Theo Williams - The Essential Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Succulent Plants Indoors and Outdoors

Copyright 2020 THEO WILLIAMS MD
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Contents

Introduction

It hrd t t what nt the grwng f succulents wnt frm being a nerdy bkwtr of gardening to a vrl ntn. It might have bn th day mbd figured ut u could ht-glu thm t jut but nthng.

Suulnt hv thk fleshy lv that store wtr; th r plants that xt in thr own ut. Th put down a few rt to drw moisture and nutrnt frm th soil, but th can lv for weeks ut f th grund. This llw u t ht-glu thm t ungl, but l t tth thm t artificial stems nd nlvn floral buut. Th make their w to wedding buut, nd thn t Instagram nd Pinterest, and uddnl the world btng a path to th rock grdn. Mn ulr succulent varieties grw lf whorls , rtt tht rmbl flowers, except they r lum and llurngl lrd, gr, blues, gr-grn, mbr, deep purple and lvr. Sm are dutd in the sort f blm you fnd on gr and plums. A fw species suggest rtur of th underwater rf, wth th nmn-lk hvr r the coral-like uhrb Sticks n Fr.

On f th mt mmn brrr that rvnt l frm growing thr own fd is mlxt. Imgn, you fnll dd t grow a grdn but then you rd about th mmtmnt nr t start a grdn: bu th, mk ur t hv tht, b rful of th. After rdng u n ll th rurmnt f grdnng you might b flng pretty overwhelmed. Surprisingly, grdnng much mlr thn u may thnk.

Sn grdn came but thr' rbbl bn a tendency t mk miniature kngdm in th garden. Jn bn dates bk vr a thousand r, but th ltt boom n be traced bk to fr dr; tn doors made to ntl nt crevices f a tree. Five to 10 centimetres hgh nd ntrtl detailed and drtd, they rk hldrn' mgntn nd, whn they r, kd start t lv nt nd presents for th fr. In th US, th dr trnd h blossomed nt ut a mvmnt nd t' starting t th n hr.Th r mntur grdn flld with mg. Tn hu, chairs, lwn nd nd - fr wrld which u can create in any you hv nd r ut. A corner f a flwr bed, under a tr, n a pot on th t; th are mll th'll ft in n . Th best fairy gardens hv a lvl of precision frm the tn napkins nxt t th plates n th table, to the 'mk' mng out frm.

Evn wth nl a mll plot f land, u can hv a garden. A grdn beautifies your rrt and brng trnult t ur lf. Plus, t rvd an utlt fr creativity and nrg. If u plant vegetables, u have the ddd bnu of tng your harvest. Grdn can b all numng, or they n dmnd only a fw hur a wk f your tm. It does nt take muh to plant a mll n, which vr time will develop nd mature. A t does, you as a grdnr will grw, t.

Grdnng

Food gardening n lk yoga nt t the mmnt. Rrh from th Ntnl Gardening Atn hw tht hm-grwn food production h nrd th much in th following gru:

Gd fr th world

Whthr t th t-fftvn, th nvrnmntl utnblt, or th hr damn nutrtun of t all, fd grdnng bmng the frzn aisle f the future.Trusted Source Plus, gvn th recent COVID-related concerns around fd supply, vn more l have jumd on th trwl trn this r.

Rnwd ntrt n grdnng m b due n rt t th ll fd mvmnt. Lvr are interested n having greater t hlth, high-quality fd, knowing whr their food m from, and urtng the nvrnmnt nd th local nm.

Organic grdnng certainly tk ll th bx.

Gd fr ur body nd brain

Gardening doesnt only bt the hlth f your grnum. Th simple act f runng a hdg n l provide gnfnt hlth bnft.

Grwng a grdn nurg l t ngg in thr bhvr nd activities that promote wellness. Fr xml, grdnr num mr frut and vegetables than nn-grdnr.Trutd Sur

Hm grdnr who h t grw fd organically reduce their xur to pesticides.

People nd u potentially tng produce wth a hghr nutrnt ntnt.Trutd Sur

Grdnng l rdu stress nd mrv mntl hlth.

A study showed tht grdnng l untd as mdrt-ntnt xr nd can help wmn lv lngr.Trutd Sur

Wll, wht r you waiting for? Strt getting those fngr grn! Whthr u have ur wn lt f lnd or nd to uru n alternative approach to gardening, th hnd-dnd gud will hv you lbw d in mt n n time t all.

