What is gardening?

Gardening your credit simply means that you are refraining from applying for new credit or taking any actions that might result in a hard inquiry. You’ve planted the seeds of new trade lines, now it’s time to water them and let them grow. It’s important to approach this tactic with a goal in mind. Are you hoping to establish a history of on-time payments? Are you waiting for negative information to “fall off” your credit reports? Are you simply waiting for your accounts to age? No matter which goal you choose, try to give yourself a concrete timeline. For example your goal might be “I’m going to garden my credit until July 16th so that my new accounts can age 6 months before I take on any new accounts.” Once you’ve chosen a goal and timeline, all you have to do is stick with it! Don’t apply for new credit and keep an eye on your reports and scores.