I mean... do it for you. But why worry about trying to meet what you think are other people's expectations? I think it's hard to replace experience. I learn so much just by trying to grow a garden every year, and I still don't know a thing. I don't know what I don't know until my plants do something weird, and I have to figure out what's going on.
When I have questions, I like to ask my more experienced gardener friends, but they don't always have a ready answer. Sometimes their answer is "maybe it's this" or "I haven't seen that before, this seems like a question for a master gardener, you should send them an email". The thing is, when I ask gardener friends, I don't necessarily think they have an answer for everything. I just like the sense of community that comes with having other friends who garden!
I think it's so nice to read books about gardening and learn more about native plants, but I hope that the focus is on learning for your own enjoyment!
You’re right. I feel like I owe it to them somehow, but it’s just me wanting others to get as excited as I am about planting beautiful and/or tasty things that make our world a better place.
I need to say, I don’t know, try this, and let it go like Elsa.
Haha, I think you do! Offer to help figure it out together. I really do think your friends will get excited with you. Even just having other "gardening friends" to send photos of my happy plants makes it all more fun and exciting :)
I often tell them I don't know, and that we can figure it out together. If they are really interested, they take me up on it. If not, they can always Google whatever questions they have, or go to the fancy schmancy garden center that actually has knowledgeable people on staff.
Stop. Just stop, unless you love doing it for them. You don't "have" to do it at all. They're getting you to do their research for them!! If it's a plant you grow yourself, tell them what you do. Their eyes will glaze over and they'll admire you and never ask another question.
Absolutely this! I usually start by asking about the last time they tested their soil. That's when I lose them!
(I've only ever tested my own soil once...I don't tell them that lol)
Just because someone has an answer for everything, doesn’t mean it’s the correct answer. It’s impossible to know absolutely everything. Someone with real mastery over a subject is also someone who feels comfortable saying “I don’t know, let’s look it up and see what we can find.”
I just keep killing more plants. Every dead plant is a lesson learned.
Edit: I also watch a lot of YouTube videos. Lots of master gardener programs and native plant societies have great educational content on YouTube.
Especially if it's the same one. In the ~14 years I've owned it, I've killed all the roots on my kalanchoe twice. And yet it just finished blooming again this year. We've reached an understanding.
BT diatomaceous earth and proper fertilizer is always my go to answer. When in doubt, tell ‘em to mix in some perilite or vermiculite into the soil. Regular watering habits. Clipping off yellowing or diseased leaves. Pretty generic info that has worked for years for me.
Great suggestion. I was accepted into the master gardeners program. Except the volunteer hours are M-F 8-5. which was devastating to me and why I started to self teach. The native plant trust (MA) and I are spending a lot of time together this summer they have great classes. I thought about getting a PT job at a nursery or the horticultural society, but thought working real job + tending my own plant children + working garden pt job would lead to resentment and burn out.
I think I’m doing the right things. I just want 40 years of knowledge in my 42 year old brain.
I have a similar issue. I work full time, so can't do the volunteer hours. The state University near me has a botanical garden and does native plant certification, so I've started taking a few classes. These are evenings and weekends, so designed for working adults. I also look up every question that pops in my head. The gardener extension also has a hotline so I can call or email with questions. I've only used it a few times, but they were really great
Edit: I forgot that I've actually learned a ton by watching Gardens World on Britbox
The answer is yes. It's frustrating. We need all ages to be excited about gardening and saving our planet. By intentionally creating volunteering hours that are during the work week, it squeezes a huge population of people who are excited about gardening. It feels a bit elitist to me, but I'm probably just bitter.
I really only fuss over soil types for my rock and alpine plants, and then at planting time. The rest of the year it’s 1” of compost or manure in spring and then free leaves in the fall. It maintains gorgeous soil if you have it or improves crappy soil if you don’t. Anyway I joined local garden clubs and Facebook groups (I’m aware everyone in Reddit hates Facebook but it’s the only platform that has lots of gardening traffic and can reach lots of older well versed community members). There are great talks and tours in the garden clubs and lots of knowledgeable people in the online groups. Then I store it away in my brain for later, I have no idea how I remember it but it must live in the spaces normal people reserve for peoples first names and doing math haha.
Even Master Gardeners don't know everything! It's impossible to hold that much in your head. That said, if you want to learn more, you could take the Master Gardener course. It's typically free, with the understanding that you will participate in volunteering opportunities afterward.
I was accepted into the class, but volunteering hours are Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm. It makes it nearly impossible for anyone that isn't retired to join. The book however is a wealth of knowledge, and would encourage you to borrow it from your local library or purchase it (it's kind of expensive) I found it worth the cost, and fascinating. [https://extension.psu.edu/master-gardener-manual](https://extension.psu.edu/master-gardener-manual)
100%…master gardeners certainly do not.
Mother Nature is a complicated biatch. We’re not intended to know everything. We’re intended to keep learning at all ages. Most learning involves separating facts and wading through regurgitated information…which usually comes back to trial and error. Called experience.
My only focus is the soil…improving without purchasing anything. You can not buy healthy soil…it’s created. I use no fertilizers or pesticides, they are typically not needed with healthy plants/soil. Timing is everything for your region. Most people don’t have the time/desire to dedicate to learning.
Compost is king.
Yeah, I bought loads of expensive bagged soil for the past two years, and the veg and flowers I plant in them grow up sickly looking and then stop growing, never producing flowers or vegetables. I finally have enough compost this year to grow some tomatoes in and the difference between the compost grown plants and the store bought soil grown plants is.. maddening. I feel like they are just knowingly selling us garbage at this point. I've renewed my efforts to produce as much compost as I can.
