Remember the first time when you decided to a cook a dish? only to realise later that the water quantity was not adequate or you confused salt with sugar! You made these mistakes because you were a novice and every new journey is marked by an initial failure that teaches you to not repeat those mistakes again.

Similarly, those of you who have just started gardening, are bound to make some mistakes. You must have realised that maintaining a garden is not a simple activity but something that demands you to be observant and attentive to the growing needs of your plant.

This article will take you through many gardening faux pas you can avoid and will train you to become a meticulous gardener.

Here are a few tips that will guide you on how to avoid common gardening mistakes.

THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH SPACE BETWEEN SEEDS & PLANTS.

  • The number of seeds should be bought based on the space you have for planting these in your garden. What’s the use of buying surplus seeds if space is a constraint? It’s not just about the measurements of the garden but the spacing between the seeds too, so when your plants grow they should not look like they are competing for space! Always start with your gardening adventure in a small plot to gain experience. Overcrowding will also result in insufficient air circulation and hinder the full potential of the plants. As they say, small and steady steps lead to success.

SEEDS BOUGHT SHOULD ADAPT TO SOIL

  • For beginners who are sprightly and always passionate, the dream is to have a grand garden. In an attempt to turn their vision into a reality they tend to purchase plant seeds that are not only way too many but may also be completely hostile to the soil in your garden. Hence, instead of going on berserk with you choices, first carefully assess the soil type and choose the plants carefully. Planting exotic varieties that won’t grow in your weather would just result in the seed failing.

DON’T PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER

  • Don’t overdo. Flowers, fruits, vegetables, herbs, shrubs whatever caught your fancy in the garden shop you purchased it without much pondering. To make matter worse you have planted them all together. This will not just augment your workload of providing individual attention to each of them but spoil the aesthetics too.

PREPARING THE SOIL RIGHT

  • The soil is the base for your plants to grow and without a healthy soil the plants will starve for nutrition. Prepare the soil before planting the seeds. The soil should be a good mix of coco peat/ peat moss, garden soil and compost/ manure. The soil should be airy and should offer good drainage.

SUNLIGHT SHOULD BE JUST RIGHT

  • Some plants will always require more sunlight than the others. This poses the issue of positioning your seeds in the correct space of the garden where there won’t be a paucity of generous sunlight.

sunlight on plants

DEPTH OF PLANTING SEEDS

  • Planting seeds too deep or shallow is something that you should take care of.  Seeds which are large in size, demand greater space than the ones with smaller size. If large seeds are planted too shallow, then they will dry out at a quicker pace. On the other hand, small seeds planted at a greater depth will fail to sprout.

DON’T OVER WATER OR UNDERWATER

Watering the plants

  • Let your enthusiasm not come in the way of deciding the water quantity for plants. Over watering or under watering both will stall the growth of plants. Moreover, do save water in your garden. The idea of gardening is to strike a harmony with nature.

SAY NO TO WEEDS 

  • Get rid of the weeds when they are at a nascent stage. Allowing the weeds to grow will cripple the growth of the plant as the weeds consume all the essential nutrients.

GO ORGANIC

  • Adopt organic mulching with the likes of straw, dry leaves or grass clipping. This keeps a check on weeds that are about to develop and also retains the soil moisture. The root area remains cool with this and also receives a steady diet of nutrients while the mulch meets its decaying end. Avoid using grass hay as it in itself initiates weed growth.

KEEP YOUR GARDEN BUG-FREE

  • Garden pests and critters that eat at your hard-earned vegetables and flowers can frustrate even the most patient of gardeners.Practicing proper pest control is one of the leading ways to keep your garden both disease and pest free. When you find harmful insects in your garden, the best way to deter them is to invite good insects into it. These beneficial insects will eat the harmful insects.
  • Consider attracting bugs such as:
    • Ladybugs
    • Praying mantis
    • Lacewings
    • Honeybee
    • Dragonflies etc.

Well then, what do you think? Have you made some of these mistakes while gardening?

Feel free to share your experiences for us all to learn from!

Hope this gave you a new approach for your gardening. A good way to avoid mistakes while gardening is to consult a seasoned gardener and the best way is to keep yourself updated through GreenMyLife blogs 🙂

Happy error-free gardening folks!

Happy-gardening

 

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