You have this wonderful garden that you planted early in the spring, but by the end of the season, it is ruined! What could you have done wrong that made your turn out like this? You rake your head to figure out what went wrong but trust me it’s not just one thing. Over my years of gardening, I have seen people make so many mistakes when they are gardening. Doesn’t matter if they are beginners or experts, everyone can make a mistake.
That is why I have decided to make a list of 10 gardening mistakes that people usually make and how to avoid them. That way, people can understand where they have gone wrong and how to fix them. Don’t be discouraged by your failures, it is a valuable learning experience. From those mistakes, you can learn to become a better gardener!
Key Takeaways
- Plants are very delicate and need a lot of care to grow well. That is why never give it too much or too little of what it needs.
- Knowing the timing is key to gardening. Many gardeners miss their timing and make very common mistakes in the process.
- The sun is very important for plants. Without it, they will not be able to get their food.
- Remember to learn from failures. Don’t be discouraged from gardening because everyone makes mistakes.
10 Common Gardening Mistakes to Avoid
So here, I will give you the top 10 gardening mistakes! And of course, I shall give you a way to avoid making these mistakes in your future gardening projects.
1. Making a big garden
The first greatest mistake for any gardener: a big garden. Some people have such large gardens that they have everything in it. And it is especially the case for beginner gardeners. The way I see it, the main mistake of big gardens is in maintaining them. Bigger doesn’t always mean better, and bigger takes a lot more effort too! One person cannot hope to take care of so many plants at the same time.
How to avoid:
Plan for a smaller gardener. It helps lessen the burden of maintaining a big garden. Not just that, it can also make your gardening experience more personal. I have seen many benefits of smaller gardens helping beginners gain the knowledge for bigger gardening projects.
2. Overcrowding plants
A gardener’s worst nightmare is to see too many plants close together! It’s a big no-no to overcrowd your plants. This will cause them to compete for nutrients and the plants will not grow properly. Instead of an overgrown jungle, you will be left with wilted and dying plants.
How to avoid:
Learn the proper spacing that plants require! For example, you can plant many onion plants in a square foot area, but you can only plant one potato plant in a square foot area. Different plants need different spacing so be sure to search up how much space they need before you plant them all together.
3. Planting a wide variety
Another common beginner mistake. I have personal experience seeing a friend’s garden filled with herbs, flowers, and root vegetables all in one planting trough. Imagine my horror seeing that. If you are wondering why it is bad, the first thing is they might not have proper spacing. But the worst is the fact they didn’t complement each other at all.
How to avoid:
The best way to avoid a wide variety is to plant one type of vegetable or flower in one place. Or better yet, find out which plants complement each other! A good example of this is tomatoes with marigolds. The marigold helps the tomato by repelling any insects from eating it!
4. Not harvesting your plants
I have seen this often enough that it is becoming a problem among gardeners. Always harvest your herbs and vegetables! Some plants will soon die after bearing the vegetables so it is important that you harvest them so that you can prepare the soil for some new plants.
How to avoid:
Both the appearance and time of the plant will let you know when the plant is ready to harvest. And of course, each plant has a different harvesting time and how you should harvest them. Harvesting is reaping the fruits of your labor so make sure to look at your plant when harvesting time is nearby!
5. Forgetting to amend the soil for new plants
And after the harvest, the next big mistake is when the gardener does not amend the soil! The plant absorbs nutrients from the ground, leaving the soil barren. Unless you are growing on natural loamy soil, then you have to amend the soil to prepare for new plants. A new plant growing in old soil won’t have the nutrients needed to grow at all, and it leaves you with a bad experience of failing to garden.
How to avoid:
It is no secret; adding compost is the easiest way to amend the soil! It is both organic and adds compaction to the soil. That way, compost adds nutrients to the soil that are beneficial to future plants. So learn how to compost your food scraps and utilize them in your gardening.