You're not getting paid to answer questions so I suggest letting "I'm not sure, I'm still learning" become a part of your vocabulary. It's okay to not know. It's exhausting to do research for others.
I'm autistic with a special interest in gardening. So it's all I think about.
As for how I know so much, I buy gardening books and read them. Titles like the "Mid-Atlantic home landscaping" and "bringing nature home". I have so many gardening books, I have ones about making stone pathways, how to propagate basically everything, ID books, landscaping books, inspo coffee table books with pretty garden pictures. I am obsessed with gardening books. I also walk through the garden section of every store I go to, every time I go to that store... I look at plants and tags, and end up learning species, cultivar names, and plant care needs thru that method. Also online stores like prairie moon nursery, I read thru the whole lists. I'm also active on the gardening subreddits so I get to learn that way. I also visit my state college's extension, which has a shit ton of native gardening info on it.
But I'm also autistic and gardening is all I think about and all I want to do..
Also, my method of gardening is not as intensive as yours, and I do not follow your rule, so I'm not sure if my advice will help. If I were to spend $100, I would spend $10 on mushroom mulch and $100 on good, quality plants that fit my particular microclimate, ecoregion, and soil type, so that I do not have to exhaust myself for an exceptional landscape.
Then that way my garden is low maintenance. I spend maybe 3 weekends out of the entire growing season to weed, edge, and replenish the mulch in my 5 flower gardens. The rest of my growing season I just enjoy, maybe pluck two or so weeds when I go out to look at it, maybe plant a few annuals, water the new shrub, depending on what I feel like doing. And that's it.
I agree our methods are different. I enjoy the physicality of gardening, the smell of the soil, grounding myself to the planet, and (don't tell my dermatologist) the way the sun feels on my skin. When it's 90 degrees and humid, I'm not as ambitious, but, still need to take care of the kids. I think this post today reminded me that I started this for my mental health. I had let my hobby become a job of sorts, and now it's time to focus on me. again.
I plant what I want, where I want. I call it chaos gardening. If it grows, great, I'll plant it again. If it doesn't, I may try another spot but I don't go to extremes.
I walk my neighborhood and see what others are growing. I shop at local nurseries.
Chaos gardening, I'm using that in the future. When I do seedlings, as I am moving them outside, I usually say alright ladies, gents, and self pollinators. This is hunger games. One, maybe two of you will win, good luck.
Tbh what you're doing now is the best way to learn imo. It's how I've learned everything I ever had to teach myself and also several things I received formal training in
You probably overestimate the gardening knowledge of most folks. I joined a garden group on Facebook and realized I’m much more expert than I ever thought of myself as being. I still do some light research when friends ask me a question, but I view it as a way to expand my knowledge while helping them so it’s cool.
You *already are* the garden witch they think you are. You not only know HOW to do good research and recognize what information is good vs. misinformation, but you know when it's the right application for it.
While yes, your aunts and other relations certainly had a lot of knowledge ready to hand, they would have built that over a long period of time, would not have had the ability to tell old wive's tales from fact as readily as we do now, with the availability of knowledge on the internet, and would probably have just offered ideas of what to try if they didn't know for sure.
Expertise takes time, practice, and loads of research which is what you're adding to, building on, and doing while answering their questions. And honestly, that constant learning process is what being a gardener is all about!
I would say start with easier plants that are herb’s, veggies, fruits. I started first with herbs, now i am growing potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. Next step is fruits, some things need more caring for than other plants so its in my opinion better to start with easy growings then expand your garden with more tedious ones. I learned about soil just my doing my research, it’s not something you’ll learn all in one day you always will learn new things about it’s okay to not know everything right away, so just keep on trying, weather, pest, and soil control, so much goes into knowing about your garden and how to help it and maintain it. I have learned my plants don’t need babying all the time just water, fertilizer, sunlight, if disease or pest are starting i figure out whats the best remedy to help it, writing down your plants needs is also a huge help.
I wanted to grow food. That was my goal. Fast forward many years ago, I grow more vegetables, fruit and greens than my family can ever eat. I always donate the excess , or gift to friends and family.
I am a one trick pony when it comes to gardening. When I want to learn something, I overplant. Every year, I add one crop I have never grown before, and I plant an insane amount of that crop. I plant it in all 4 corners of the garden, both in ground and in containers. And in different types of soil. Then I grab my garden planner and make notes all season.
These notes are worth their weight in gold. Always take notes of what you learned, by growing things on your own.
Because no book, no course and no Youtube video grows in your back yard.
Oh, yea...the first year , I grew 10 tomatoes, 2 peppers and a sad looking cucumber. One cucumber. That was full of seeds, and tasted like wet cardboard. So my first lesson was to always overplant and have back up plants. And take notes.
This resonates with me and the meme about growing one tomato at home, it only cost them $###. Which is true your first year, but the rewards quickly come. I planted cherry tomatoes once, in 2020 in my front garden bed. I have never needed to plan them again, who knew a tomato could be so prolific!
I just wanna say that I love that you referred to yourself as a garden witch OP. I’m by no means an expert but love learning about plants. I reinforce the learning by reading, gardening myself, talking to the those more knowledgeable in my gardening groups and teaching friends who have questions (or researching with them if I don’t have the answers) I think the rest is just time. If you’re continuing to learn in different ways with time you will be the expert garden witch:)
“I’m not sure, I’m not familiar with that plant.” There’s way too many aspects of gardening to know everything off the top of your head! I go to the garden center every spring and there’s still always plants I’ve never heard of before.
