Are you wanting to start a garden this year? Give yourself a head start by avoiding these 21 beginner gardener mistakes. Gardening can be fun and rewarding but also challenging. Let’s get started!
1. Starting Out Too Big
First garden? Let’s Go! As a beginner gardener it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of having a beautiful large garden your first season. I don’t mean to put a damper on your enthusiasm but, my advice is to start out small. If you plant a large garden you may find yourself with a whole lot of work you are unprepared for and don’t have the knowledge and skills yet to handle. Also if you plant a large garden you may end up with a whole lot of plants you don’t really need.
It’s a good idea to use this first garden as a test garden where you can develop the necessary skills and knowledge bank and increase your confidence for future gardens. Plant small this season and you will be pleasantly rewarded with a harvest that you can handle and the satisfaction that you successfully grew your own vegetables!
2. Not Having a Plan for Your Garden
As bad as starting out too big is, not having a plan for your garden is as equally unwise. We’d like to think we can just toss a few seeds in the soil and violà! Out pops beautiful healthy plants! Unfortunately, if we want a healthy productive garden we need to PLAN for it. You might find this book on square foot gardening extremely helpful as you determine what to plant this season to get the most out of your garden.
Your plan should include not only the types of plants you want to use but also what plants grow well next to each other and what plants do not. You might also consider staggering your vegetable planting so that your harvest is also staggered. Having a plan before you begin your garden is going to save you a lot of guess work and make your first garden experience an enjoyable one.
3. Growing Vegetables Your Family Doesn’t Eat
Some vegetables look exotic and enticing to grow, but why grow them if your family is not interested in eating them? I know it’s temping to want to try everything out there, but practically speaking, it’s best to plant what you know your family enjoys, especially during your first gardening season. I suggest if you love salsa, plant a “salsa garden”. Tomatoes, peppers, garlic, cilantro, yum! This seed kit here includes all the seeds you need to get you started on a tasty salsa garden.
I enjoy planting vegetables that we can pick and snack on straight from the garden with no cooking. Vegetables such as green beans and cucumbers are delicious right off the vine. While zucchini is fairly easy to grow and produces a lot of plants, why grow it if no one in your family enjoys eating it? To avoid waste choose vegetables you want to eat.
4. Growing Inappropriate Species
A common mistake beginner gardeners make is to plant something that doesn’t grow well in their area. Take the time to research the best variety of seeds to use for your specific location. Contacting your local nursery and talking with local gardeners will give you a good idea of what does well in your area. Don’t set yourself up for failure by planting something not suited to your climate. Many seeds have been modified so that a plant will grow well in a specific location. It’s a good idea to buy your seeds from a local supplier. This will ensure a better harvest and a pleasant gardening experience rather than a disappointing one.
5. Not Knowing your Growing Zone
Gardeners need a way to compare their climate with the climate that a plant grows well in. That is why North America is divided into 11 different plant hardiness zones. This enables us a gardeners to know which plants grow well in our area and which ones don’t. You can use a free plant hardiness zone finder like this one to determine what zone you live in. One mistake beginner gardeners make is picking out seeds and plants without checking that their hardiness zones match. Read the tags and labels carefully and ask the advice of your local nursery attendant. You want your garden to thrive so choose plants that grow well in your zone.
6. Not Preparing your Soil Prior to Planting
Believe me when I say I am guilty of this one! I can’t tell you how many gardens I have started without giving proper attention to the soil first. Then days later I am left wondering why my plants are doing so poorly. Well, if your soil is in poor health you cannot expect to grow beautiful healthy plants. Your plants need rich nutrients to thrive and they find those nutrients in good quality soil. If your soil is nutrient poor you may choose to mulch organic material into it to improve its health. You may also choose to buy garden soil if you are planning to use raised beds. Know whether you have clay soil, sandy soil, silty soil, or loam soil and plan accordingly. Most plants grow best in loam soil which is the most balanced in nutrients.
