Paul Dysinger
| Special to the Daily Herald
Whether you’re working a small farm or planning out a backyard garden, there’s nothing better than sinking your hands into some soil.
Regardless of the scale, there’s something peaceful and rewarding about growing your own flowers and crops.
And, while gardening is about unplugging from daily stressors, almost everyone still encounters a new problem or question about growing. Not to mention, planning out the perfect garden is a science.
That’s why in 2021, we launched Seedtime, the garden planning and education platform, which became the second most funded app in Kickstarter history at the time, raising support from a fast-growing community of gardeners eager to plan and succeed in their growing seasons.
Today, the platform, which is based out of Williamsport, Tennessee, has nearly half a million users, from first-timers to seasoned growers.
Our mission is to make gardening and farming easier for everyone, no matter what your experience level is or where you live. With food security, sustainability, and health becoming more top-of-mind than ever, a focus on self-reliant living is important.
So, if you have the time, get out there and give it a shot. Here are 8 tips for getting started.
Start small. It is very easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment, plan and plant a large garden, and then let it all go as life takes over. If you are new to gardening, we would suggest choosing 3-5 crops, and putting them into one or two beds. Keep it manageable so that you can follow through and make it a success. If this year’s garden turned out the way you had hoped, then add another bed and two-three more crops next year. Gardening is like any other art or skill. Time and experience will make it better. Pick a sunny spot. Most garden vegetables need six-eight hours of full sun per day. Watch how shade and shadows move across your yard through the day and pick the sunniest spot. A general rule of thumb is that leaf and root crops are usually more tolerant of shade than seed and fruit (in the botanical sense) crops.Know your soil. Is it sandy, clayey or a loam? Seedtime app offers a classroom with lessons on soil health. It will provide personalized recommendations for amending your soil.Plan for drainage. You don’t want to put your garden into a spot that collects water or has poor drainage. If this is an issue for you, you can solve it by making or purchasing a raised bed.Choose a few easy-to-care-for crops that you like. Some beginner-friendly vegetables are radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, bush green beans and sweet potatoes (if your season is long enough). Basil, parsley and thyme are easy herbs. And marigolds, sunflowers and zinnias are easy flowers. Plan your layout. You may find it helpful to organize your planting by crops with similar water or sunlight needs. You can also organize by botanical family (this makes crop rotation easier). Mixing your vegetables with flowers and herbs in the garden can be beneficial, as well as visually pleasing. For example, most flowers will attract beneficial insects, while marigolds and basil repel some pests. The Seedtime app has an AI bot named “Sprout” that helps with queries about best companion plant matches.Water smart. It is usually best to water in the morning, especially if you are doing overhead watering. A mulch of leaves, grass clippings or straw (from your local feed store) on the surface of your garden bed will help to keep your soil from drying out quickly. It will also keep the soil cooler – something that the worms and beneficial microbial life in your soil will love!Keep a journal. Keep a record of when you planted each crop, how it is doing as you go through the season, and the harvest you get off of it.
Paul Dysinger has over a decade of gardening and small market farming experience, having grown commercially at Bountiful Blessings Farm in Williamsport. He is now the CEO and co-founder of the Seedtime garden planner, with over 450,000 users. Seedtime was ranked #2 in Newsweek’s America’s Best Online Platforms 2025, in the category of Household, Homework & Energy. The Seedtime app offers organic and regenerative gardening guidance, emphasizing sustainability and simplicity. Seedtime helps users create customized, visual planting calendars based on location, climate, and crop choices. Dysinger now gardens from home and enjoys spending time with family in Middle TN.
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