Gardening Quiz: How Well Do You Really Know Your Garden?

Gardening Quiz: How Well Do You Really Know Your Garden?

I built this Gardening quiz after too many seasons where my confidence beat my data. My tomatoes taught me humility and my soil test wrote the punchline.

Grab a pencil, a mug of something strong, and let’s see what the garden reveals. The only rule, be honest.

Round 1: Your Site, Your Microclimate

Do you know your first and last frost dates from the nearest 30 year climate normal. NOAA and national meteorological services publish them, and local extension bulletins translate them to planting windows.

My north fence keeps frost three days longer than the rest of the yard, which sets my bean sowing date. Microclimates decide harvests more than seed catalogs do.

“Microclimates can vary by several degrees across a single property.” Source: University Extension climate notes

Round 2: Soil IQ

What is your soil’s pH, texture class, and CEC capacity to hold nutrients. If you paused, order a lab test before your next fertilizer purchase.

Sand drains, silt balances, clay stores, loam forgives. Roots tell the truth by the inch.

“Many mineral soils contain 1 to 6 percent organic matter.” Source: USDA NRCS Soil Health

Aim for 4 to 6 percent organic matter in veg beds, with steady compost rather than boom and bust. I test every other autumn, then adjust in winter when the shovels rest.

Round 3: Water Wisdom

Most gardeners irrigate by hope. Plants drink by physics, through evapotranspiration, and they crave deep, even moisture.

“Vegetable gardens typically need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week from rain or irrigation.” Source: University of Minnesota Extension

Use a rain gauge, then finish the gap with drip at 0.5 to 1 gallon per hour emitters, slow and steady. I set my timer to run pre dawn, then check soil 6 inches down with a trowel, not a guess.

Round 4: Light and DLI

Sun maps beat hunches. Track hours of direct light in June and again in March, then plan crops to match.

Daily Light Integral is the total light dose that drives photosynthesis. Fruiting crops like tomato thrive around 20 to 30 mol m-2 d-1, and leafy greens grow well with less. Source: Michigan State University floriculture notes

“Tomato productivity increases with DLI up to roughly 30 mol m-2 d-1.” Source: MSU Runkle lab guidance

Round 5: Pests, Allies, and IPM

Integrated Pest Management starts with scouting and thresholds, then moves to controls in order of least risk. Sprays live at the end of the line, not the front.

“More than 90 percent of insects are beneficial or innocuous.” Source: University of Kentucky Entomology

I carry a 10x hand lens and yellow sticky cards, then snap photos weekly. Beneficials arrive if you give them nectar, water, and patience.

Round 6: Timing by Temperature

Calendar dates lie, soil thermometers do not. Corn waits for 60 to 65 F soil, 15.5 to 18 C, while peas smile at 45 F, 7 C.

Growing Degree Days track heat accumulation and predict events like codling moth flights and tomato ripening. I use base 50 F, 10 C, for warm season crops and record it with my notes.

Round 7: Nutrition Without Guesswork

Plants speak in symptoms, but tests translate fluently. Nitrogen travels in the plant, so older leaves pale first, while iron deficiency chlorosis starts at the newest growth.

Know your NPK analysis and your goal. I spoon feed nitrogen to heavy feeders by split applications, then back off as fruit sets to curb watery growth.

Round 8: Compost Confidence

Great compost smells like forest after rain. Hit a carbon to nitrogen ratio near 30 to 1 and keep piles moist to the feel of a wrung sponge.

“Maintain 135 to 160 F, 57 to 71 C, for several days to reduce pathogens.” Source: EPA composting guidance

I track with a compost thermometer and turn when the core cools. Worms finish what heat begins.

Your 20 Question Gardening quiz

1. What is your average last spring frost date within 10 days, and how does your yard differ from it.
2. Name your soil texture and the depth of your topsoil layer in inches and centimeters.
3. What is your soil pH to the nearest 0.2, and which nutrients become less available outside 6.0 to 7.0.
4. Define CEC in one sentence and explain why sandy soils often need lighter, more frequent feeding.
5. How many inches of water did your garden receive in the past 7 days, from rain plus irrigation.
6. At 90 F, 32 C, what time of day reduces evaporation and leaf scorch during irrigation.
7. How many hours of direct sun reach your tomato bed on the summer solstice and in early April.
8. What is the approximate DLI target for fruiting vegetables and for salad greens.
9. Name three beneficial insects you have actually seen this season and what they eat.
10. What is an economic threshold, and how does it guide your IPM decisions.
11. Soil temperature for sowing beans and corn, in F and C.
12. Base temperature used for warm season GDD calculations and one way you use it.
13. Two mobile nutrients and two immobile nutrients, with one symptom for each deficiency.
14. Ideal compost C:N ratio, target moisture, and safe internal temperature range in F and C.
15. Mulch depth range for perennials and for vegetables, in inches and centimeters.
16. pH preference of blueberries and of most brassicas, with a safe acidifying amendment.
17. One sign of overwatering and one sign of underwatering that cannot be faked by heat stress.
18. Pruning timing for raspberries vs. apples and the reason for the difference.
19. Seed viability rule of thumb for onions vs. tomatoes, stored cool and dry.
20. A practice you will stop this season, based on data from this quiz.

