Beginner Gardening Mistakes to Avoid

As you know I started a garden oh a whim, although most of my results were great there are a few things I learned through my first experience. Here are a few mistakes I made that you should avoid when starting your garden.

Mistake #1 - Sprinkling the seeds because they were so small. Read the label! Seeds need room to grow and depending on the type of plant. Spacing can be vital. Overcrowding leads to underdeveloped plants.

Mistake #2- You don't need the whole pack. I could have produced a lot more and better quality radishes if I had just used the amount of seeds needed based on my planter size.

Mistake #3- Don't forget there are bugs and animals out there! I wasn't too worried, then the rollie pollies started eating my radishes and where reproducing rapidly. I was told rollie pollies only eat stuff thats dead, but thats not true they liked my radishes and the green bean leaves. They pretty much killed most of my green bean sprouts. I also had a street cat jump down from the wall and into my planter so some seeds might have been dug out because nothing grew there.

Mistake #4- Letting weeds grow too big. I have these little vine weeds that grow between my plants, and I did not bother to take them out until there were lots! It was a lot of work when I did get to pulling them. The roots were long making it hard not to break and leave a part of the root underground.  I also read the weeds take nutrients your plants could be absorbing. So weed as you see them.

Mistake #5- Watering without a spray hose. I had quite a few seeds not grow and I think part of the reason is that I didn't use the spray hose.  Seeds are often planted very shallow and when using the water pressure and your thumb to spray, you risk uprooting the seeds. I think the softer spray would be more effective for freshly planted seeds.

Mistake #6- Avoiding sun exposure directions. Like I said before, I had quite a few seeds never sprout leaving me wondering what happened. Turns out some seeds don't grow in continuous direct sunlight. My garden gets sun all day making it difficult for seeds with less light requirements to grow.

Mistake #7- Not preparing the soil. This is the only thing I actually did do, but I'm including it because it is a mistake that is often made. Plants need loose dirt/soil to thrive, it allows them to establish a root system. Doing this will help up your chances in getting more seeds to sprout.

Mistake #8- Know harvesting times. I am growing carrots, sweet peas, and mixed lettuce among other things. You should research when is the right time to harvest. My mom saw a decent size stalk on one of my carrots and she decided to pull it. The carrot wasn't ready and replanting it does not make it keep growing. The left shows how my mom tried to replant it.

I hope these tips help! Don't make the same mistakes I did!!