6. Improper watering
Plants are so delicate, that too much water and too little water are both problems! And not just that, water too often or water too infrequently leaves your plant with an unbalanced amount of water. Beginners may be at fault for this more often but even I have done some improper watering in my time as a gardener.
How to avoid:
One convenient way of watering plants is using a sprinkler system to water them. They are automated and can water your plants regularly so you don’t have to worry about them. Of course, you have to remember not every plant has the same water consumption. Therefore, you need to adjust the watering to the plants you have and how much they need. I make sure of keeping notes of when I water my plants and how much water I have given them. Also, note that looking at the plant and feeling the soil are good ways to identify if the plant is getting sufficient water or not.
7. Too much or too little chemicals
These days, chemicals have become a necessity for plants to grow properly. Pesticides and herbicides are the common ones you may think of when you think of chemicals for plants. But don’t forget about fertilizers! They add nitrogen to the soil, and too much or too little nitrogen can cause plants to not grow properly.
How to avoid:
Just like the concept of complementing plants, you can use other plants that are good at repelling pests. That way, your dependency on pesticides is reduced. Adding just enough mulch to your soil can help stop weeds from growing on the soil. Composts are good alternatives for fertilizers as well. You will need more composts than fertilizers, but after a few grow the soil will be enriched with nutrients and you don’t need fertilizers. So keep on composting and using it in your garden. Remember, you can also add too much compost. Your plants have just the right amount to grow properly.
✨ You May like: What Are the Easiest Vegetables to Grow?
8. Planting during the wrong time
Some plants you can plant all year and they grow perfectly in every season. But what about the seasonal plants? There is a reason that tomatoes and peppers grow the best during the summer, and not all plants can survive the winter! The right time provides the right conditions for the plants to grow.
How to avoid:
A little bit of research can make your gardening all the more easier! Knowing the seasonal conditions for growing your plants and also knowing when is the perfect time to harvest them is key to a successful gardening experience.
9. Not thinking of the sun
How important is the sun for plants? Very, very important indeed! Sunlight is how many plants are able to make their food through photosynthesis. Without the sun, a plant will die. But is too much sun bad for the plant? The answer to that is a resounding yes! Some plants like tomatoes and onions need direct sunlight for long periods of time. Others like lettuce and cabbage need to grow in partial shade or they get burned in the sun.
How to avoid:
When you are making your garden, take into account which areas are getting sunlight and for how long. Different seasons will have different patterns over your garden so you should keep that in mind as well. Again, knowing which plants require direct or partial shade is important to keeping your garden successful.
10. Planting too shallow or too deep
Don’t forget about seeds when you are gardening! They are where all the magic starts in the garden. That is why it is also important to know how to grow the seeds and form the sapling. Planting too deep, and the plant will not be able to grow out of the ground. And planting too shallow means the seed won’t have the proper soil to germinate.
How to avoid:
For some plants, a good solution to how deep or shallow the seed has to be can be solved by transplanting! In transplanting, you first grow the seed into a sapling and then transfer it to the soil. This way, the germination of the seed is controlled and ensures that the plant will grow properly. Of course, this is not always possible. That’s why you should also check the soil depth that certain seeds require to grow properly.
FAQs
Do not be discouraged if your gardening was not successful. Learn from the mistakes, and take help from people with experience with your gardening. Your mistakes are a learning experience.
Choosing the wrong plants for the climate, growing too many plants together, and inadequate soil preparations are just some of the improper gardening that you can do. There are many more!
Pests and bugs, using harmful chemicals, poisonous plants, and extended exposure to the sun are some of the dangers for you when gardening. So take care precautions and take care of yourself when gardening.
Final Thoughts
There you have it! I consider these to be some of the most common mistakes that people make when they are gardening. There were many times in the early days of my gardening when my plants were not growing properly. Taking tips and help from other more experienced gardeners had helped me become a better gardener. So with the knowledge of these mistakes and tips on how to avoid them, I hope you become better at gardening!
✨ Next Attraction: How to Start a Flower Garden for Beginner?