Top 10 Rookie Gardening Mistakes (Page 2)

3. Not Giving Plants Enough Space
That ‘Doublefile’ viburnum looks so cute in its little black pot. Surely, you don’t really need to give it 15 feet of space the way the tag says. So you plant it between a couple other cute little shrubs (that also said they needed at least ten feet of space) and within a few years, you have a tangled mass o’ shrubs on your hands. It’s not pretty. The same can happen with perennials, which often look so dinky in their nursery pots (and even more so when you buy them bare root) but, in a few seasons, are choking each other out competing for sunlight and nutrients. Pay attention to the instructions on your tag or in plant catalogs for spacing your plants properly. If you don’t like how much space there is between them for the first couple of years, simply plant a few annuals between them. They’ll fill the void, and within a few years, you’ll find that your perennials, trees, and shrubs have filled in enough that you don’t need to plant them anymore.

4. Not Knowing Your Zone
Finding your USDA Hardiness Zone, as well as your Sunset Zone, is easy and, once you know your zone, you won’t waste money ordering plants from catalogs that need cooler or warmer climates than you can provide.

5. Haphazard Fertilizing
If one dose of fertilizer is good, two must be better, right? WRONG! First of all, we’re obviously talking about organic fertilizers here, not any of that Miracle Gro garbage. But even with organic fertilizers, you want to make sure you’re using the amount recommended on the package. Ideally, you’re practicing deep organic methods and making your own fertilizers from compost and compost tea, which is hard to go overboard with. Too much of any fertilizer can cause fast, spindly growth that is more susceptible to pests and diseases – not to mention the danger of runoff into our water supply, where it wreaks havoc on the ecosystem. Just make sure to read the directions and stick to them!

6. Not Mulching
Mulching with organic mulches such as wood chips, leaves, or grass clippings, does several things. It reduces evaporation, keeping moisture in your soil where you need it. It discourages weeds, and helps keep the root zone of your plants cooler, which makes your plants less stressed. And, as it breaks down, it adds more organic matter to the soil. Mulch everything – vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs, with at least a three-inch layer of mulch.

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Duane B.

8:24AM PST on Dec 30, 2012

Thank you for sharing.

December 30
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Rebecca N.

3:44PM PST on Mar 3, 2012

At the end of last summer, I was so disappointed with my gardening experience, I swore I'd never try again! Out of the many tomato plants I tried growing in containers, we got to taste one little cherry :( But alas, as Spring nears, it seems that I've caught the fever! I'm very excited to try again! Hopefully, this year will bring about a much larger harvest! Thanks so much for the tips! Here's to try, try again!!!

March 3
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Jamie J.

5:24PM PDT on Jul 30, 2011

I am going to show this to my boyfriend. Hopefully this will help with the fact that his tomatoes (and the rest of the veggies he tried to grow this year) are tiny and rather sad-looking.

... We should also probably pay more attention to WHEN the plants are supposed to be planted. The lateness of the planting is probably what is killing the gladioli I planted.

July 30
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Joy W.

5:13AM PDT on Jul 21, 2011

Thanks for the tips.

July 21
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jane r.

8:12AM PDT on May 30, 2011

Thanks maybe now I can stop goofing up

May 30
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Past Member .

6:42AM PDT on May 19, 2011

thanks, I made and still make these

May 19
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Judith V.

10:31PM PDT on May 15, 2011

About 12 years ago, it was winter, and I had to replace the seal on the bottom of the toilet. I used a 5 gallon bucket until the toilet was repaired...Then I dumped the waste behind a Butterfly bush...that summer, it was HUGHE!!!
I didn't know that this bush requires alot of acid fertilizer.