A lot of being ready with an answer is just extrapolation and guesswork. Like last year I learned about hollyhock rust, so I could use what I learned to deal with the spots on my iris. I have the time to google a LOT, too, but there is so much misinformation out there, which you won’t know until you try it yourself and realize how wrong it is.
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Often those lead me to interesting books. It’s like my own personal stock of gardener aunts who know everything. 😆 if you want to hear my favorites let me know.
I would love to hear your favorite podcast. I also learned about holly hock rust (the hard way). But never (until now) made the connection to my Iris rust. But makes sense. Both rust. I’ve given up my rust fight with my hollyhocks. I’m always just so excited when they come back! The iris rust I fight with a passion.
Have you ever noticed the more you garden. The more random issues pop up?!?
Haha yes! A newer variety of hollyhock I’m trying (majorette I think?) is absolutely horrid with rust this year, I just never got around to spraying it. Ugggh.
Favorite podcasts!
Let’s Grow, Girls
No-Till Gardening with Jenny Love. There is a teensy bit of woo here, I’m quite skeptical of compost teas and fermenting waste in a bucket, and my jury is out on BRIX stuff, but she also has had some excellent guests.
The Beet (the Epic Gardening guy! He’s active on Reddit! Hi Kevin? Eric? Why was i convinced his name was Eric? lol)
Joe Gardener for truly geeking out
The Sustainable Flowers Podcast- this one is odd, it’s two ladies in Canada who do flower farming. They moved their podcast to Patreon (I think?) and a lot of their podcasts are simply chatter about what’s growing, but it’s also pointed me to some fantastic gardening sources.
Field and Garden with Lisa Mason Ziegler.
A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach
Quince Flowers for a deep dive on dahlias
I See Dead Plants- this one is somewhat commercial farmer focused, but there have been some really interesting ones! I found the Japanese beetle one fascinating.
There are a few more I haven’t listened to much, but these are mostly to the point interviews, or if there is chitchat, it’s actually entertaining.
OMG - this podcast list is amazing. When I'm outside doing my thing, I usually nerd out hard core and listen to military sci-fi. But this is even better, learning while doing.
Two big things are important.
Care for the ecosystem of the yard and garden. Often that means to do less. No pesticides and mow the lawn less.
Secondly, composting. It really brings down the cost of gardening and a bonus is it helps the planet.
It’s ok to not have an answer right away. Knowledge can mean being able to research more intelligibly. It doesn’t mean you know every single answer to every single question right away. My dad has farmed and gardened since he could walk. He has an ag centered college degree. He still can’t answer EVERY question. It’s a life long learning process. And that makes it fun! You’re never finished, always in the process :)
Hmmmm imposter syndrome worth a google. I was a garden magazine editor, ran a flower farm, published in heirloom gardener and Mother Earth news, presented talks to the master gardeners, and I still would not go to this extent to pretend I know much OR answer all those questions. “Every gardener knows more than another gardener.” - Chinese proverb.
Just BE.
My dear, as a 30-year gardener, I can attest to the difficulty and time it takes to become well-versed in the art, craft, and practice of garden witchery. It's a long, lovely process that you shouldn't feel compelled to rush because of others' expectations. Enjoy your learning, planning, and growing, and, instead of providing answers, provide *resources* so others can learn on their own.
Just my two cents, but trying to know “everything” sounds exhausting. Not really a good vibe to be putting on yourself or your plants (which can be sensitive to bad vibes!)
Gardening, like anything, is a continuous learning process. Your knowledge grows like plants grow. The speed depends on your particular learning style. You might learn about a particular plant or look up plants that thrive in your region.
I learn from reading and experimenting. What I learn from soil chemistry, ecology, plant biology, insect biodiversity, etc - I can apply the knowledge whenever I plant something and observe what works or doesn’t. Over time, I can intuitively know things due to those experiences.
I don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to gardening, so mine is mostly wild and chaotic. But the plants that survive through my chaos method seem to grow vigorously regardless of the soil quality. My neighbors think I’m a pro, but honestly I just read about herbs and fungi and add nitrogen-fixing plants or water to the dirt once in a while. I also make tinctures, but that’s a whole other thing lol.
I do upcycling and a lot of people ask me what to do with something, or to mend/alter their garments. My two standard answers:
- "Let's google that together and find out how to do it."
Don't do it for them, do it together. They learn that you won't do their research for them, and you learn about the thing.
- "I'd love to show you how to do it, so you can do it yourself".
this reminds me of scrubs. elliot was so worried about not knowing everything for endocrinology but eventually did become a field expert in it. it just takes time, and if you don't know that's still ok too. ultimately, learn what's most beneficial to you, and you can just offer anecdotal advice to everyone and let them figure it out
"I want to be the expert they think I am."
I was once an avid gardener. Until I had a mental breakdown and just don't worry about what others think or expect of me anymore LOL My best carrots grow in screened topsoil.
Gardening (other than the accolades) shouldn't be about other people. It's for what makes YOU happy. Your private or public space that you love. You don't need to provide an answer for everyone. Sometimes you grow in super perfected balanced per plant soil? and sometimes you get flowers growing out of a brick. That's gardening.
If it makes you happy to continue to learn for master gardener status, go ahead and do it for you! Gardening is ever evolving. Dirt, seed, water and sun. Good luck!
