18 Gardening Tips And Tricks Perfect For Beginners

Kasia Mikolajczak
person's hands in soil planting a garden
Unsplash | Sandie Clarke

I'm not one to claim that I know what I'm doing when it comes to gardening. Truth be told, I've never had a garden of my own. But that doesn't mean I don't want one. In fact, I'm planning one for this year as we speak.

So, needless to say, I need all the tips, tricks, and tools I can find. That's why I'm excited to share with you what I have recently discovered in hopes that it helps you plant the best garden ever and get all the supplies you need. Check this out.

Soda Bottle Greenhouse

micro gardens create using old soda bottles
reddit | u/thepatchontelfair

Let me ask you something: do you struggle with starting seeds or cuttings? I hear you loud and clear. But I recently found this cool gardening trick. You can create micro greenhouses using old soda bottles. All you need to do is cut the bottom off 2-liter soda bottles and plant your seeds in there. How do you like that?

Preventing Root Rot

two orange sponges with black bottom
Unsplash | Artem Makarov

Root rot is the killer of many gardens. Am I right? So what can you do to prevent that? Well, some supplies can help with that. I'm talking about old sponges. Oh, yeah! Cut them up and put them in the bottom of your gardening pots. They will prevent the water from gushing out while at the same time retaining moisture and creating necessary air space.

Gardening Slug Catcher

slug getting into a dish with beer in an outdoor garden
Imgur | Imgur

Another problem you might encounter when you have an outdoor garden is slugs getting into your plants. They are a pesky issue, that's for sure. But there's an easy solution to get rid of them and fast. Put out a dish and pour some beer into it. The slugs will drink it and die off. Hey, at least they'll go happy, huh?

Egg Shells To The Garden Rescue

egg shells spread out in an outdoor garden to deter slugs and snails eating the plants
reddit | u/monsieurpkay

If the above idea doesn't work to keep snails away from your plants, I have something else you can try. Crush some egg shells and spread them all over your plants. Apparently, the slugs don't like them at all.

Use This Soap Trick

use a shredded bar of Irish Spring soap to deter deer from your garden
Amazon | Amazon

Now that we've taken care of the small pests in your garden how about the big ones? I'm talking about deer, people. To stop these guys from eating your plants shred some plain Irish Spring soap in a food processor and sprinkle it around your garden. This should keep the deer away for good.

Repurpose Stuff To Make A Raised Bed

raised beds made out of an old shelving unit and wine box
reddit | u/flightylady

Raised garden beds are so awesome. I wanted to make one this year, but it's a bit of work. However, did you know you can repurpose furniture to make one? This person used an old shelving unit and vintage wine box to make these handy raised beds for their outdoor garden. Wow!

Cinder Block Raised Garden

If you don't have any old furniture to repurpose, don't worry. I've got another super cool idea for you. Get your hands on some cinder blocks and make a raised bed out of them. Doesn't that look awesome or what?

This Neat Gardening Trick

accent pebbles made out of goft tees and Gorilla glue are the perfect tools or gardening
reddit | u/lolokelliher

So here's a common problem: You planted things, and now you don't remember where they are, huh? Well, somebody came up with a cool solution for that. And you only need a few tools to get it done. Make these cute accent pebbles glued to golf tees, and voilà! Problem solved.

This Cool Garden Veggie Hack

bucket of water veggie cleaning gardening hack idea
reddit | u/5_Frog_Margin

Here's something that will save you time and money. Why pick your veggies and take them home to wash when you can do that right in your garden? This way, you can reuse the water to water the plants. It's handy and eco-friendly, no?

This Pepper Growing Hack

Who loves to eat peppers? They are one of my favorite veggies, that's for sure. So if you plan on growing some in your garden this year, listen up. This lady came up with the best trick. She trims the tops of the plants and swears that by doing so, they grow more abundant and produce more peppers overall. Check out her video to see the difference.

This Garden Planting Tip

using muffin tin to space out plants in an outdoor garden
reddit | u/miaworm

Planting a garden can be a hard job. How do you space everything equally, huh? Apparently, there's a cool trick for that. You can use a muffin tin to get the perfect spacing just like that. Why didn't I think of that?

Save Money On Making A Garden Bed

Making a garden bed can seem like a costly idea, but it doesn't have to be if you follow a few of these steps. All you need is a few tools that you might already have and some good quality soil. This person used cardboard to line the bed and some woody material as well as homemade compost.

DIY A Garden Sprinkler

garden sprinkler made out of a hose and water bottle
youtube | My Amazing Homestead

Speaking of gardening tools that aren't costly, did you know that you can DIY your own garden sprinkler? Oh, yeah! Check this out. This guy made one using a hose and a used water bottle and it turned out quite nice.

Mark Your Garden Using Corks

Now that you've planted your garden, you should mark everything. But how do you do it uniquely? I've got a neat concept for you. Start collecting those wine bottle corks now. That way, you can use them as pot markers. Look at that!

Encourage Pollinators To Visit Your Garden

So you planted plenty of beautiful flowers and now what? How do you get bees and butterflies to come to visit them and pollinate? Fill a shallow dish with an inch of water and put rocks or marbles inside of it. When the bees and butterflies come they can easily get a drink without drowning.

DIY A Gardening Pouch

person wearing a DIY denim gardening pouch
reddit | u/TTuser

We all need our gardening tools and supplies handy when working outside. Am I right? But this person came up with the cutest gardening pouch that you can DIY. Just use old denim pants to make one just like that. How do you like this idea?

This Lettuce Growing Hack

big lettuce and small lettuce growing in a pot
reddit | u/mediocre_medstudent1

Okay, now that you have your garden all set up did you know that you can regrow some plants? Take lettuce for example, if you stick the stump of romaine lettuce into the water, a new head of lettuce will grow from it. Mind blown, huh?

Cardboard Seed Tubes

toilet paper rolls used to start seeds for gardening
reddit | u/DantesDame

How about a different idea? You can also reuse those toilet paper and paper towel tubes to grow your seeds inside of them. Aha! That's such a neat concept, huh? I honestly would have never thought of this idea, but now that I see it, I love it.

So what do you think of these gardening hacks here?

two men planting together
Giphy | tyler oakley

I think they're pretty great, and I definitely learned a thing or two. Now I feel a little bit more confident about gardening this year. All I need is a few tools and supplies, and I'm ready to go. Do you have any tricks of your own? If you do, don't be shy and share them with us so we can all make the best garden ever.