Organic gardening sounds fabulous in principle—but in practice it can be hard and intimidating work. All those weeds to keep up with, tomatoes to stake and sideshoots to pinch, watering, feeding, pruning—for newbies it can be a daunting process. But really, the trick is to only bite off what you can chew—if it’s your first year gardening, don’t even try to go self-sufficient. Instead, make a garden plan you can manage.Here are a few of my favorite tips for making organic gardening as easy and as successful as possible.

• Invest in the correct tools. Whether it’s the essential toos for gardening, installing a rain barrel, or building a compost bin—spend some time getting the tools and systems in place that will make your life easier.
• Start small: Container gardens—even just growing a few herbs or a hot pepper plant is a great introduction to gardening, and much less intimidating than a half-acre smallholding.
• Limit variety: Start out with a selection of your favorites, and learn their needs well — it’ll also mean you can time your gardening better in terms of harvesting, planting out, or any other essential activities that are needed.
• Grow the easy stuff: It’s obvious, but some things are easier to grow than others. This will depend very much on where you live. In NC squashes, pumpkins, zucchinis and cucumbers seem to grow like wildfire, lettuce is happy left alone (with a little watering in hot weather), potatoes are pretty forgiving, and peppers seem to almost grow by themselves. Tomatoes are a little more tricky—but worth the effort — and eggplant seems to be a nightmare.
• Ask for help: Got a friend who wants to try growing? Why not start one garden together, rather than two separately. Not only will you have half the work, but you’ll also have company and motivation to keep going.
• Make it a nice place to be: Consider what makes a garden pleasant to be in. Plant some flowers, put in a bench or a water feature, include some shade. The nicer the space, the more you’ll want to spend time there. Even a simple thing like making paths wide enough to walk along easily can make all the difference between gardening being a chore or a pleasure.

Good Luck and Enjoy!