Where does one start? I mean, if you were limited to just giving the very basics of this hobby to someone who had NO experience with gardening whatsoever, what would you suggest? Would you start with propagation? Cultivation? Germination? Or be like Pat Morita in “Karate Kid” and force the complete beginner to “…wax on, wax off…”?

Me, I’d start with growing tomato plants.
Why? The answer is simple, really. If you can grow a tomato plant you’ve learned all the basics needed to grow almost anything. And, if you can’t grow tomatoes then…well…there are other hobbies!

Beginner Gardening 101

Lesson 1: Seeds
Let’s start with a single tomato seed…hang on, we’re working with a beginner here…let’s take a couple more just to be sure. Set up some containers with seed-raising mix and plant your seeds. This will give the newbie gardener an understanding of seed germination principles.

Lesson 2: Seedlings
Once they’ve sprouted and produced at least two sets of leaves they’re ready for transplanting – another principle to learn. When this concept has been grasped then at least a third of the local garden nursery stock has become available to the beginner. They will be able o transplant most of the seedlings from annuals to vegetables and even tube stock.

Lesson 3: Growing Medium
The next lesson is to understand the growing medium. Is the seedling going in the ground? Or in a pot? An upside-down planter perhaps? This is a good lesson to understand why plant locations will require different mediums. Containers need far better drainage conditions than direct soil but will also require more watering. Plus, is the growing climate the right time to be planting outdoors or should these seedlings be grown away from the extreme weather.

Lesson 4: Transplanting
This is the make, or break, phase for any seedling so it’s best that a beginner gardener knows to expect that this is when they are most likely to die. Taking any plant from its comfortable surroundings and placing it in new territory will always produce “transplant shock”. This can be overcome by making the transition as least stressful on the plant as possible and providing the seedling with some liquid fertiliser as soon as they’re planted.

Lesson 5: Watering
If the gardening beginner has made it to this stage then they’re almost halfway. The next lesson is learning how to water and fertilise your tomato plant. Once flowers are produced, the plant really needs the most energy possible so constant watering and regular feeds of both liquid and organic fertilisers are important to the plant’s well-being. As fruit begins to set watering will become an almost daily activity and if they’re growing in pots, possibly twice per day. This will help the newbie grasp the concept that different stages of the plant’s life and seasonal changes affect how the plant grows and how to continue to nourish it.

Lesson 6: Plant Care and Pruning
Pruning a tomato plant is one of the easiest pruning tasks to do but it demonstrates a powerful lesson – that most plants need pruning to perform well. Left to their own devices they may become unwieldy and production may be pitiful at best. The tomato plant produces offshoots between its branches that can easily be picked off with your fingers. Left to grow these offshoots will take away precious energy from the plant yet they don’t produce any fruit.

Lesson 7: Flowers
Flowers on a plant signify a new phase and will help gardening beginners understand that plants have different needs during their life-cycle. Flowers highlight that the plant is gearing up for seed or fruit production and illustrates the much larger pollination picture…you know, the birds and the bees stuff…

Lesson 8: Fruit Production
…moving right along, once the flowers have been spent the fruits begin to swell and this is an awkward time for the plant. If production is good then it will cause stress on the plant such as heavy limbs, attraction to pests and even possible disease. The fruit will also indicate problems with the soil conditions such as blossom-end rot and splitting fruit will highlight a lack of water.

Lesson 9: Composting
Once the fruit’s been harvested and the tomato plant has finished producing it’s time to learn the basics of composting. The spent plant and any undesirable fruit can be added to the compost heap and the principles of organic gardening can be learned and hopefully applied.

Lesson 10: Next Phase – Annuals
The final lesson is not so much a lesson as it is a continuation of the learning journey. The beginner gardener can now take everything they’ve learned and apply it to another plant – and what better place to start than with annuals. Seed germination, transplanting, pruning/dead-heading, watering, flowers and even fruit production for annual vegetables will reinforce all the concepts that were learned with the humble tomato plant.

The best gardening tips that anyone can give to a beginner gardener are ones that can be learned through practical interaction. The tomato plant lends itself beautifully to this process as it’s very forgiving and will let you know, almost instantly, when a problem arises.