5 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Garden
When I planted my very first garden, I thought I was just growing food. What I didn’t realize was that I was just one seed away from harvesting so much more than something to eat.
Patience, humility, joy - and many lessons I’d only learn the hard way.
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| Myself last summer planting seeds after using lawn clippings as mulch. |
Looking back now, I wish someone had gently taken my hands and whispered,
“There’s more to this than tomatoes.”
So, whether you're brand new to gardening or just want to feel less alone in the learning curve, here are five things I truly wish I’d known before I dug into the soil for the first time.
I thought gardening was about mastering nature; following instructions, doing it “right.” But I quickly discovered that my garden had a way of revealing me instead.
At the time, when plants were stunted, it showed me my impatience. When cucumber beetles infested my cucumbers, it showed me my need for control. And when we invested hundreds in a rototiller as 'it seemed like all great gardeners have one', it showed my ignorance and tendency to overcomplicate things.
And that’s the beautiful part.
Gardening has become a mirror - one that reflects my growth just as much as the plants.
The more I’ve slowed down, observed, and let go of perfection, the more the garden (and I) have flourished.
Mother Nature always knows best; we just need to trust her.
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| Garlic hit with 'Leek Moth'. I didn't go into a panic, I just watched to see what would happen and then took the time to learn what I could do about it. This year, we are establishing a perennial garlic bed to make controlling leek moth much simpler. |
2. Abundance Is a Blessing - But It Needs a Plan
In that first year, I planted everything. I wanted to grow all the things - without actually having a clue how to!
Beans, beets, zucchinis the size of baseball bats.
Not all of them survived, but when the harvest did eventually arrive, I was overwhelmed.
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| Our two oldest boys harvesting a whopping 51.2 pounds of Jerusalem Artichokes in 2022. |
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Now, I plan backwards. I start each planning season by asking: What do we actually eat? What can I realistically process?
It’s not about limiting the garden - it’s about making it sustainable for the season of life you're in.
2. Weeds Happen - But They Don't Have to Win
No matter how carefully you plan your garden, weeds will sneak in - it’s just part of growing in real soil.
I learned this lesson the hard way during my first pregnancy.
In July of 2014, I was just nine weeks pregnant when my Ulcerative Colitis flared up severely. After a month of extreme sickness, I ended up admitted to a Toronto hospital for 2.5 weeks.
At one point, my husband and I were met with a room full of surgeons and they told us that if the medication they were about to start me on didn’t work, surgery to remove my entire large intestine would be the next step - and if that happened, there would only be a 20% chance our baby would survive.
After already experiencing two pregnancy losses prior to this pregnancy, to say we were absolutely terrified is an understatement.
Thankfully, the medication worked and now our baby is 11 years old!
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| My husband, myself and this amazing young man of ours |
Once I was finally back home, it took over a month of recovery before I had the strength to step out onto our deck and look out at our gardens.
I am not exaggerating when I say the weeds were literally up to my shoulders.
It looked like a jungle had claimed our garden beds!
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| 2012. Our very first garden. My husband built these beds and together we both worked for days filling them with soil. If you zoom in closely you can see tomatoes on the right and 4 small cabbage seedlings in the middle. These are the very same garden beds that ended up with shoulder high weeds. |
Here’s what surprised me:
The season wasn’t lost.
Beneath all those weeds, the vegetables were still there - still growing, still pushing through - just like I was.
As I recovered, I had time to reflect and learn, and that’s when I discovered No Dig gardening.
Everything clicked. I suddenly understood what had caused the overwhelming weed pressure, and more importantly, how to prevent it from ever happening again.
Even the most overrun, chaotic garden can be restored to abundant, thriving life.
And sometimes, so can we.
4. Perfect Gardens Don’t Exist - But Yours Will Still Be Beautiful
I used to scroll through Pinterest and think I was doing it all wrong. My garden didn’t look like those perfectly pruned, symmetrical spaces.
Mine had uneven rows, trellises that leaned a little too far left, and a sad patch of kale that quit halfway through the season.
(Later I learned it was cabbage worms, but at the time, I had no idea what had gone wrong!)
Add in the shoulder-high weeds during that first pregnancy, and you can imagine how far from “ideal” things looked.
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| From this year's garden! A dear friend sent me black edamame seeds to try and a sneaky critter (most likely a rabbit) decided to top all the plants, and take a little bite out of the kale leaf at the front of this picture as well. I don't mind sharing with the wildlife, but this now has some chicken wire over, so the edamame will grow back (hopefully with vengeance!) |
I’ve come to realize that perfection is never the goal - growth is.
Some of my best harvests and biggest lessons came from the most unplanned, messy corners of the garden.
And it’s in those imperfect moments that the real magic happens.
Your garden won’t always be tidy or textbook, but it will be yours - full of life, character, and so much more than enough.
5. Community Is the Secret Ingredient
I thought gardening was a solo act; just me and the plants.
(and of course a little help from hubby from time to time.)
And even though I use my garden as a space of quiet refuge when I need my world to just slow down a bit...
I've also found that connecting with neighbours, learning from fellow growers, and simply sharing a photo of a weird bug can turn gardening into a shared experience.
That’s a big part of why we built Sunnyhill Homestead into what it is today.
It’s never been just about growing food - it’s about growing connection.
Through our local Crop Swap, free seed library, homestead visits, and one-on-one consulting, we’ve found so much joy in teaching others how to grow their own food and simplify their lives.
A strong, local community of growers can offer more wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration than any book or YouTube video ever could - and we’re so honoured to be part of that ripple effect.
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| Adding seeds we saved from our homestead into our free seed library stock. |
If you're just starting out, I hope this helps you feel encouraged - not because you’ll do everything perfectly, but because you don’t have to!
The beauty of gardening is that it meets you where you are and grows with you.
Mistakes will happen. So will miracles. And every season will shape you just as much as the soil does.
Welcome to the garden. You’re in for something special. 🌱
With love,
Sarah & The Sunnyhill Homestead Family
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