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New to Gardening

15-year old newbie

8 years ago

Hello gardenweb,

I am fifteen and live in Kentucky. I have grown some gardens in the past but nothing big. I would like to get into bigger plans but of course space is limited in the life of a teenager. My backyard is not really big enough for anything I have in mind. In Louisville, where I live, there is a lot of vacant property which can be purchased for very little money. But of course, it is isolated from me and would be a struggle to get back and fourth. I am open to any other ideas to fulfill this dream!

thanks,

newbie

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Comments (5)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Welcome, teen newbie! Have you explored the idea of growing plants in containers, either inside or out? One can be very creative with containers.

I urge you to visit the Container Gardening forum, and Houseplant Forum if this interests you. Both of those forums are a lot busier than this one.

My husband is from Louisville so I've been there many times.
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htmlgeek01 thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
What about finding some elderly homeowners in the neighborhood that have some space and offering to help them mainrtain (mowing, pruning, weeding) their garden in return for allowing you to do some planting?

What kind of gardening were you thinking about? Edibles/veggies or more ornamental plants like trees and shrubs? Edibles or single season plants are easy and replaceable but trees and shrubs are more likely going to be permanent to the new location, so keep that in mind.

Container gardening is a great alternative.
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htmlgeek01 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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htmlgeek01
Original Author
8 years ago
Both excellent ideas! I would really want to to edibles and veggies and indoors would be great, I was just thinking about the cost of grow lights for seed starting being a rather big number.
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agardenstateof_mind
8 years ago
Teen Newbie ... some great suggestions posted above! Some other things you might consider are vertical gardening and winter sowing; there is a forum for each on this site.

Do a web image search for "vertical gardening" and you'll get a quick idea what this can be like.

Winter sowing is a technique for sowing winter hardy seeds (and so many are!) in mini "greenhouses" and set outside for Mother Nature to care for. In their containers, they're protected from erosion and foraging wildlife, and they're slightly warmer so germinate and grow earlier than you might expect. Here in my zone 7 garden in coastal NJ, lettuce seeds sown at the end of January or early February germinate by the first week in March ... when there's often still snow on the ground. It's a very easy and inexpensive way to start an abundance of seeds.

Good luck with your gardening, and please keep us posted!
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htmlgeek01 thanked agardenstateof_mind
LaLennoxa 6a/b Hamilton ON
8 years ago
I don't know if they are in your area or not, but perhaps you could look at a community garden space?
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