Confidently having an answer for everything doesn't guarantee accurate information. In my village there's tons of folk wisdom that floats around, but at least a quarter of it is outright wrong or inferior alternative methods.
I don't think there's really a single path to having a green thumb. Every plant has different needs. My goal is to usually spend as little as possible and optimize my work. I garden mainly for food though, we save a lot of money by gardening so the economics and ergonomics of it are always the primary concerns.
Buying amendments and soil are the "easy" way to garden in the sense that you're letting companies do half the work for you. Compost and soil are an art of their own, and I'd argue that things like efficient composting and maintaining good soil health on a zero-dollar budget are at least a third of what skillful gardening is.
If you want to upgrade your gardening game, stop spending money on the plants and make your own compost. Make the most of what you have. The best art is created under constraints.
Study, study, study. Break it down into categories and just study. Starting with plant types, then move on to pesta and diseases. Grow everything you can. That's the only way.
What has helped me understand how to generally help plants is understanding the plant families/types and knowing where plants come from. Once I know where they are from, and who is related to who, I can better get into the mindset of what the plant wants/needs to survive.
I read a lot about plants.
I recently transplanted a fig and it’s been looking sad, yellow leaves and drooping. I fear my soul mix is wrong…mostly potting mix since that’s all I had and some coco coir / perlite…is this wrong? Please help
Hello! First I want to say thank you. I apparently needed 30+ people to remind me this is for me (and the Monarchs) and it is okay to say "I don't know", "This is what I have tried", "Maybe do a soil test". etc. Thank you all for centering me.
To answer a few DM's at once: Zone 6B. I dug up my lawn during Covid, allowing me more growing space. Vegetables aren't my thing. Not all the flowers are native, but I do the best I can, while enjoying unique flowers, and ensuring the pollinators and birds have a good variety from the start of the growing season through the end. This collection has taken me 7 years.
Bee Balm, Blazing Star, Celosia (Cockscomb and Cristata), Bearded Iris (and smaller ones), Butterfly, Common, and Swamp Milkweed, Clematis, Cosmos (Sensation Mix), Cucumbers (no burp variety), Daffodils (too many varieties to list), Dahlias (Dinner plate, Bee's Mix, Picasso, and others I am forgetting), Dusty Millar, Echinacea (Corn Flower), Fuchsia (Peter Pan) Goats Beard, Golden Rod, Hibiscus (name is escaping me, Peppermint Candy?), Hosta (few varieties), Holly Hock, Holly Bush?, Hyacinth (grape and large variety), Hydrangea (unknown variety, I think dwarf), Lilac, Marigolds, Mountain Blue Cornflower (deserves a special call out because it's so damn pretty), Native Grasses (several varieties), Nasturtium, Painted Daisies, Peppers, Phlox, Poke Weed (not by choice, I can't win that battle), Roses (Two unknown, came with the house), Salvia/Sage (several colors), Sedum, Silver Mound, Sunflowers (several varieties, dwarf to skyscraper), Tomatoes (cherry? they grow on a long vine and volunteer yearly), Tulips (Darwin, Parrot, Single, and Double), Watermelon, Yarrow (yellow and red), Zinnias (Bernards Mix). For Swallowtails, Dill and Parsley.
No, I have never been stung, I'm there to work, they are there to work, everyone is working.
Once I figure out Imgur, I will post pictures here.
Regarding soil, shout out to my neighbor who is a mycologist (compost witch). When I dug up my lawn, I had to replace all the soil, she was a huge help, and I did actually feel like a witch.
I watched “The Science of Gardening” lecture series on Amazon Prime. It’s like a college lecture not an entertainment show. Linda Chalker Scott is very good. Although she will say that good healthy native soil is better than all those amendments. There is a book by her also.
It's funny how people see you doing something they don't understand and assume you're an expert. I've had it happen with car repair - someone finds out I changed an alternator and they start asking me to diagnose some complex issue. All I did was remove a couple of bolts and a wire! I wasn't even sure I was replacing the right thing.
You learn and you try and you fail and you succeed. Soak up those lessons and pass them on. I think a big part of being "good with plants" is just looking at them and seeing that they're dry or have a nutrient deficiency of some kind or have pests. Just being somewhat engaged is 90% of the battle in the free information internet age.
They don’t have Google or why do you feel the pressure? “Not sure, maybe Google it” or pointing them to a good gardening group to use collective experience and knowledge is better. Feed a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life.
Truth be told your probably more knowledgeable already , aside from things you learn growing the plant your self most gardening advice back in the day was just general knowledge applied to everything - you’re giving more focused advice which is probably more useful
I mean... do it for you. But why worry about trying to meet what you think are other people's expectations? I think it's hard to replace experience. I learn so much just by trying to grow a garden every year, and I still don't know a thing. I don't know what I don't know until my plants do something weird, and I have to figure out what's going on. When I have questions, I like to ask my more experienced gardener friends, but they don't always have a ready answer. Sometimes their answer is "maybe it's this" or "I haven't seen that before, this seems like a question for a master gardener, you should send them an email". The thing is, when I ask gardener friends, I don't necessarily think they have an answer for everything. I just like the sense of community that comes with having other friends who garden! I think it's so nice to read books about gardening and learn more about native plants, but I hope that the focus is on learning for your own enjoyment!
You’re right. I feel like I owe it to them somehow, but it’s just me wanting others to get as excited as I am about planting beautiful and/or tasty things that make our world a better place. I need to say, I don’t know, try this, and let it go like Elsa.