7. Planting Too Deep or Too Shallow
If you plant your seeds too shallow in the soil you risk them drying out before they have had the chance to sprout. If you plant them too deep you run the risk of your seeds not sprouting at all or producing weak seedlings. Confusing, right? For beginners it’s best to consult the back of your seed packets for specific planting instructions or consult someone at your nursery. Typically larger seeds prefer deeper depths of planting and smaller seeds closer to the top, but this is not always true. As a beginner, don’t make the mistake that all seeds get planted at the same depth.
8. Crowded Planting
One common mistake beginner gardeners make is overcrowding our plants. Plants need room to breathe. If we plant them so close together that there is little air circulation or exposure to the sun, we will end up with unhealthy poor producing plants. Again, take a good look at the back of your seed packet and follow the instructions. It may seem like they are recommending a lot of space, but you may be surprised at how much room your mature plants actually take up. Not to beat a dead horse, but this book on square foot gardening will give you some terrific beginner gardener tips on how to make your garden efficient and productive.
9. Over Watering
Plants need water right? And isn’t it relaxing and therapeutic to stand in your garden and watch water droplets soak into the soil? Maybe that’s just me. Oops! Well, anyway, of course plants need water, but not near as often as we might think. Over watering our plants can cause the roots to rot and could kill them. You can buy an inexpensive soil moisture meter like this one to help monitor the soil and take guess work out of it.
If you can’t stick your finger in the dirt, that means it’s rock hard and needs watering. If you form a ball with the dirt and squeeze and water comes out, it may be over watered. If on the other hand, when you can grab a handful of dirt, squeeze it together, and form a loose ball, it’s just right. I recommend using a moisture meter until you get the hang of it though.
10. Watering at the Wrong Time of Day
Just like over watering your plants, watering at the wrong time of day can actually damage your plants and potentially kill them. If you water in the heat of the day, your plants may get scorched by the sun. Similarly if you water your plants at night you could develop fungus problems. This is especially true of plants that don’t do well in very moist environments. Generally speaking it is best to water in the morning.
11. Not Thinning Out Seedlings
If you’re anything like me the thought of removing a perfectly good plant from your garden is unpleasant. Don’t be dismayed. Some young seedlings are edible and make a good addition to your spring salad. Other seedlings that aren’t edible can be used as mulch around your plants to provide more nutrients and weed prevention. You need to thin out excess plants so that your garden can survive and thrive. Be aware that just because you plant multiple seeds in one location doesn’t mean you will get that many seedlings. Some times seeds don’t germinate. But when they do, you need to be sure to thin them out.
12. Allowing Weeds to Take Over
Weeds that are ignored can spoil your garden. They will hog all the important nutrients from the soil that your vegetables need to survive and produce a good crop. Take the time to de-weed your garden before you plant and continue to maintain it after planting. A lot of people like to use mulch around their plants to minimize weed growth. Mulch is any organic material such as lawn clippings, straw, and dried leaves. You can also use wood ashes. In this article I share some very practical uses for wood ashes in your home and garden.
13. Not Recognizing a Plant Over a Weed
It might not be as silly as it sounds. Sometimes it’s difficult to recognize what is a weed and what is a germinating seed. If you are unsure you can always leave it be and wait for it to mature a bit. Soon enough it’s identity will become clearer. Take advantage of the pictures on the back of the seed packets and any other resources you can get your hands on from your nursery. Use them to compare with what you are seeing in your garden.
14. Not Asking for Advice
This may be more difficult for some people than others, but asking for advice, especially as a beginner gardener is crucial. You can save yourself a lot of headache and backache, not to mention money, just by talking to other gardeners in your community. Find out what works best for them and what mistakes they have made. If you are having a problem with pests why not see what other people are doing to solve the problem. You can be sure that your problem is not a new one and that someone will be happy to share tricks of the trade with you. Also, if you can’t identify the problem, but you know something is wrong, take a picture on your phone and let your local nursery attendant check it out. Most likely he/she will be able to give you a recommendation.
