There are many mistakes that people make while gardening. And we all make them, from beginners to more experienced gardeners. It’s not something only a few people do. These are very common mistakes and many people do them. We seem to forget about them or we don’t pay too much attention. Once you start doing something too often, it becomes a habit and you do it without thinking too much about it. That can be a problem sometimes because it can create serious damage to your garden. So you want to pay attention to some of these mistakes that you might be doing.
Planting on the Wrong Spot
This is one of the most common mistakes of beginner gardeners. It’s something many people don’t even think about when they plant the seeds. And when the harvest time comes, the worms appear in the fruit. Imagine the nightmare and the disappointment when you see that after all that work. This is one of the worst things you can do so you need to pay attention to this. Even if you’re not a beginner, this happens to experienced gardeners as well. It’s very easy to forget about these things.
Not Testing the Soil
Speaking of wrong spots, you might not even notice when they become wrong. You might think that the spot is ok because you’ve already planted the seeds before. And you’ve never had any kinds of problems like this. So you never even bother to test the soil to check if everything is ok. This is a big mistake. You need to test the soil regularly whenever you’re about to plant something. Even if you’re 100% sure that the soil is good and you want to skip this part. You never know what can happen in the meantime. You want to test the soil on time and be sure that everything is ok before you start planting. And it’s not a hard thing to do. You can find a lot of information about it on the internet.
Planting Way Too Early
Planting too early may not be the problem every time. Sometimes you might do it a week earlier than you should but everything ends up well in the end. This can happen sometimes, but it usually ends up very bad because you were supposed to wait. You need to research everything you can about the plants that you want to plant. You should know when is the right time to plant and when is the right time to harvest. Planting the seeds too early may begin the process before the right time.
This happens to many people when they plant the seeds when the early spring comes. This is usually a few weeks before the right and it’s still the period between the late winter and early spring. So shorter snow might fall again if the winter was colder than usual. This can damage the plants that you already have, not to mention the ones that you just planted.
Or Way Too Late
If they don’t plant them too early, they usually do it too late. This is another mistake that may even be worse than the last one. Because if you grow the plant too early, you might still get it right and the plant might grow. But if you plant the seeds too late, you’ll most likely make a mistake and you won’t harvest at all. Some people plant the onions in the late autumn so that they can harvest in the early spring. And that might be the right thing to do in that case. But it won’t be the same result with all of your plants. Some of them might freeze during the winter because they won’t mature. So it’s best to research and find out what time might be the best for each plant.
Not Planting Enough Plants to Attract Animal Species
This is an interesting thing that many people don’t think about. And when we say many people, we mean many people. Not only the beginners but also the more experienced gardeners. They don’t seem to realize the importance of having bees and butterflies around them. So it’s truly important to plant as many plants as you can that might attract them. That can be coneflower, lilac, lavender, cosmos, and many others. There are many others as well. And they will all make a somewhat huge difference in your environment, even if you only have a few of them here and there. You’ll see the benefits yourself very fast.
Not Giving Plants Enough Space
This is the most common beginner mistake. You need to give plants enough space so that they can grow the way they should. And this includes all the possible plants, except the ones that were supposed to be planted otherwise. Certain species of vegetables need to have the exact amount of space so that they can grow. And you can see the better result when the harvest time comes. This includes many other kinds of plants as well. Some other species like lilacs may not need too much space when they start to grow. But after a year or two, it might be a serious problem. So you want to research this as well before you start planting anything.
Overwatering Plants
Another very common mistake people make is overwatering. Many people think that plants need more water and that it won’t bother if we add more of it. It’s better to add more than not enough, right? But even if that might sound like a logical thing to do, it doesn’t work that way. This may be the case if you just planted the seeds and they need more water so that they can start growing. In that case, adding more water won’t be a problem. But if you continue doing that, you might even damage the plant.
The roots don’t mind spending some time in the dry soil. To be more specific, it’s the time the root will grow the most. And if you add more water than you should, you will only damage the roots. So it’s very important to research and take notes on every plant that you have so you don’t make that mistake.
Not Watering Enough
Here comes the same problem but the other way around. Many people will perfectly fit in one of these categories. The first are people that are afraid the plant might not have enough water so they add more. And the other group are the people that don’t water the plants enough. This is usually if they don’t take it seriously, or they simply forget if they have too many responsibilities.
But as we said early on, this may even be a positive thing on some occasions. The roots of certain plants might even grow better in dry soil. But don’t count on that information too much. It doesn’t mean that you should experiment by doing this with all of your plants. It means that you should research and find the right amount of water for each of them. This is the only way to be sure that you’re doing it right.
Watering Plants in Wrong Time
This is yet another beginner mistake when it comes to watering. Many people water the plants at the wrong time. They don’t seem to understand that this can damage the plants more than anything else. Especially if you water them in the middle of the day during the summer. The heat combined with the water will destroy the plant. Especially if you water it all above the leaves as many beginners seem to do. The best time to water any plant is either early in the morning or when the sun goes down. This is the only way to be completely sure that you won’t damage the plant.
Exposing Certain Plants to the Direct Sunlight
Some plants like direct sunlight more than others do. But you want to use your old friend Google and research so that you don’t make the mistake. Some plants might enjoy the direct sunlight, but only for a while. And that time might only be only for a few hours. After that, you might want to keep them in the shade. You want to research so that you know where you can plant certain species so that they can grow properly. Because if you keep certain plants in direct sunlight for too long, they probably won’t survive. And it’s very simple to find that information so you shouldn’t make these kinds of mistakes.
Not Exposing Certain Plants to the Sun
While you need to keep some plants in the shade, you might not want to keep all of them. Some plants need to have as much direct sunlight as possible. And not only for a few hours like some specific plants might want to. These are usually the plants that will have the most bees and butterflies. They might enjoy some partial shade, but not too much of it, and not all of them. So you want to pay attention to that and not confuse these kinds of plants. Research and take notes as much as you need to. You’ll understand everything much better once you start taking notes and paying attention.