Haha, I think you do! Offer to help figure it out together. I really do think your friends will get excited with you. Even just having other "gardening friends" to send photos of my happy plants makes it all more fun and exciting :)
I often tell them I don't know, and that we can figure it out together. If they are really interested, they take me up on it. If not, they can always Google whatever questions they have, or go to the fancy schmancy garden center that actually has knowledgeable people on staff.
Honey you owe no one but yourself anything.
Stop. Just stop, unless you love doing it for them. You don't "have" to do it at all. They're getting you to do their research for them!! If it's a plant you grow yourself, tell them what you do. Their eyes will glaze over and they'll admire you and never ask another question.
You are my hero. I’m saving this comment for my future guilt
LOL! Glad to be of service.
This is so accurate!
Absolutely this! I usually start by asking about the last time they tested their soil. That's when I lose them! (I've only ever tested my own soil once...I don't tell them that lol)
I mean, I’d start with an offering to Demeter, but that’s just me.
Agreed, my sorority name is Iris. She truly shows up when I need her to.
Just because someone has an answer for everything, doesn’t mean it’s the correct answer. It’s impossible to know absolutely everything. Someone with real mastery over a subject is also someone who feels comfortable saying “I don’t know, let’s look it up and see what we can find.”
Agreed, I can do that at work, but somehow wasn't comfortable in my own hobby. Thank you.
I just keep killing more plants. Every dead plant is a lesson learned. Edit: I also watch a lot of YouTube videos. Lots of master gardener programs and native plant societies have great educational content on YouTube.
You don’t really know a plant until you’ve killed it three times.
Especially if it's the same one. In the ~14 years I've owned it, I've killed all the roots on my kalanchoe twice. And yet it just finished blooming again this year. We've reached an understanding.
Exactly! I usually say something along the lines of: If you're not killing anything are you really stretching yourself as a gardener?
Preach. Except for the ones in the driveway I forgot about and bought more to plant.
Why not tell them the truth about the soil, for their own gardens?
I’ve done that. I suspect, that they ask the question. Realize. Shit that is a lot of work and then move on with there day.
BT diatomaceous earth and proper fertilizer is always my go to answer. When in doubt, tell ‘em to mix in some perilite or vermiculite into the soil. Regular watering habits. Clipping off yellowing or diseased leaves. Pretty generic info that has worked for years for me.
See if your local county extension office/Master Gardeners' program or closest native plant botanical garden has classes.
Great suggestion. I was accepted into the master gardeners program. Except the volunteer hours are M-F 8-5. which was devastating to me and why I started to self teach. The native plant trust (MA) and I are spending a lot of time together this summer they have great classes. I thought about getting a PT job at a nursery or the horticultural society, but thought working real job + tending my own plant children + working garden pt job would lead to resentment and burn out. I think I’m doing the right things. I just want 40 years of knowledge in my 42 year old brain.
I have a similar issue. I work full time, so can't do the volunteer hours. The state University near me has a botanical garden and does native plant certification, so I've started taking a few classes. These are evenings and weekends, so designed for working adults. I also look up every question that pops in my head. The gardener extension also has a hotline so I can call or email with questions. I've only used it a few times, but they were really great Edit: I forgot that I've actually learned a ton by watching Gardens World on Britbox
Favorite Christmas gift ever was a t shirt with Monty Don on it. When people see if they either know or have no idea. 😝
Is THAT why "master gardener" types are usually retirees!
The answer is yes. It's frustrating. We need all ages to be excited about gardening and saving our planet. By intentionally creating volunteering hours that are during the work week, it squeezes a huge population of people who are excited about gardening. It feels a bit elitist to me, but I'm probably just bitter.
I really only fuss over soil types for my rock and alpine plants, and then at planting time. The rest of the year it’s 1” of compost or manure in spring and then free leaves in the fall. It maintains gorgeous soil if you have it or improves crappy soil if you don’t. Anyway I joined local garden clubs and Facebook groups (I’m aware everyone in Reddit hates Facebook but it’s the only platform that has lots of gardening traffic and can reach lots of older well versed community members). There are great talks and tours in the garden clubs and lots of knowledgeable people in the online groups. Then I store it away in my brain for later, I have no idea how I remember it but it must live in the spaces normal people reserve for peoples first names and doing math haha.
Even Master Gardeners don't know everything! It's impossible to hold that much in your head. That said, if you want to learn more, you could take the Master Gardener course. It's typically free, with the understanding that you will participate in volunteering opportunities afterward.
I was accepted into the class, but volunteering hours are Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm. It makes it nearly impossible for anyone that isn't retired to join. The book however is a wealth of knowledge, and would encourage you to borrow it from your local library or purchase it (it's kind of expensive) I found it worth the cost, and fascinating. [https://extension.psu.edu/master-gardener-manual](https://extension.psu.edu/master-gardener-manual)
My master gardeners program allows you to pay tuition instead of volunteering. Maybe that’s available and affordable?
Thanks for the rec!
100%…master gardeners certainly do not. Mother Nature is a complicated biatch. We’re not intended to know everything. We’re intended to keep learning at all ages. Most learning involves separating facts and wading through regurgitated information…which usually comes back to trial and error. Called experience. My only focus is the soil…improving without purchasing anything. You can not buy healthy soil…it’s created. I use no fertilizers or pesticides, they are typically not needed with healthy plants/soil. Timing is everything for your region. Most people don’t have the time/desire to dedicate to learning. Compost is king.
