Your Green Thumb: Common Gardening Mistakes

Spring is the perfect time to start your garden. All gardeners despite their garden experience can make gardening mistakes. Here are some tips to avoid the most common gardening mistakes:

 

1. Your Environment – Take note of your environment, make sure you plant the appropriate plants or flowers to the appropriate level of sunlight. For example, if you are planting a plant or flowers that need direct sunlight, make sure the area gets direct sunlight. The same goes for partial sunlight to shady areas. Look at those sun requirement labels for your plants and flowers.

 

2. Variety of Plants – Don’t plant all annuals. Mix up your plants and flowers and use perennials or even some biennials. Perennials may look thin during the first year, they will be hardy to grow again the next couple of years. Be patient with perennials.

 

3. Check Your Soil – Make sure your soil is right for growing. Compost can improve sandy soil. Mulch and lawn clippings can add to loamy soil which is crumbly soil part sand and clay. Organic material or raised garden beds are good for clay soil.

 

4. Don’t Mistake Compost for Manure – Compost is organic matter that has broken down enough to enrich the soil—veggie scraps, yard waste and clippings. Fertilizer is made from manure, animal waste, or l products that has nitrogen. See what plant food your plants will use. Mixing up compost and manure is one of the most common gardening mistakes.

 

5. Don’t Plant Invasive Species – Make sure you don’t plant plants that will take over your garden and crowd it. Look for plants that are native to your region.

 

6. Be Thrifty – Don’t spend too much money on your garden, look for good deals on soil. Reuse pots and planters. Use the yard clippings and items you already have.

 

7. Be Friends with the Bugs – Wear repellent (OFF is a great brand) to protect yourself from mosquitos. Encourage pollinators like bees and butterflies. Research on how to start a pollinator garden.

 

8. Accept Your Wildlife – Songbirds can bring color to your garden. Bats will eat garden pests and mosquitos. Enjoy the garden helpers but take steps to control those who will harass you! Daffodil bulbs are toxic to squirrels, and they hate the taste of alliums, marigolds, and hyacinths. Rabbits and deer avoid the smell of bone meal or cayenne pepper on the soil.

 

When you prepare to plant and maintain your garden, remember these tips as well to avoid garden mistakes:

 

1. Avoid Overwatering – Always check the soil and check the moistness. If you overwater plants, you may rot the roots which will kill the plant.

 

2. Avoid Overfertilizing – Overfertilizing can cause fertilizer burn and can stunt the growth of your plants.

 

3. Plant Depth – Planting too deep or too shallow seeds can also affect their growth. Research the appropriate levels of planting for each type of seed.

 

4. Avoid Poor Soil Preparation – Make sure your soil is properly prepared and tilled for the plants. Make sure it has appropriate compost and manure mixed in the soil.

 

5. Adequate Spacing – Make sure your plants and flowers have room to grow. For this to happen, your plants and flowers must not be crowded to have an equal amount of sun, water and nutrients.

 

Finally, make sure you plant at good seasonal times. Don’t plant too early or too late in the season. Gardening is the perfect spring and summer activity! If you need expert help to get your gardens designed and established, call Aisling View and we will help you with your gardening needs. Call us at 317-636-9408 and let us help you create a garden of your dreams!