Acquiring skills?

[fuzzyred]

Does anybody have any suggestions for how to learn new things, especially when they aren't a passion? I'm going to use gardening as my example. I know very little about gardening, and I don't love it, but I do like flowers and the previous owners of my home had a garden. I woukd like to keep it alive and healthy, but I'm not someone who is comfortable winging it, especially for things like pruning and trimming where I might kill the plant.

I learn best when someone shows me what to do, and can answer my questions, but instructions will work too if I don't have a person. I know I could look up many things about gardening, or pick up a book, but I'm not aure I want to wade through that much information on something that isn't a huge interest of mine. Any ideas for finding the basics on gardening, or sifting through large amounts of knowledge to find what you need?

Comments

Start smaller

[dialecticdreamer]

If you want to learn how to take care of a particular plant, say a tomato plant in a one-gallon pot (yes, those can be raised indoors, with extra light), try growing one. Ask at the garden center, find an online friend who has a huge array of garden comments and then don't be afraid to say, "Back up. Before that. Before that," until you get to the point that you can easily understand the conversation.

Re: Start smaller

[fuzzyred]

Thank you :) That sounds like good advice. Only similar to what another friend has told me. Though it's not so much a partuclar plant I want to grow as not killing my bushes. But your advice should work for that as well.

On the up side, I do have a small succulent plant inside that I have managed to keep alive since mother's day, and it even appears to be getting bigger, so I'm quiet pleased with that.

It seems the biggest thing is to not be afraid of making mistakes, and to not worry too much about doing it "wrong".

Re: Start smaller

[dialecticdreamer]

Bushes outside almost always get over-watered. If you test the soil to the depth of your fingertip, it can be dry all the way down to the depth of your fingernail and most plants will be absolutely fine.

Re: Start smaller

[fuzzyred]

That is useful to know. And handy, since I haven't watered much this season. If the bushes are overgrown and I'd like to trim them, is it possible to kill them? I don't plan on cutting much, just trying to neaten them up.

Re: Start smaller

[dialecticdreamer]

I've killed more plants than I've kept alive. Never trim more than 1/3 of the plant's length. If the plant is a foot tall, you can give it a haircut that removes 4" from pretty much every branch if you want. Water and fertilize gently once you're done, if you're worried, and then use successive trimmings (four or six weeks apart) to shape slightly. I'm thinking that these are green bushes with no fruit? Mostly, you don't want the inner branches crossing each other, which makes them harder to trim, and cutting one or two unruly branches all the way to the crook is probably not enough to shock and kill the plant.

Take it slowly. Next spring's growth is going to show you what it wants to do, and you'll be able to shape it with more frequent "haircuts."

You have a county extension office, and they are DELIGHTFULLY willing to help.

Re: Start smaller

[fuzzyred]

Thank you! That is extremely helpful. I have a lot of bushes that are running wild, but I don't want to kill them.

"Haircuts" will wait til spring; I'm not to worried about making them perfect.

I will have to look into that.

Re: Start smaller

[dialecticdreamer]

Start finding your local extension office. They get questions year round, but things really pick up in spring as well.

Re: Start smaller

[fuzzyred]

Will do. Might have to check if there is a Canadian equivalent first, though.

Re: Start smaller

[librarygeek]

We had the same thought. ;-) I included a link to my county extension office. :-)

County extension office

[librarygeek]

If you're in the United States, call or contact your county extension office. Local Master Gardeners would adore coming over and giving you a very specific workshop.

We had one Master Gardener also working at my public library as a staff member. If you don't know how to find the extension office, your library should.

Here's mine, for a search help: https://extension.psu.edu/

Re: County extension office

[fuzzyred]

I'm not in the same place as you, but this might still be a very helpful resource, especially since I'm not sure we have anything like this in Canada. Might be worth looking up the sote for the closest city stateside though, if I can't find anything locally.