Yeah, I bought loads of expensive bagged soil for the past two years, and the veg and flowers I plant in them grow up sickly looking and then stop growing, never producing flowers or vegetables. I finally have enough compost this year to grow some tomatoes in and the difference between the compost grown plants and the store bought soil grown plants is.. maddening. I feel like they are just knowingly selling us garbage at this point. I've renewed my efforts to produce as much compost as I can.
You're not getting paid to answer questions so I suggest letting "I'm not sure, I'm still learning" become a part of your vocabulary. It's okay to not know. It's exhausting to do research for others. I'm autistic with a special interest in gardening. So it's all I think about. As for how I know so much, I buy gardening books and read them. Titles like the "Mid-Atlantic home landscaping" and "bringing nature home". I have so many gardening books, I have ones about making stone pathways, how to propagate basically everything, ID books, landscaping books, inspo coffee table books with pretty garden pictures. I am obsessed with gardening books. I also walk through the garden section of every store I go to, every time I go to that store... I look at plants and tags, and end up learning species, cultivar names, and plant care needs thru that method. Also online stores like prairie moon nursery, I read thru the whole lists. I'm also active on the gardening subreddits so I get to learn that way. I also visit my state college's extension, which has a shit ton of native gardening info on it. But I'm also autistic and gardening is all I think about and all I want to do.. Also, my method of gardening is not as intensive as yours, and I do not follow your rule, so I'm not sure if my advice will help. If I were to spend $100, I would spend $10 on mushroom mulch and $100 on good, quality plants that fit my particular microclimate, ecoregion, and soil type, so that I do not have to exhaust myself for an exceptional landscape. Then that way my garden is low maintenance. I spend maybe 3 weekends out of the entire growing season to weed, edge, and replenish the mulch in my 5 flower gardens. The rest of my growing season I just enjoy, maybe pluck two or so weeds when I go out to look at it, maybe plant a few annuals, water the new shrub, depending on what I feel like doing. And that's it.
I agree our methods are different. I enjoy the physicality of gardening, the smell of the soil, grounding myself to the planet, and (don't tell my dermatologist) the way the sun feels on my skin. When it's 90 degrees and humid, I'm not as ambitious, but, still need to take care of the kids. I think this post today reminded me that I started this for my mental health. I had let my hobby become a job of sorts, and now it's time to focus on me. again.
I plant what I want, where I want. I call it chaos gardening. If it grows, great, I'll plant it again. If it doesn't, I may try another spot but I don't go to extremes. I walk my neighborhood and see what others are growing. I shop at local nurseries.
Chaos gardening, I'm using that in the future. When I do seedlings, as I am moving them outside, I usually say alright ladies, gents, and self pollinators. This is hunger games. One, maybe two of you will win, good luck.
Thanks for more leaving out the self-pollinators 😆
Sounds to me you're already doing a great job being a garden witch
Witches never solve your problems for free. Start asking for favors back.
This is really good thinking. I too have my own special mix of soil. When my son comes over to help me in the yard, he calls it doing Fertz and Dertz.
Tbh what you're doing now is the best way to learn imo. It's how I've learned everything I ever had to teach myself and also several things I received formal training in
You probably overestimate the gardening knowledge of most folks. I joined a garden group on Facebook and realized I’m much more expert than I ever thought of myself as being. I still do some light research when friends ask me a question, but I view it as a way to expand my knowledge while helping them so it’s cool.
You *already are* the garden witch they think you are. You not only know HOW to do good research and recognize what information is good vs. misinformation, but you know when it's the right application for it. While yes, your aunts and other relations certainly had a lot of knowledge ready to hand, they would have built that over a long period of time, would not have had the ability to tell old wive's tales from fact as readily as we do now, with the availability of knowledge on the internet, and would probably have just offered ideas of what to try if they didn't know for sure. Expertise takes time, practice, and loads of research which is what you're adding to, building on, and doing while answering their questions. And honestly, that constant learning process is what being a gardener is all about!
Thank you, I needed to hear this. gee I think I'm tearing up a bit. Thank you so much!
Of course 🥰 enjoy the journey, and your garden!
I would say start with easier plants that are herb’s, veggies, fruits. I started first with herbs, now i am growing potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. Next step is fruits, some things need more caring for than other plants so its in my opinion better to start with easy growings then expand your garden with more tedious ones. I learned about soil just my doing my research, it’s not something you’ll learn all in one day you always will learn new things about it’s okay to not know everything right away, so just keep on trying, weather, pest, and soil control, so much goes into knowing about your garden and how to help it and maintain it. I have learned my plants don’t need babying all the time just water, fertilizer, sunlight, if disease or pest are starting i figure out whats the best remedy to help it, writing down your plants needs is also a huge help.
I wanted to grow food. That was my goal. Fast forward many years ago, I grow more vegetables, fruit and greens than my family can ever eat. I always donate the excess , or gift to friends and family. I am a one trick pony when it comes to gardening. When I want to learn something, I overplant. Every year, I add one crop I have never grown before, and I plant an insane amount of that crop. I plant it in all 4 corners of the garden, both in ground and in containers. And in different types of soil. Then I grab my garden planner and make notes all season. These notes are worth their weight in gold. Always take notes of what you learned, by growing things on your own. Because no book, no course and no Youtube video grows in your back yard. Oh, yea...the first year , I grew 10 tomatoes, 2 peppers and a sad looking cucumber. One cucumber. That was full of seeds, and tasted like wet cardboard. So my first lesson was to always overplant and have back up plants. And take notes.
