5 Mistakes to Avoid for Beginner Gardeners
When it comes to gardening, there’s lots of techniques, tips & tricks and information floating around online – it can feel a little overwhelming, especially if you’re new to gardening, and not quite sure where to start, or what is applicable to you; but don’t worry! I’ve put together a list of my top 5 mistakes that you want to avoid in the garden, particularly for beginner gardeners. These are mistakes that I have even made throughout my gardening journey, so I am sharing these in hopes that you don’t!
1. Planting Mint with other Crops
Mint is one of those plants that just absolutely needs to be in it’s own container, and never planted in with other crops. It not only grows very quickly, but it will spread throughout the container it’s in, and overpower whatever is planted with it. If you’re growing mint, always put it in it’s own container.
2. Not Planting Onions in a Sunny Enough Location
Onions require light, and LOTS of it! I’ve made the mistake of planting it in a spot that didn’t get enough sunlight, and it resulted in some really, really sad looking bulbs. If you’re growing onions, ensure that they’re planted in a spot with at least 10-12 hours of sun a day.
3. Growing a Crop in the Wrong Season
When growing anything, it’s important to determine if it’s a cool season or warm season crop. For example, I planted dill too late one year, and because it’s a cool season herb that I planted when it was too warm, it bolted quite quickly. I’ve also done this with cilantro (yes, believe it or not, cilantro is a cool season herb!).
4. Planting Potatoes & Tomatoes Together
They may rhyme, but they certainly do not belong together! They don’t enjoy being planted close together, and will actually get the same diseases. It’s best to keep these two rhyming crops away from one another.
5. Planting Flower Seeds Too Early because I thought I was “Behind”
A lot of flowers that we typically like to grow in our gardens, especially for cut flowers, like the warm soil to germinate in. I typically plant zinnia and cosmos seeds in late May, sometimes even early June to ensure that the soil is warm enough. There’s nothing worse than spending tons of time planting to see nothing come up!
If you have any mistakes that you’ve made in the garden, let’s chat about them in the comments. We’ve definitely all been there, and learned from these errors – gardening is a lifelong journey that is constantly teaching us new lessons, and there is truly always more to learn!
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