Learn as You Grow
How Gardening is Like Life — Take It One Stage at a Time
Are some plants easier to grow than others? In this post, we’re outlining one of the basic gardening principles we teach at Moonflower Kitchen Gardens — how to grow your gardening confidence along with your plants by taking it one stage at a time.
Seedling plants put their energy into sprouting the first sets of leaves and developing strong root systems.
If you’re considering starting your own kitchen garden, or even if you’ve been growing for a few seasons, you’ll always have the most success if you…
1. Select the plants that will thrive in your set-up.
2. Properly tend to them.
3. Are consistent with your routines.
But, there will also always be plants that are more challenging to cultivate, requiring more time and attention, and others that flourish effortlessly.
Understanding the stages of plant development — and particularly the stage of the plant that we consider the end-stage for harvesting, provides a framework upon which to grow your gardening skills and knowledge.
The Lifecycle of a Plant
It all starts with a seed — and the size of the seed will vary with the type of plant. After a seed germinates, the plant, now a seedling, goes from a sprout to a micro green.
At this stage, the plant produces energy from photosynthesis, stems and leaves are forming and its roots are developing and storing nutrients underground.
As a plant becomes fully established, it produces flowers and eventually seeds. And in this final stage, some plants produce fruit, such as our favorite, cherry tomatoes.
All plants have this same predictable growth cycle. The only real differences are how long a plant will grow in the garden before it reproduces seeds and what stage we harvest the plant at.
What This Means for You as a Gardener
Plants that you grow for their leaves are easy, quick wins for beginner gardeners.
In general, the longer a plant needs to stay in the garden — and the later in the stages of plant development you’ll be tending it to, the more difficult the plant.
If you’re growing a plant for the leaves, you won’t have long to wait until you’re ready to harvest, and you’ll only have to support the plant through a few stages of its lifecycle.
This is why lettuces, herbs and other greens are the best type of plants for beginners. They’re quick to sprout, easy to maintain and in some cases you’ll harvest from them the day the garden is planted.
After you’ve become skilled at growing a plant for its leaves, you’ll move on to plants that we harvest for roots, such as carrots, radishes and turnips.
Often, the plants that get most people excited about a kitchen garden are plants we grow for their final stages, the flowers and fruits — tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash or beans.
These are plants that you won’t always find success with in your first few seasons because they generally require a higher level of care and commitment.
Get Growing with Garden Coaching or Let us Set You Up For Success
There’s nothing like a baby cucumber, fresh off the vine in your own kitchen garden.
Ready to take the step of starting up a new kitchen garden, following our systems for success? Contact us today to schedule a Garden Consult.
We’ll provide you with a custom garden design plan for a small or large-scale kitchen, salad or herb garden tailored to your style, budget and interests after a consultation in your space.
When you work with Moonflower Kitchen Gardens, we’ll help coach you through a full season in your garden space — and even better, in Central Florida, we can grow plants that are harvested for their leaves, roots and fruit all year long.
No matter the level of care and attention you’re able to dedicate to your garden, or which stage you’re ready to tackle, we’ll ensure you’re prepped for it all, and growing alongside your plants.