Don’t let the lone student seated on the ground fool you — there are more students beyond the camera’s view.

Liz Baloutine, is proprietor of Seedlings Gardening, and has been a professional gardener for the past three years; her reputation is growing faster than Bermuda grass on a late spring day. She’s become a bit of an authority on starting food gardens, and offers her top 10 tips for success.

10 Tips for a Successful First Season in the Garden

1. Get to know your garden center. There are so many wonderful garden centers in the Austin area. Choose one and get familiar with it. The staff are usually gardeners and can help you with any questions you might have. Get used to the products they recommend and ask lots of questions. Some of them even have seminars!
2. Buy Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening by Howard Garrett and Malcolm Beck. I carried this book around everywhere for a year. It is a basic straightforward guide to organic gardening in Texas, which can be quite different than a majority of the country where other gardening books come from.
3.  Focus on the health of your soil. This will help with plant health, soil nutrient level, and water retention. So basically everything important.
4.  Add compost every time you plant. Compost has two benefits for your soil health. First it acts as a sponge to absorb water. Second it adds life to your soil in the form of micro organisms. This is the key to delivering nutrients in the soil and fertilizers to your plants.
5. Fertilize with an organic granular all purpose fertilizer once a month. I fertilize at the rate of one cup per 50 square feet. Plants that create fruits, such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc. need regular feeding to be more productive. While greens need the extra nutrients to keep up with the demand of regular harvesting.
6. Start small. You’d be surprised what you can grow in a small space. Give yourself time to learn gardening techniques and get a feel for working in the soil. Digging a new bed is the hardest part. If you add on a few square feet a year, you can do the work in increments.
7. Grow what you like to eat. There’s nothing worse than growing massive amounts of carrots and then discovering you don’t like carrots. I actually did this one year. What does one do with 30 carrots when they don’t want to eat them? You don’t want to be wasteful.
8. Know how and when to water. If your garden looks droopy first thing in the morning that’s a sign it needs water. Plants often wilt in the afternoon because they are losing water faster than their roots can absorb it. This is not necessarily a sign you need to water. If your soil is still moist the plant will absorb the water when the sun goes down. To ensure that your water is absorbed into the soil well, water slowly for long periods of time. This gives the water a chance to percolate down into the soil. Water will run off if you apply it at a rate faster than the soil can absorb.
9. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Granted your first garden is all an experiment. Keep in mind that killing a plant in the name of “science” and all that is holy in the world of gardening is not always a bad thing. It will just give you information on what not to do next time. And that is what makes you a better gardener.
10. Have fun. Make things pretty by decorating your garden and adding flowers. Make it scientific and keep track of your progress with graphs. What’s your thing? Make the garden your own and just have a good time.

Interested in taking Liz’s October The Gardener Within Class?

• There are three classes in the course: The Gardener Within will guide you step-by-step through the process of choosing a site, preparing a bed, planting and caring for your vegetable garden.
• Classes are hosted at the homes of participants.  When people sign up for the class they can volunteer to host a class.  The location of the class is sent out only to participants the Wednesday before the class.
• Classes are hosted at the homes of participants.  When people sign up for the class they can volunteer to host a class.  The location of the class is sent out only to participants the Wednesday before the class.
• Registration is $60 and includes private Gardener Within Facebook group, informational material, and all three classes.
• Participants may pay the Seedlings Gardening website with a credit card or through PayPal via the add to cart button.  The class will be available until sold out or Wednesday Oct 3 at 6p.
• Class participants should dress in something they don’t mind getting a little dirt on and wear closed toe shoes.  The second of the three classes is probably the dirtiest, the class is very hands on.
• It is rain or shine.
• Everyone should bring a notebook and their questions to class.
• There are no make up classes at this point, but arrangements can be made to attend a future class when scheduled.  All the information discussed in the class is also in the information packs.
• The classes are somewhat accessible for people with disabilities, but depends on the terrain of the hosting house. So check in advance if you have any mobility issues.
• I would say 14 is the youngest without a parent.  A children’s class has crossed my mind for future plans though.