Answers and Mini Lessons

1. Frost dates come from 30 year normals, then microclimates shift them. Low spots frost early, south walls run warmer by 2 to 5 F, 1 to 3 C.
2. Texture shapes drainage and aeration. Deep topsoil, 8 to 12 inches, 20 to 30 cm, cushions roots from heat and drought.
3. Below pH 6.0, phosphorus and molybdenum lock up. Above 7.5, iron and manganese become less available.
4. CEC measures how many nutrient cations soil can hold. Sand has low CEC, so nutrients leach faster.
5. Use a rain gauge. One inch per week, 25 mm, is a baseline, then adjust for heat, wind, and soil.
6. Pre dawn watering limits evaporation and foliar disease spread. Late evening can leave foliage wet overnight.
7. Tomatoes want 8 plus summer hours, early spring far less. Move fruiting crops to the brightest ground.
8. Fruiting veg, roughly 20 to 30 mol m-2 d-1. Salad greens, near 12 to 17 mol m-2 d-1.
9. Lacewings eat aphids, lady beetles eat mites and aphids, syrphid fly larvae eat soft-bodied pests. Scout for them before you spray.
10. The pest level where damage costs more than control. Act only when you cross it, and favor non chemical tactics first.
11. Beans and corn at 60 to 65 F soil, 15.5 to 18 C. Cold soil rots seed and stunts emergence.
12. Base 50 F, 10 C, for warm season. I schedule sowing, pest models, and harvest targets with GDD totals.
13. Mobile, nitrogen and potassium, older leaves show symptoms first. Immobile, calcium and iron, new growth shows symptoms first.
14. C:N near 30 to 1, moist like a wrung sponge, 135 to 160 F, 57 to 71 C, for active hot composting.
15. Perennials, 2 to 3 inches, 5 to 8 cm. Vegetables, 1 to 2 inches, 2.5 to 5 cm, kept off stems.
16. Blueberries, pH 4.5 to 5.5. Brassicas, near 6.5 to 7.0, and use elemental sulfur to acidify slowly.
17. Overwatering, limp leaves with wet soil and root odor. Underwatering, dull leaves, dry soil to knuckle depth, and crispy margins.
18. Raspberries by cane type, summer bearers after fruiting, fall bearers cut to ground in winter. Apples late winter, to shape and manage light.
19. Onion seed, 1 to 2 years. Tomato seed, 4 to 6 years, if cool and dry.
20. Write it down. Change beats tradition if the harvest says so.

Score Yourself

• 17 to 20, you run a tight ship and your plants salute.
• 12 to 16, strong base, sharpen your measuring and scouting.
• 7 to 11, pick two weak spots and build habits around them.
• 0 to 6, start with soil, water, and light, then retake in a month.

My Field Notes, The Hard Way

I once irrigated by feel during a heat wave at 98 F, 36.5 C, then watched blossom end rot parade through the romas. A $12 rain gauge and a soil probe spared me the sequel.

I chased a phantom iron deficiency for two seasons, until a lab test showed high pH from over liming. The fix, elemental sulfur and patience, not chelate on repeat.

Top tools to level up after a Gardening quiz

• Pro soil test kit with lab mailer. Look for pH, OM percent, CEC, and P, K, Ca, Mg numbers.
• Soil thermometer with a 5 to 8 inch, 13 to 20 cm, stem. Spring sowing stops guessing.
• Compost thermometer, 20 to 24 inch, 50 to 60 cm. Turn piles by temperature, not hope.
• Drip irrigation starter set, pressure regulator, filter, and 0.5 to 1 gph emitters. Uniform beats inconsistent every time.
• Inline water meter or flow timer. Measure gallons, then schedule.
• Light meter or reliable app, plus a shade map sketch. Place fruiting crops where the photons live.
• 10x hand lens and yellow sticky traps. Scout weekly and record counts.
• Mulch by the yard, arborist chips for perennials, clean straw for veg. Depth beats frequent weeding.
• pH adjustment supplies, elemental sulfur and agricultural lime. Small, measured moves only.

Pro moves that change everything

• Keep a garden log with dates, rain, soil temps, and GDD totals. Memory lies, notes pay.
• Group crops by water and light needs, then irrigate by zone. Tomatoes and lettuce do not share a thirst.
• Feed in fractions, not dumps. Plants prefer steady meals to feast and famine.
• Plant flowers for beneficials, calendula, alyssum, dill, and buckwheat. Protein for predators comes as pests, so give nectar for the rest of their diet.

Quotes and sources that keep me honest

“Vegetable gardens typically need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week from rain or irrigation.” University of Minnesota Extension

“Many mineral soils contain 1 to 6 percent organic matter.” USDA NRCS

“Maintain 135 to 160 F, 57 to 71 C, for several days to reduce pathogens.” EPA Composting Guidance

“More than 90 percent of insects are beneficial or innocuous.” University of Kentucky Entomology

“Tomato productivity increases with DLI up to roughly 30 mol m-2 d-1.” Michigan State University, Runkle lab

Fast reality checks

• Leaf curl on tomatoes after a hot, dry wind usually reads water stress, not virus. Check soil moisture first.
• Yellow lower leaves on corn in June often mean nitrogen hunger. Top dress, then water in.
• Patchy beet germination points at crusted soil. Water a light sprinkle post sowing or cover with vermiculite.
• Poor fruit set on peppers below 60 F, 15.5 C, and above 90 F, 32 C. Protect early and provide afternoon shade in heat.

One last nudge

A garden respects measurement and rewards restraint. Curiosity grows the biggest harvests.

A gardening quiz is more than a scorecard. It’s a gut-check for what you know and a flashlight on the blind spots. Maybe you learned that eggshells can buffer acidic soils, or that citrus peels offer both food and pest control. If you missed a question or two, the dirt forgives. Grab a few tips from gardening classes or flip through gardening magazines for fresh ideas. The point is to keep growing, not just your plants, but your own skillset. Take another gardening quiz in a month, see what sticks. The garden doesn’t care if you’re an expert; it just asks you to show up, get your hands dirty, and pay attention. That’s the real test.