

2. Pull weeds early in the spring if you have a few minutes, and need to soak up some fresh air. These first little plants grow quickly, and send down nice deep roots that are much harder to dislodge if you wait too long. I throw them on my frozen compost pile.

3. Cover the soil after you weed in the spring with some kind of mulch (cardboard, wood chips, plastic), if you aren't ready to plant yet. Here's why. You will always find dormant seeds in the soil that are just waiting for a bit of sunlight and rain to get started. When I turn the soil to get a jump start on the garden, and then forget to cover the area, I end up with a nice patch of weeds. Now, I like those weeds in and of themselves, and we've been known to harvest dandelion greens, plantain, and burdock to stir fry, but I'm perfectly happy harvesting them from my lawn, thank you very much!

4. Straw makes a great mulch...except when it's full of grass seed! I have naively used straw for mulch many times (because it's so lovely and light, and easy on the feet when you walk barefoot through your garden), and I always end up cultivating grass in spots where I don't really want grass. Maybe you're able to find seed-free straw, and if you can, it makes a very nice mulch.

5. Wait until you're SURE the snow and frost are over in the spring before popping little seedlings into the ground. In upstate NY that is a tricky call, because there's always one more snow storm waiting for people who put their winter boots and coats away too early, or naive gardeners (like me) who optimistically set out a few precious seedlings when the temps start to rise. I lost track this past spring of how many surprise storms and frosts happened in late May and early June...

6. Grow things that are easy (for you) to grow. For me, that would be beans, tomatoes, greens, potatoes, and sometimes squash. Which leads me to the next one...

7. Go with the flow.  My gardens NEVER turn out the way I plan or expect. I PLANNED to have lots of carrots this year, in my tires, just like last year. I planted my entire meager stash of carrot seeds (1 packet), and unfortunately couldn't find anymore because of the pandemic-induced seed rush this spring. Then, NONE of the carrots that I planted came up. Major bummer. We love carrots.

Instead, we have loads of squash, zucchini and cukes. And the names washed off the nice little labels I made, so I don't even know what's what, but they're growing well, and we'll find out what we have once the fruit matures!

8. Plant flowers. Some easy ones to grow are zinnia, marigolds, morning glories, and geraniums, but there are so many kinds to choose from. Perennials are a great choice too, because they just come back on their own next year! At our house we have daisies, iris, peonies, and a growing assortment of herbs.

9. MULCH, MULCH, MULCH! I like to weed, but even I have my limits. Time is precious, and mulch helps me keep my garden under control. I'm not super finicky about mulch, but I am frugal. So I use grass clippings in the gardens, and wood chips on my walkways. Our town has free wood chips that you can take, and we just use containers in our van to transport it. Maybe you have a tree trimmer friend who can deliver free wood chips to your garden's doorstep!

10. Don't stress about your garden. If you love it and it brings you joy, that's all that really matters. Happy gardening!

Do you have tips for making gardening simpler and more enjoyable? Please leave a comment and share what works for you!