Rul numero un: Relax and hv fun. Grdnng is ftn a r of trl nd rrr, nd w rm that t nt ntmdtng it might seem

Wht a lnt wants, wht a lnt needs

Plnt r lk l, but better. Eh t of lnt h a unu rnlt nd likes dffrnt things (wtr, unlght, l type, different hats, etc.). Some lnt like t hot nd unn, whl thr lk t lr r moister (r bth).

In short, m r Huffluff, nd m r not. It fun, but meeting th needs f ur dlng n tk a bt f xrmnttn (and ntrnt rrh) t learn wht works bt fr a particular t of lnt. That bng d, virtually all lnt rur a fw b ngrdnt:

Sun

Plants r rtt mgl, as they hrn energy frm the sun nd, through htnth, nvrt tht energy into thr tu.

(Try tng sunlight. W bet u cant. Also we bt you lk flh trng t t unlght. Plnt wn this rund, k?)

Bu plants nd th un to grow, mn f thm, nludng mt frut nd vgg, nd a gd munt f drt sun durng th d. Mmmm. Tasty, tt sunbeams.

Hv a shadier plot? Rrh which lnt prefer shady conditions f you have l light vlbl. (Also, t hatching hd plots. Yu r nt the urvlln you thnk.)

Wtr

Plnt l nd water. Jut as a frh bvrg k you frm wilting in th sun, plants rl n there bng a gd amount f wtr available nrb t stay rud nd hlth. In mn l, t may b necessary to water ur grdn rgulrl n rdr t keep lnt h.

Consider your wtr sources. If thr not l t ur grdn plot, t will be important t fgur ut a system fr trnrtng wtr t your grdn.

Water conundrum! Dont forget, whl youre out tllng th l th summer, u nd water t. St u to dt n tng hdrtd.

Lght

Dndng n the z f your rd nd how it is tutd, u m nt hv muh h whn t m t light. Dont wrr; thr are plants utbl for vr dgr of lght.

If your grdn gt at lt x hur f full sun vr d, you can lnt vgtbl nd flwr rurng full un. If you gt sun n th morning nd hd in th afternoon, bu lnt that d wll in hlf, r rtl, hd.

Bu lnt tht grow in lght hd f ur garden gt fewer thn three hur f unlght a d, nd th fr d shade if there nvr drt un on th grdn.

In gnrl, grdn tht face south have un ll d, while th tht f nrth hv no direct un. Cndr tr, buldng, nd fn, ll f whh n blk unlght.

Mulh

Evr gd gardener xtl th vrtu f mulch. You n bu mulh, usually wood chips, r make ur wn from gr clippings nd lf lttr. Mt gardeners use th frmr whn th grdn tv nd th lttr durng the ld, drmnt mnth of wntr.

Mulh holds n mtur nd nhbt wd growth. On the grdn is lntd, spread mulh so tht t an nh r tw d. Tk r nt to mulch u gnt plant tm but lv m r rund thm tht th dont rt.

Be rlt whn you plan ur frt garden. Start mll; you n always expand later n th ummr or nxt spring. Pull wd whn u t thm, wtr rgulrl, frtlz durng the growing season, nd thn t bk and nj th frut f ur lbr.

Nutrnt nd l

You nd to eat as hlth as possible t stay t k hlth, rght? On a mlr level, plants nd nutrnt, nd lots of thm.

In lrgr farming rtn, dffrnt nutrnt cycle through th soil dffrnt lnt grw. Th is wht they mn b frtl l nutrnt-rh bunt of grwth for nw lnt.Trutd Source

You mght nd to add nutrnt mnull f ur garden nt already part f n annual r rttn l (nd if ur reading about gardening b, thats nt ltgthr likely although f mlhd farmers r l tund n, wlm!)

Hwvr, thr a hug range f lnt nutrients available to buy online.

Unless u hv xrn (or l blt we dnt knw but), u wnt b able t tell f l frtl just by lkng t t. Lukl, there r ld f DIY ttng kits out thr to show you hw acidic or alkaline the l .

Even n u hv the testing kits, hw d u know wht t lk for? Wll, acidity fr mt lnt huld b btwn a pH f 6.1 nd 7.0.

Almt lk 60s thrwbk, some plants, lk rhddndrn and hthr, lk a bt f d. A H f 5.1 t 6.0 grt fr these lf frnd. Fr those tht dnt, you might nd t dd a bt f lime (th stone, nt the frut.) An pH lwr than th could u m lm t, th mn t hghl d.