For growers, there’s never an end to learning. But sometimes we get stuck in a rut or don’t know where to go next. Whether you’re a seasoned grower or brand new to gardening, you can master your garden with the 8-Stages of the Circle of Awesome. If you spend just 15 minutes a week on a stage and rotate through these stages, your garden know-how will catapult forward.
Rotate Through
Everything in gardening is connected. When you rotate through each stage, you’ll be connecting information you learn from one stage to another. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of nature than if you just focus on one category at a time.
Stage 1: Understanding Your Climate
Knowing your local climate conditions dictates everything from crop choice to the timing of planting and harvesting. Frost dates, growing season length, and weather patterns are just a few important aspects of climate to investigate.
Stage 2: Soil and Fertility
Your garden’s success hinges on the quality of its soil. Soil fertility affects how well your plants grow, their nutrient absorption, how they resist pests, and much more. By understanding soil, you can create a thriving environment that can have a huge impact on your harvests.
Stage 3: The Magic of Compost
Compost is black gold for gardeners! It’s a fantastic way to recycle kitchen scraps and yard waste into something that boosts the health of your soil. Composting reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and adds microbes so plants can grow healthier. It also helps retain soil moisture, which is essential for plant health.
Stage 4: Plants
Every plant has its own life cycle, and understanding this allows you to anticipate the needs of your plants at each stage. From germination to flowering and seed production, knowing these cycles enables you to provide the right care at the right time.
Stage 5: Water
Watering is not just about quantity; it’s about timing and using the proper method as well. Over-watering can lead to root rot, while under-watering stresses plants and hampers growth. Learning efficient watering techniques can save you time and resources and make your garden more resilient.
Stage 6: Prune and Trellis
Prune and trellis techniques help control pests and diseases and improve yields. Pruning encourages healthy growth and air circulation, while trellising can support plants and maximize your garden space efficiently.
Stage 7: Harvesting
Knowing when and how to harvest your crops can mean the difference between flavorful, nutritious produce and pithy, bitter, or lost harvests. Each plant has its own signs of peak ripeness, and picking them at the right time ensures you enjoy the fruits of your labor at their best.
Stage 8: Mindset
The right mindset can make all the difference. Patience, observation, and willingness to learn from mistakes are just a few of the mindsets that lead to a successful garden.
This circle isn’t just about learning new information; it can help you troubleshoot problems you might be experiencing in your garden! Don’t worry, you don’t have to figure out how to use the circle of awesome to troubleshoot garden challenges. We’ve done the hard work for you in this complimentary guide: Troubleshoot Your Garden Obstacles with the Circle of Awesome.
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