Avoiding The 10 Most Common Gardening Mistakes

Gardening is just as much an art as it is a science, and even those with green thumbs sometimes make mistakes. Regardless of your level of gardening skill and expertise, there’s always room for improvement. And one of the best ways to improve is to be familiar with some common mistakes that gardeners make.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that gardeners make and how you can avoid them:

**Planting At The Wrong Time**

While most spring is generally the time for planting, not all plants should go in the ground at the same time. Some plants, for example, can be planted just as soon as the ground thaws, while others will quickly die if you plant them that early. There are some vegetables, like tomatoes, that you should wait until the weather is nice and warm before planting.



**Overcrowding**

Just as we all need our own personal space to feel comfortable and thrive, plants too need enough space between them so they can grow. Vegetables that are planted too close together will not grow as large as they otherwise would. This is because these plants end up competing for the same nutrients. A general rule of thumb to go by on plant spacing is that you should only plant plants close enough so that their leaves barely touch when they are fully grown.



**Not Pulling Weeds As Often As You Should**

The presence of weeds in a garden is much more than an unsightly nuisance. Weeds can severely stunt the growth of your vegetables. In addition to making your garden ugly, the root systems of weeds can actually grow into the area where your plants are growing. This creates competition for valuable soil nutrients and water, thus resulting in your plants not growing as well as they should or could.



**Not Putting Down Mulch**

One of the easiest ways to prevent weeds in the first place is to take the time to put down some mulch. Mulch prevents weeds from taking root, and it also makes our gardens look better.



**Not Watering Correctly**

One of the most common mistakes that all gardeners make at some point is not watering their gardens correctly. There’s a fine line between watering too much or not watering enough, and you need to know how much and how often to water to keep your plants healthy and hardy.

How Much Is Enough?

If you live in an area where it rains once every 7 – 10 days, you don’t need to water your garden at all. Nature will take care of it. If rain is infrequent, then you definitely need to water your garden manually.  When you do water your garden, be sure to soak the ground thoroughly so that plenty of water reaches the roots.



**Choosing The Wrong Fertilizer**

It’s very important to understand that fertilizer is not plant food. Plants don’t “eat” fertilizer. Plants make their own food through the photosynthesis process. Fertilizers are necessary to supplement the minerals that your soil may be lacking – minerals like calcium, nitrogen, sulfur, and potassium.

You can determine the correct fertilizer for your soil by purchasing a soil test kit at your local farm supply store. The soil test kit should include instructions for interpreting the results and choosing the best fertilizer for your needs.



**Improper Bed Preparation**

For optimum results, you need to prepare your soil bed properly before planting. This means tilling the soil to a depth of at least eight inches. It is also a good idea to add at least two inches of compost (if available).



**Improper Planting**

Not all plants should be planted to the same depth. Some plants do best with their roots planted deep in the soil while others thrive with shallow planting. Improper planting could result in a plant either doing poorly or quickly dying. Be sure to read the planting instructions that come with any seedlings or seeds you buy. If you are still unsure of the proper planting depth, take the time to research it on the internet. The answer is probably just a few mouse clicks away.



**Not Knowing Your Enemy**

Pests are the enemy of any gardener. The term “pests” is a very general term that includes insects that do damage to your plants, but it can also include other creatures that threaten your garden, like squirrels that eat your corn, groundhogs that digs holes in the ground, and others.

If you take the time to identify the insects and animals in your area that can harm your garden, you can take the necessary steps to either keep them away or kill them. Such measures could include such things as pesticides, animal traps, and others.



**Buying And Using The Wrong Pesticide**

Not all pesticides are created equal. Some pesticides, for example, are for spiders, while others are for grubs. And then there are others that are optimized for a broad range of insects. If you know which insects are present in your garden, then you can purchase the correct pesticide for the job. Be sure to carefully read the pesticide label in the store before making a purchase.

It’s also important to point out that pesticides can be hazardous to your health. Considering this, using natural pest control techniques might be worth considering. One thing you can do to keep your insect population in control is to release a bunch of praying mantis insects in your garden. Praying mantises are remarkable predators with voracious appetites that hunt and eat insects all day, every day. You can actually purchase cases of praying mantis eggs that hatch in just a few days after receiving them. You can introduce hundreds of praying mantises into your garden for very little money.

Yet another way to control the insect population in your garden is to build a bat box nearby. Bats are insect eating machines. A single bat can easily eat 6,000 to 8,000 insects every single night. Bat boxes are special boxes that make attractive homes for bats. Bats naturally find the boxes and build their homes in them.