Top 10 New Gardener Mistakes

Mistake #1: Going too Big

     I mean by this is that if you are new to gardening, start small.  Don't till up your entire yard and plant every variety of plant you might have an interest in all at once.  I'll say it again, start small.  Start with just a few varieties of different plants.  Maybe a breed or two of tomatoes, a few squash, zucchini, cucumbers and the like.  Gardeners who start too large often end up frustrated because their big dreams of bountiful harvests turn into a tangled web of weeds and diseased plants that are a waste.

Mistake #2:  Planting in the wrong spot

      All too many well meaning gardeners have started out with good intentions but only to be disappointed because their garden location was not well planned.  Study your environment, study the shadows during your growing season. ​ Study your soil, is the spot where you will be gardening too wet when it rains?  Does it receive long shadows during the early and latter parts of the day? The best garden location is one that is in full sun from early in the morning until late in the evening with no long shadows being cast over the location.

Mistake #3:  Overwatering or Underwatering

     Many a new gardener knows that seeds and plants need water.  However, newbies often fail to realize that you can actually over water your plants as well as under water them.  Over watering your plants causes them to begin yellowing as they beg for mercy from the flood.  Under watering and they scream for liquid nourishment like a desert lost wanderer.  A good rule of thumb is to stick your finger in the soil near one of your plants, if the soil is muddy and slimy wet, no more water.  If the soil is dry, brittle and crumbly, more water is needed.

Mistake #4: Cross Pollination 

    Laugh if you must but I created some of what I am sure were the most interesting veggies my first year or two gardening.  I unknowingly planted my squash right next to my pumpkins. Right along side that were what were supposed to be birdhouse gourds.  What many a new gardener doesn't realize is that bees will travel from one flowering plant to the next causing cross-pollination, some species of plants will cross with one and other which, though producing interesting offspring, often results in unedible veggies.  Think of what might happen if a dog and cat could breed with one and other...a cadog? Yep, pretty much what happens in the garden.  Word to the wise, don't plant squash and pumpkins anywhere near each other, and do a quick google search if you are concerned that some of your plants may be closely related enough to cross pollinate.

Mistake #5:  Planting too late

     I still use my grandmother's advice, plant on Mother's day, not before.  I also think that more than a week after Mother's day is too late.  The reason I say that is because while your neighbors are harvesting their beautiful Beefsteak and Better boy tomatoes you will still be staring at small seedlings that haven't even flowered yet.  Tomatoes love the heat of summer, but not as seedlings and they have to have plenty of growing time to be able to set fruit.  Some other varieties like bush and pole beans can be planted later in the season (I often plant green beans both on Mother's day weekend as well as a second planting in July for a September harvest) but if you put out your longer maturity rate plants at the same time, you will be disappointed.
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Mistake #6: Not weeding

      If there is one thing that you will notice when you garden, its that weeds can go from non-existent to overpopulated in 24 hours after a good drenching rain.  You need to keep an eye on your garden.  All too many will plant a garden and walk away until they think that they should harvest, you cannot do this.  It is kin to getting a new puppy and walking away only to return months later and expecting it to be housebroken and well mannered.  When you garden you need to at least walk by your garden every other day to check on things, when you notice the weeds springing up, pull them when they are small, it is so much easier that way.  I love to get out in the garden just after a fresh storm has come though because the weeds nearly jump out of the soil with barely a tug when the soil is drenched.

Mistake #7: Planting too close together

     Not only do seed packages talk about thinning but they also give you a good start by telling you how far apart to put your treasured plants.  If you purchase plants there should be a little plastic stick inside with the name of the plant breed as well as basic instructions for planting (pay attention to the distance apart).  If you plant your seeds or seedlings too close together they cannot properly develop their root systems and they will not thrive.  Overcrowding can also cause issues with air circulation, when there isn't proper air circulation disease can set in on even the most well cared for garden.

Mistake #8: Planting too deep or too shallow

    Back to those instructions again.  If you are planting from seed it is a really good idea to follow the directions on the seed packet.  A general rule of thumb is that the larger the seed, the deeper you plant, however, by deep I don't mean very deep.  A carrot seed for example is one of the tiniest seeds found in most gardens, it barely needs to have dirt sprinkled over the top of it.  A bean seed usually goes down into it's home approx 3/4 to 1" depending on the variety, so you see, not too deep.  What happens is that if the seed is planted too shallow it can wash or blow away.  If it is too deep then it will exhaust itself trying to reach the break into the environment and often it will just die.

Mistake #9: No drainage

     I am referring here to either raised beds or container gardening.  I can't tell you the number of bonehead pins I have seen on pinterest about creating a beautiful raised garden box by putting sides and a bottom on it...no drainage holes.  Let me tell you that this would be a pretty bad idea.  (sidenote, I think the pins about raised bed gardening with a mesh weed control or wire on the bottom are stupid too, how will the beneficial earth worms be attracted to your raised beds if you do that?) Plants need drainage, if you are doing some container gardening be sure that your container has drainage holes or we go back to mistake #3 where I discussed plants begging for refuge from the flood

Mistake #10: Not keeping track of what you planted

    This is important for the following year.  What I mean is with any level of success most gardeners find that they are greatly benefited by getting their hands dirty and they become "bitten by the bug," a further desire to cultivate begins to grow and they want to do it all again next year.  However, you need to keep track of where you plant your species.  You do this so that the following year you can rotate your crops, not planting the same thing in the same location year after year.  The reason for this is that different plants rob your soil of different nutrients so rotating them keeps the soil from being depleted.  In addition to soil nutrient depletion you need to rotate to reduce soil pathogens.  If your tomatoes wound up with blossom end rot, you certainly don't want to put them back in the exact same spot again next year, rotate things around, plus it keeps things interesting!


   Don't let this list intimidate you, if you are a new gardener, just use some common sense and ask friends or family who garden, other then the mistakes mentioned there really is no right or wrong way to garden, you can ask 10 gardeners how to grow a tomato and I guarentee you will get 10 totally different answers, and they will likely all work.  Happy gardening!