i was just wonderin g this today. do you kind of just get a feel for it eventually. like which plants need what nutrients to produce the best crop, which plants need what degree of watering, what plants thrive better with what type of soil, what weeds make what kind of weed tea etc. does it come kind of instinctively after a while without necassarily needing to read up on the specific needs of each new plant? i am reading moreless every day and listening to videos by growveg on the utube. theres nothing i want more now than to just be a highly knowledgeable horticulturalist. this is what i want to do with the rest of my life. i guess im dreaming of that day when i can finally say, yup im good at this.
Does gardening come naturally in the end
- Thread starter Billabong
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I would say that the more you are taught and learn the better gardener you become. You will generally get the hang of what plant needs what growing conditions but knowledge doesn't come through osmosis, you will learn through reading, trial and error, and applying different methods and techniques to get the best results from what you are growing in your soil and climate zone.
I would liken it to learning how to train horses ( because I did that for a living) " Just because you have a dog you trained to sit and come does not mean that you understand and can automatically train a horse. " Why? Because you don't know yet. You need teaching. Same applies to gardening and to whatever else you may endeavour to practice.
I would liken it to learning how to train horses ( because I did that for a living) " Just because you have a dog you trained to sit and come does not mean that you understand and can automatically train a horse. " Why? Because you don't know yet. You need teaching. Same applies to gardening and to whatever else you may endeavour to practice.
hehe i like the osmosis line, i guess i was kinda hoping i would. i think what i was getting at in so many lines was, do you end up with an instinct for it that allows you to learn how to grow new plants more quickly later on?
Well, you will learn which groups of plants have like growing conditions but still will need to look up what that individual might require that's a bit different from the group in general. So, yes, for example: you will realize that brassicas have most of the same general requirements, roses are mostly needing like requirements but some will need different types of pruning techniques at different times, some will require different fertilization than the group in general, etc. So, no, osmosis won't come into it.
You gather knowledge and learn how to correctly apply that knowledge. Plants are like all other living things: they all have general chatacteristics but are still individuals.
I have been a floral landscaper for years. I can work with a lot of flowers without looking up material. However, with new flowers on the market, I sometimes need to learn about these.
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Plants want to grow, it's what they do naturally, we want them to grow where we want them. We try to make that the sort of place they like, so it helps knowing where plants come from and what happens to them naturally. Of course there are some that have been so over bred they won't survive without coddling, but for most gardens the more natural, tougher, varieties are much better. But yes, it is like anything, the more you know the better your guesses about what you don't know will be, but you will always be wrong sometimes.