Every nurseryman I bonk freely admits to reach a lot of mistakes . When you think about it , gardening is a relatively dependable hobby to mess up up . Compared to drop that ski jump or accept a softball to the center , lop a perennial back a tad too far is no big heap . Mistakes are made in the garden on a regular base ; for sure I ’ve made plenty myself . I ’ve embed invasive plants and regret it for years afterwards . I ’ve corrupt the “ cheap mulch ” just to save a few dime , only to be overrun by grass the next season . We ’ve all had mishaps in the veg plot of ground , but today , I ’d like to reexamine some of the most vulgar mistakes in garden in hopes of keeping a few gardeners from put up some pretty rotten result .
Gardening Mistake No. 1: Letting Weeds Go to Seed
I ’d be uncoerced to wage a bet that more gardener would pick weeding as their least favorite horticulture task than any other job . While I do n’t listen a few hours of weed from time to time , it is a task that can often seem Sisyphean . In our never - end struggle with the weed , there ’s one mistake to never make : Never have a weed go to ejaculate . If you do , you ’ll wander up with 1,000 dope where you once had one . weed are weeds for a reason ; most have semen with high germination rates and they produce a lot of seeds , so let even one slight cat scatter seeds can make big troubles .
When dope come into flush , if you do n’t have time to deplume them out , at least turn out or cut down them down before they ’re able to produce seed . While it wo n’t get disembarrass of the exist weeds , this recitation for sure will rationalize down on future Mary Jane .
Gardening Mistake No. 2: Overfertilizing
Fertilizingis one of those tasks that ’s easy over done . More is never good when it comes to gain of flora plant food , whether they ’re organic or not . Many gardener cerebrate that just because a plant life food is naturally derived , it ’s out of the question to add too much . Nothing could be further from the truth . Nutrient excesses can cause big - time problems in the garden by tying up other nutrients within the grime , causing fertilizer tan , contributing to runoff contamination and be you big bucks . Do n’t fertilize any garden orbit without endue ina ground testfirst . Soil tryout are useable through most land demesne - grant university extension service as well as from various autonomous soil examination laboratories .
Over - fertilization can also promote certain pests . Sap - sucking insects , such asaphids , mealy bug and scale , find nitrogen - infuse , over - fertilized plant growth to be extra welcoming . hop the fertilizer applications unless your land test indicates the pauperization . When it comes to the most coarse mistakes in horticulture , over - fertilization is one you unquestionably do n’t want to make .
Gardening Mistake No. 3: Wrong Plant, Wrong Place
One of the well-to-do ways to warrant your success with a plant is to locate it in a billet where it will thrive . If a plant prefers full - sun stipulation , than verify you plant it in full sun . It might seem obvious , but the truth is that the Brobdingnagian bulk of time a plant dies , it ’s because it was planted in conditions that were less than ideal , weakening the plant and making it more vulnerable to pest and diseases .
Case in point : the azalea . On my Sunday morning radio course of study here in Pittsburgh , we get multiple birdsong every year from folks wondering what ’s wrong with their azalea . The leaves are dapple and there are dark spots and small hemipterous insect on the bottom sides of the leaves . It ’s a Hellenic case of a lacebug plague . Lacebugs are almost never tough on azalea found in the dappled shadowiness , understory conditions where they flourish , but when azaleas are plant in full sun conditions , lacebugs are often problematic . It ’s easy to avoid this particular item on my list of the most mutual mistakes in gardening ; merely be sure to plant plant life in stipulation where they ’re known to thrive .
Gardening Mistake No. 4: Failure to Mulch
Another weed - related particular on this list of most common mistakes in gardening is the nonstarter tomulch . We could also sum “ mulching inappropriately ” to the inclination , too . Whether it ’s bestow straw or shredded leave to the vegetable garden or arborist chips or shredded hardwood bark to shrub bed , mulch in the leap is the honorable way to save yourself scores of metre and energy all time of year long . Mulch reduces your need to water , helps control weeds and stabilizes grunge temperatures ; it does n’t just make your garden look pretty .
Do n’t overmulch either . 1 to 3 column inch of mulch annually is more than enough to reap all the benefits of this labor . And always do your safe to keep mulch from touching the base of your plants where it could have moulder or advertise bark - chewing rodents .
Gardening Mistake No. 5: Neglecting to Harvest Regularly
Did you know that most efflorescence and fruiting vegetable grow more when they ’re regularly harvested ? While you ca n’t harvest multiple carrot from one Daucus carota sativa ejaculate , you may harvest net ton of beans , tomato , peppers , cuke and summer crush by keeping the plant well - harvested .
Many plant life are genetically program to seek to produce and spread as many seed as potential . When we pick a pepper , we ’re also take out the seeded player inside of it , and when that hap , the plant change its energy into make more capsicum ( and therefore seeds ) .
If you go away over - mature fruit and veg on the plant , the plant life will often halt or slow the yield of new fruits . Head out to your garden several time a hebdomad with your harvest home basket or bucket in towage to clean whatever is quick for the kitchen .
Avoid these five most common mistakes in gardening and watch out your garden thrive .