15. Not Enough Sunlight
Some beginner gardeners think they have the perfect garden spot picked out but haven’t given enough consideration to how much sun that spot gets throughout the day. The majority of your vegetables will grow best with full sunlight throughout the day. This means that tall structures and trees and bushes can potentially block the sun from hitting your garden. Sunlight in the morning is especially important for your plants. Shade in the heat of the day can prevent scorching but is not necessary if your plants are properly watered. Give sunlight some consideration before choosing a location for your garden. Take a day or two to watch the proposed sight for sunlight exposure. You may just need to rethink your garden spot.
16. Not Amending your Soil
Amending your soil involves improving the overall quality of your soil. You want to plant your seeds or seedings in soil that is nutrient rich in order to produce a quality crop. You can test your soil annually to find out what type of soil you have and what it needs based on what you want to grow. Using an inexpensive home test kit like this one will help you evaluate where your soil needs to be amended. I like this test kit because it is simple to use and read. You can easily see the pH of your soil, and Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash levels. It also includes a soil pH preference list for over 450 plants that could come in handy.
17. Not Labeling Clearly
You just spent all that time planning your garden space, deciding what to plant, preparing your soil and planting your seeds, now don’t make the mistake of neglecting to label your plants. You might just choose to stick the seed packet in the ground next to the seeds. That’s a simple way to mark them. Some people get really creative and artistic with their labels. I’m sure you can come up with some creative ways, or even look on Pinterest for some inspiration. Just don’t forget to make it legible, waterproof, and deep enough that it won’t get blown away. I have seen some really cute labels made out of wooden spoons. Straws work great too.
18. Neglecting to Keep a Garden Log
What! Why a garden log? Well, just like with many things if we neglect to record our observances we may not learn from our mistakes and successes. By recording what worked and what didn’t work we gain a better understanding of what to do in next years garden. You can get fancy and buy a gardening journal like this one, which is beautiful and organized or you can make your own either on note paper or even use your phone to record notes. Use your phone to take a photographed record of progress. This will be super beneficial for future reference. Take note of what pests you dealt with and how you handled the problem.
Some other things you might consider including in your notes are: how you prepared your soil, how deep you planted each seed or seedling, the date you planted, the date of germination, watering schedule, and pests you contended with.
19. Not Fertilizing Properly
A lot of beginner gardeners go crazy when using fertilizers. If you have healthy nutrient rich soil you won’t need to use any fertilizer. You may run the risk of over fertilizing your plants which can cause a considerable reduction in how much your garden actually yields. Fertilizer should only be used in the ratios recommended otherwise you may burn your plants.
20. Killing All Bugs
Some bugs are your garden’s friends. Ladybugs and bees for example pollinate your garden so you don’t want to go killing them off. Take this into consideration if you are going to use pesticides. A lot of insects will actually eat the other insects that are harmful to your garden. You may find they take a bite out of your leaves, but for the most part this is not a problem and you shouldn’t overreact.
21. Not Protecting Your Garden
By planting a delicious feast and leaving it unguarded you are unwittingly inviting unwanted furry guests in. You might not mind sharing your garden with an occasional furry visitor, but it’s more likely you planted your garden for the benefit of your family. You’ll be happy to know that there are some simple solutions to this problem. By placing objects in your garden that reflect light or make noise, you can detract animal visitors. Using owl decoys make good pest deterrents as well. Of course, putting up a fence is a good, but costly option. You’ll need to evaluate who your guests are likely to be and plan accordingly. It’s a good idea to be proactive because once they know where the feast is it will be more difficult to keep them out.
A lot of gardening knowledge comes with trial and error. Over the years you’ll get better and better at it and find the things that you really love to plant.
What other tips have you learned that you can share with us? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
Pin this for later!
Just hover over this image for the Pinterest logo. ->