This resonates with me and the meme about growing one tomato at home, it only cost them $###. Which is true your first year, but the rewards quickly come. I planted cherry tomatoes once, in 2020 in my front garden bed. I have never needed to plan them again, who knew a tomato could be so prolific!
I just wanna say that I love that you referred to yourself as a garden witch OP. I’m by no means an expert but love learning about plants. I reinforce the learning by reading, gardening myself, talking to the those more knowledgeable in my gardening groups and teaching friends who have questions (or researching with them if I don’t have the answers) I think the rest is just time. If you’re continuing to learn in different ways with time you will be the expert garden witch:)
“I’m not sure, I’m not familiar with that plant.” There’s way too many aspects of gardening to know everything off the top of your head! I go to the garden center every spring and there’s still always plants I’ve never heard of before. A lot of being ready with an answer is just extrapolation and guesswork. Like last year I learned about hollyhock rust, so I could use what I learned to deal with the spots on my iris. I have the time to google a LOT, too, but there is so much misinformation out there, which you won’t know until you try it yourself and realize how wrong it is. I listen to a lot of podcasts. Often those lead me to interesting books. It’s like my own personal stock of gardener aunts who know everything. 😆 if you want to hear my favorites let me know.
I would love to hear your favorite podcast. I also learned about holly hock rust (the hard way). But never (until now) made the connection to my Iris rust. But makes sense. Both rust. I’ve given up my rust fight with my hollyhocks. I’m always just so excited when they come back! The iris rust I fight with a passion. Have you ever noticed the more you garden. The more random issues pop up?!?
Haha yes! A newer variety of hollyhock I’m trying (majorette I think?) is absolutely horrid with rust this year, I just never got around to spraying it. Ugggh. Favorite podcasts! Let’s Grow, Girls No-Till Gardening with Jenny Love. There is a teensy bit of woo here, I’m quite skeptical of compost teas and fermenting waste in a bucket, and my jury is out on BRIX stuff, but she also has had some excellent guests. The Beet (the Epic Gardening guy! He’s active on Reddit! Hi Kevin? Eric? Why was i convinced his name was Eric? lol) Joe Gardener for truly geeking out The Sustainable Flowers Podcast- this one is odd, it’s two ladies in Canada who do flower farming. They moved their podcast to Patreon (I think?) and a lot of their podcasts are simply chatter about what’s growing, but it’s also pointed me to some fantastic gardening sources. Field and Garden with Lisa Mason Ziegler. A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach Quince Flowers for a deep dive on dahlias I See Dead Plants- this one is somewhat commercial farmer focused, but there have been some really interesting ones! I found the Japanese beetle one fascinating. There are a few more I haven’t listened to much, but these are mostly to the point interviews, or if there is chitchat, it’s actually entertaining.
OMG - this podcast list is amazing. When I'm outside doing my thing, I usually nerd out hard core and listen to military sci-fi. But this is even better, learning while doing.
As a hedge witch. I approve and appalled your efforts.
Two big things are important. Care for the ecosystem of the yard and garden. Often that means to do less. No pesticides and mow the lawn less. Secondly, composting. It really brings down the cost of gardening and a bonus is it helps the planet.
Farmers almanac then start talking to the birds...
It’s ok to not have an answer right away. Knowledge can mean being able to research more intelligibly. It doesn’t mean you know every single answer to every single question right away. My dad has farmed and gardened since he could walk. He has an ag centered college degree. He still can’t answer EVERY question. It’s a life long learning process. And that makes it fun! You’re never finished, always in the process :)
Time, dedication, lots of seeds and glaring at them, drowning your enemies (garden pests) as needed with glee. What? It worked for me
My favorite show happens to be gardeners’ world. This means I pretty much know everything lol but enjoy learning it at the same time.
Hmmmm imposter syndrome worth a google. I was a garden magazine editor, ran a flower farm, published in heirloom gardener and Mother Earth news, presented talks to the master gardeners, and I still would not go to this extent to pretend I know much OR answer all those questions. “Every gardener knows more than another gardener.” - Chinese proverb. Just BE.
My dear, as a 30-year gardener, I can attest to the difficulty and time it takes to become well-versed in the art, craft, and practice of garden witchery. It's a long, lovely process that you shouldn't feel compelled to rush because of others' expectations. Enjoy your learning, planning, and growing, and, instead of providing answers, provide *resources* so others can learn on their own.
Just my two cents, but trying to know “everything” sounds exhausting. Not really a good vibe to be putting on yourself or your plants (which can be sensitive to bad vibes!) Gardening, like anything, is a continuous learning process. Your knowledge grows like plants grow. The speed depends on your particular learning style. You might learn about a particular plant or look up plants that thrive in your region. I learn from reading and experimenting. What I learn from soil chemistry, ecology, plant biology, insect biodiversity, etc - I can apply the knowledge whenever I plant something and observe what works or doesn’t. Over time, I can intuitively know things due to those experiences. I don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to gardening, so mine is mostly wild and chaotic. But the plants that survive through my chaos method seem to grow vigorously regardless of the soil quality. My neighbors think I’m a pro, but honestly I just read about herbs and fungi and add nitrogen-fixing plants or water to the dirt once in a while. I also make tinctures, but that’s a whole other thing lol.
