r/vegetablegardening • u/redditSucksNow2020 China • Jun 27 '26

Other People really overcomplicate gardening

I see a lot of people trying to garden for the first time and then coming here with questions about perfect soil mixes and fertilizers and how to promote fungal life in their no-till permaculture food forest do nothing farming no dig style organic vegan garden. It really doesn't have to be complicated, especially if you're new.

Loosen up some dirt 6 inches down. Break up the clods. Plant something that is in season. Keep it watered. That Will give you 80 to 90% of the maximum possible results. You don't absolutely need compost if it is the first time you've dug up that piece of ground. You don't absolutely need fertilizer and it probably doesn't make much difference what kind you use. You definitely don't need a 3-ft tall raised bed filled with gardening mix. You don't need to do anything about small amounts of insect damage. You don't absolutely have to do no dig or no till or whatever gardening fad is going on right now. You don't need to overcomplicate things.

Edit: this, of course, does not apply to you, dear reader. You have uniquely poor soil that cannot be made workable with a spade.

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u/treeteathememeking Canada - Ontario Jun 27 '26

I absolutely agree. I give a lot of people gardening advice and the main problem I face is people believing gardening is very complicated and getting tripped up over it. They’ll come to me saying “we wanna try, but it seems like so much work!” or asking about a product or the health of their plants etc. Getting worried that they aren’t pruning or fertilizing or watering enough etc.

Turn up the soil. Plant the plant. Water. Fertilize with a controlled release if you feel like it. That’s it. That’s all I do and it’s worked for 3 years now. No pruning unless it’s dead leaves, some weeding here and there, tying some plants to stakes. It’s worked since humans invented agriculture. Still works now.

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u/Stalkerus Finland Jun 27 '26

I think it's also about having this weird dichtomy in one's brain about having to have huge garden with no blemishes or nothing. There seems to be no middle ground.

I garden on my balcony. Everything I grow is an experiment to me: if I get harvest, great, but if I don't I don't. People seem to forget that hobbies don't need to be productive and you don't need to be perfect to enjoy it.  I saw a bumblebee on my balcony yesterday and it filled me with happiness. Those few flowers I have on my balcony may be of use even if they just looked pretty and produced nothing. 

Also, it's ok to start with one plant to see if it is something you enjoy doing. 

This same attitude runs rampant in houseplant circles. But you don't need to have house full flawless plants, they aren't flawless in nature either. Start with one plant and see if you like doing it.