Avoid Analysis Paralysis and Just Start Sowing

Analysis paralysis happens when you spend so much time learning about something that the information becomes overwhelming and it starts to feel impossible to actually start doing that thing that you are learning about. So, the first thing that I want to recommend to everyone right now is to put down your phone, step away from your computer, and just try to grow something. There are a million blogs, YouTube videos, and Instagram accounts that are devoted to telling you everything you need to know about gardening, but do you know how you will truly learn? You just have to do it! So, if you've never grown anything before, what I want you to do is to go to the nearest plant nursery, or home improvement store, and buy a small bag of potting mix, a pot, (or use something that you might have lying around the house) and a packet of seeds. Keep the seed choice simple. Don't try to grow something like watermelon right out of the gate. The easiest things to grow are the ones that only need to grow leaves to provide a harvest. So get something like a leafy lettuce or an herb that you enjoy cooking with.

Now, fill that pot with the potting mix and add a few seeds. My trick for knowing how deep to plant the seeds is to go twice as far down as the size of the seed. So if it's a tiny seed, you only want a light sprinkling of soil on top, but a large seed can go deeper down. Most seed packets will also give instructions on soil depth and spacing, so make sure you look at that too. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy, until you see the little seedlings start to pop up. Once this happens, make sure you have decent light, a grow light would be best, but a nice bright windowsill may do the trick, and continue to water it as needed.

You have now officially gotten your hands dirty! There is, of course, a lot more to gardening than simply throwing seeds and soil into a pot, but I think that it's important to just try this to start with. We can get into fertilizer, seasons, soil health, and everything else later. Did the seedlings die before you were able to get anything of use from them? That's ok! Maybe there was something that needed to be done differently with that particular seed, so now is the time to look for information on what that seed needed and then try again. Maybe you were giving it too much water, or not enough, so now we can learn what the proper watering technique should be for that plant. By doing this, you will learn how to grow that one thing well, which will make learning everything else so much easier. You can spend all of your time reading blog after blog and watching endless videos online, but until you actually try for yourself it will always feel like an elusive dream that becomes increasingly more overwhelming with every blog. Plus, the excitement of seeing that first little seedling push its way up through the soil cannot be properly described, and it never gets old.

I do not believe that there are some people who just naturally have a green thumb. You are either someone who tried and then learned from your mistakes and tried again, or you gave up. Gardening is all about knowledge and practice. As long as you are willing to learn, and keep trying, you have the potential to have an amazing garden. And the sooner you start, the sooner you will reap the rewards.

What I recommend to start:

-One small pot, which can be anything that you might have around the house as long as it has drainage holes in the bottom.

-Potting mix, this can be whatever you find on sale in the store. Don't worry about fertilizer just yet, most potting mix has enough nutrients to get you started.

-Seed packet of your choice. I recommend starting with an herb like basil, or a leafy lettuce like little gem lettuce. I would stay away from parsley, cilantro, and lavender for now, those seeds can be difficult to germinate and I don't want anyone to feel discouraged.

Did you give this a try? If so, please share your experience. I would love to personally offer whatever advice I can. My goal with this blog it to create a community of gardeners to offer advice and share their experiences, so please share yours!