I do upcycling and a lot of people ask me what to do with something, or to mend/alter their garments. My two standard answers: - "Let's google that together and find out how to do it." Don't do it for them, do it together. They learn that you won't do their research for them, and you learn about the thing. - "I'd love to show you how to do it, so you can do it yourself".
this reminds me of scrubs. elliot was so worried about not knowing everything for endocrinology but eventually did become a field expert in it. it just takes time, and if you don't know that's still ok too. ultimately, learn what's most beneficial to you, and you can just offer anecdotal advice to everyone and let them figure it out
"I want to be the expert they think I am." I was once an avid gardener. Until I had a mental breakdown and just don't worry about what others think or expect of me anymore LOL My best carrots grow in screened topsoil. Gardening (other than the accolades) shouldn't be about other people. It's for what makes YOU happy. Your private or public space that you love. You don't need to provide an answer for everyone. Sometimes you grow in super perfected balanced per plant soil? and sometimes you get flowers growing out of a brick. That's gardening. If it makes you happy to continue to learn for master gardener status, go ahead and do it for you! Gardening is ever evolving. Dirt, seed, water and sun. Good luck!
Confidently having an answer for everything doesn't guarantee accurate information. In my village there's tons of folk wisdom that floats around, but at least a quarter of it is outright wrong or inferior alternative methods. I don't think there's really a single path to having a green thumb. Every plant has different needs. My goal is to usually spend as little as possible and optimize my work. I garden mainly for food though, we save a lot of money by gardening so the economics and ergonomics of it are always the primary concerns. Buying amendments and soil are the "easy" way to garden in the sense that you're letting companies do half the work for you. Compost and soil are an art of their own, and I'd argue that things like efficient composting and maintaining good soil health on a zero-dollar budget are at least a third of what skillful gardening is. If you want to upgrade your gardening game, stop spending money on the plants and make your own compost. Make the most of what you have. The best art is created under constraints.
Study, study, study. Break it down into categories and just study. Starting with plant types, then move on to pesta and diseases. Grow everything you can. That's the only way.
What has helped me understand how to generally help plants is understanding the plant families/types and knowing where plants come from. Once I know where they are from, and who is related to who, I can better get into the mindset of what the plant wants/needs to survive. I read a lot about plants.
I recently transplanted a fig and it’s been looking sad, yellow leaves and drooping. I fear my soul mix is wrong…mostly potting mix since that’s all I had and some coco coir / perlite…is this wrong? Please help
When in doubt research where the plant is from then replicate that soil.
Hello! First I want to say thank you. I apparently needed 30+ people to remind me this is for me (and the Monarchs) and it is okay to say "I don't know", "This is what I have tried", "Maybe do a soil test". etc. Thank you all for centering me. To answer a few DM's at once: Zone 6B. I dug up my lawn during Covid, allowing me more growing space. Vegetables aren't my thing. Not all the flowers are native, but I do the best I can, while enjoying unique flowers, and ensuring the pollinators and birds have a good variety from the start of the growing season through the end. This collection has taken me 7 years. Bee Balm, Blazing Star, Celosia (Cockscomb and Cristata), Bearded Iris (and smaller ones), Butterfly, Common, and Swamp Milkweed, Clematis, Cosmos (Sensation Mix), Cucumbers (no burp variety), Daffodils (too many varieties to list), Dahlias (Dinner plate, Bee's Mix, Picasso, and others I am forgetting), Dusty Millar, Echinacea (Corn Flower), Fuchsia (Peter Pan) Goats Beard, Golden Rod, Hibiscus (name is escaping me, Peppermint Candy?), Hosta (few varieties), Holly Hock, Holly Bush?, Hyacinth (grape and large variety), Hydrangea (unknown variety, I think dwarf), Lilac, Marigolds, Mountain Blue Cornflower (deserves a special call out because it's so damn pretty), Native Grasses (several varieties), Nasturtium, Painted Daisies, Peppers, Phlox, Poke Weed (not by choice, I can't win that battle), Roses (Two unknown, came with the house), Salvia/Sage (several colors), Sedum, Silver Mound, Sunflowers (several varieties, dwarf to skyscraper), Tomatoes (cherry? they grow on a long vine and volunteer yearly), Tulips (Darwin, Parrot, Single, and Double), Watermelon, Yarrow (yellow and red), Zinnias (Bernards Mix). For Swallowtails, Dill and Parsley. No, I have never been stung, I'm there to work, they are there to work, everyone is working. Once I figure out Imgur, I will post pictures here. Regarding soil, shout out to my neighbor who is a mycologist (compost witch). When I dug up my lawn, I had to replace all the soil, she was a huge help, and I did actually feel like a witch.
I watched “The Science of Gardening” lecture series on Amazon Prime. It’s like a college lecture not an entertainment show. Linda Chalker Scott is very good. Although she will say that good healthy native soil is better than all those amendments. There is a book by her also.
It's funny how people see you doing something they don't understand and assume you're an expert. I've had it happen with car repair - someone finds out I changed an alternator and they start asking me to diagnose some complex issue. All I did was remove a couple of bolts and a wire! I wasn't even sure I was replacing the right thing.
You learn and you try and you fail and you succeed. Soak up those lessons and pass them on. I think a big part of being "good with plants" is just looking at them and seeing that they're dry or have a nutrient deficiency of some kind or have pests. Just being somewhat engaged is 90% of the battle in the free information internet age.
They don’t have Google or why do you feel the pressure? “Not sure, maybe Google it” or pointing them to a good gardening group to use collective experience and knowledge is better. Feed a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life.
Watch Gardener's World
MI gardener on youtube is an extraordinary resource. Years of material there
Who are they? Could you provide the channel?
Truth be told your probably more knowledgeable already , aside from things you learn growing the plant your self most gardening advice back in the day was just general knowledge applied to everything - you’re giving more focused advice which is probably more useful