101 pretty good ideas from Home & Garden Television

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A continuing compendium of tips and tricks from Home & Garden Television:New to gardening? Master gardener Paul James offers several tips to help newcomers to the world of gardening become successful gardeners:1. Start small. Small gardens are easy to manage, and by starting on a small scale you'll quickly learn gardening basics such as weed control, pest and disease control, watering requirements and so on without being overwhelmed.2. Start a compost pile. Whether you choose to build an elaborate bin and compost on a grand scale, create a simple pile in an out-of-the-way corner of your property or place a store-bought composter in a sunny spot in the yard doesn't matter. All that matters is that you make compost -- and use it, of course. Spread a thin layer over your garden beds at least once a year.3. Maintain healthy soil. The use of compost goes hand in hand with maintaining healthy soil, but there are other things to consider:Try to avoid walking on the soil in established gardens, because every step compacts the soil, and compaction makes it difficult for roots to grow. Avoid working the soil when it's wet. Otherwise, once it dries, you'll wind up with big clumps of hard-packed soil. And finally, don't overwork the soil. Good soil isn't powdery; it's a mixed bag of particles of varying sizes and shapes.4. Mulch. Mulch suppresses weed growth, maintains soil moisture, stabilizes soil temperatures and much more. So do yourself a favor: mulch everything in sight with whatever organic mulch you like.5. Water properly. Don't water frequently for only brief periods of time. Doing so causes plant roots to hover near the soil surface. Instead, deep-soak each time you water to encourage roots to grow deep down into the soil. And to the extent that you're able, water early in the morning so plant leaves have a chance to dry during the day. That will help minimize fungal diseases.6. Go native. Native plants tend to be easier to grow, have fewer pest and disease problems and require less supplemental watering. As a result, if you grow a lot of native plants, you'll develop more confidence with fewer hassles. To learn more about native versus non-native plants in your area, visit your favorite nursery or contact your local master gardener's group.7. Minimize Maintenance. "Every suggestion I've made so far -- from starting small to going native -- will reduce the amount of time you have to spend in the garden. But there are two more I'd like to highlight":-- Cut back on fertilizers.-- Prune only when necessary.8. Visit the garden regularly. If you'll spend just 10 minutes a day wandering around your lawn and garden -- say, early in the morning with a cup of coffee or right after work -- you'll form an invaluable bond with everything that grows.(For thousands of other ideas visit www.hgtv.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)