One day, you wake up and realize that you want a garden of your own. Great idea, of course, but where do you start?
We all know we need space, seeds, gardening tools, organic fertilizer, and all the basics of gardening, but wait, you’re forgetting something important.
When starting a garden, it’s best to know the most common mistakes that we could make when starting.
Here are 12 things to avoid:
Not preparing plant beds
If you don’t prepare your plant beds, the roots of the plant won’t be able to penetrate the soil.
By digging the soil and adding compost, you’re preparing the best bed for the roots to spread.
Checking the soil’s condition
To have healthy plants, you need good soil. If you don’t check the soil’s condition, your plants won’t grow properly.
Some soils lack the needed minerals to grow anything. A rich soil will give way to high-quality fruits and veggies.
Too much watering
Plants need water, but not too much. Water your seedlings until they get established, but after that, you can water them as needed.
Too much water can lead to yellowing leaves and stunted growth. This is because of the lack of oxygen from being over-soaked with water.
Shallow watering your plants
Plants drink water through their roots. Another common mistake is spraying your plants with plenty of water on their leaves alone.
Shallow watering would just dry up, leaving the roots thirsty. This will cause your plants to have stunted growth.
Planting in the wrong location
Believe it or not, some plants love the sun! Unfortunately, one mistake that gardeners do is that they plant in a shaded area, fearing too much heat can wither their plants.
Tomatoes, okra, melons, jalapeño peppers, and green beans are among the plants that thrive best with full sunlight throughout the day.
Planting in the wrong season
Another mistake is when people stock up on bargain seeds and plant them. Most of these are already out of season, so don’t expect them to grow and thrive.
It’s important to know which plants grow in what season. Also, don’t store seeds too long since some of them are only viable for a certain time.
Skipping pruning
Pruning is not an easy job, but it’s necessary. The result of fruit trees and some berry bushes depends on thorough pruning.
If you leave them unpruned, the excessive branches of these plants will get all the nutrients intended for the flowers and fruits.
Spraying weed killers at the wrong time
Spraying weed killer if there’s a chance of rain or a windy day is advisable. Most of us won’t even think of considering these. Why is this so?
If you spray weed killer on a windy day, the wind would carry the chemical on the healthy plants. The same goes with spraying weed or pest killers and then it rains.
Choosing invasive plants
When you are a gardener, there will be times when you would come across a beautiful plant. You bring it home and plant it, not knowing they are invasive plants.
Unfortunately, there are plants that are invasive. Removing them would be a challenge once they have been established in your garden.
Eliminating pollinators
Getting used to spraying pesticides can also have bad effects and is another mistake that gardeners make.
By doing so, you are also scaring pollinators, which are essential in every garden.
Planting trees near your house
Planting trees near your house may look like a good idea until you realize that it’s not.
A fully grown tree is a threat, not just for your safety but this can also cause problems like falling dry leaves, dampness around your house, and too much shade.
So imagine if you have a couple of trees surrounding your home?
Planting crops in the same location
You plant your crops and they flourish, so the next year and the following year, you plant in the same location. This is actually a bad idea.
One of the most common reasons is the diseases and pests that live in the area.
The spores of these diseases remain in the same location so it’s easier for them to find a host. If you use plant rotation, this breaks the cycle.
It may seem a lot to remember and believe us, there’s plenty more, but knowing these mistakes helps us by educating us.
Also, your experience in gardening is an outstanding teacher too.
We will make a few mistakes along the way, but as long as we learn, our garden will continue to flourish and be better. Happy gardening!
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Source: Morning Chores, The Spruce, Natural Living Ideas
Featured image: Greta Hoffman – Pexels, Marco Verch Professional – Flickr
