Like gardening, growing great vegetables takes time, effort, and experience. The success in going green depends on a lot of factors. While you may control some considerations like seed type, fertilizers, etc., the others like rainfall, soil type, and temperature may be beyond your control.
Now that you’re starting with planting your vegetables in your backyard, there are some mistakes you need to avoid. After all, these will save your efforts and time, increasing your chances for a beautiful harvest.
Can’t wait to know what these are? Let’s get going with discovering some things that gardeners may be doing all wrong:
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Planting Too Early:
Every gardener becomes impatient when it comes to starting up their garden. It’s tempting to get your hands in the soil and start seeds months in advance of their last frost date.
However, know that the tiny seeds may quickly get lanky and become hungry seedlings. These seeds may need a lot of space in your home and may become stressed if they remain indoors in pots with limited sunlight.
If you’re starting your garden by buying seedlings, make sure you don’t put them in the ground as soon as you get home. The chances are great for finding the most extensive selection of varieties when you shop early. However, it is wise to have a hardening plan and protect them in case of the last frost prediction.
Planting too early may waste your time and efforts, and you’ll have to head back to the nursery to buy more plants.
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Skimping on Soil:
The soil type in the garden is crucial for plant health, which relies on a proper balance of alkalinity and acidity. Primary nutrients consist of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, which must be available at all times.
Good soil consists of micronutrients as beneficial organisms. Earthworms are also a good sign. The experts at Growing Media & Containers suggest undergoing soil testing to see if the soil needs amendments and accomplishing this before the plantation process. Starting with poor soil means fighting against bad quality all year round.
Also, avoid working on your soil too early. Gardening experts suggest soggy springtime weather as frustrating. However, know that it pays to dig, till, and how your garden until ground crumbles when squeezed in your fist. The wet working soil causes compaction, which causes weak plants and poor root growth.
You can consider adding green manure cover, compost, or leaf mold to the garden at the season end. By adding nutrients to the depleted soil, the efforts pay off in the long run. While it may be challenging to think of the garden work once the harvest is over, the gardener’s work is never done.
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Picking a Bad Spot:
While it may be an utmost pleasure to work in a vegetable spot in the crisp days of fall and spring, you may never visit it if it isn’t handy. Studies show that it only takes a day or two to grow zucchini from the size of a bowling pin. And, it takes seconds for a rabbit to break through your fence and finish off the peas.
Some other factors include available sun exposure and water. So, pick your vegetables wisely. For instance, some vegetables need at least six hours of sun each day. The lack of proper weather conditions may result in weak plants, which won’t develop full flavor. It would help to consider how to water your garden if there’s insufficient rainfall.
You may turn to water cans and hoses because the closer the garden to the water source, the easier it will be to keep your plants hydrated.
The Final Say
Other common mistakes that gardeners make are ignoring minor problems, not harvesting, putting off maintenance, and turning a blind eye to spacing.
Know that vegetable gardening is an ongoing process consisting of many small successes and failures. Thereby, to reap the benefits, make sure, to begin with, good soil, good seeds, and good garden practices. After all, it’s the knowledge that follows.
