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8 Gardening Blunders That You Should Avoid Now
For every activity we do in life, it is inevitable that we commit mistakes, and that is especially true when it comes to gardening. It is because many things can go wrong in tending your garden, in spite of your best efforts.
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For instance, even though this is an out-of-hand factor, there is the weather that can damage your plants. But aside from this, there are human errors on the part of gardeners that can ruin our garden. For you to know and avoid these mistakes, take time to read this article.
8 Gardening Blunders That You Should Avoid Now
#1 - Putting the Crops Too Close Together
Some newbie gardeners are not aware of this mistake because they think crowding the crops make their garden look good. However, if you put your plants too close together, there is a possibility that you will deprive some of them of nutrients.
For instance, a young plant needs the required nutrients such as sunlight and water for it to grow healthy. If you crowd it with other plants, there will be a competition in taking in the nutrients, and the others might outclass the young ones because of this.
Of course, the solution to the problem will be easy if you become aware of the mistake. Every time you are planting seedlings, you need to know the proper spacing between the plants. For you to understand this purpose, you need to read the seed packet to know the appropriate spacing of your plants.
Aside from taking the proper spacing, you also need to do some thinning-out, especially from crops like carrots and beets. Thinning may be hard because you will feel as if you are cutting half the number of your plants.
#2 - Improper Watering of Your Plants
Yes, some of us just aim the handheld garden hose, sprinkle some water, and that is it. The mistake? Well, not knowing the required amount of water for that particular plant.
If you are a gardener, you need to know that watering your plants is not a one-sprinkle-fits-all process. For instance, plants grown in a container need to have a thorough watering till you see water draining from the container’s holes. For ground plants, you need to water them in a way that the soil gets wet.
There is also the mistake of shallow watering. Shallow watering means watering the top of the crop without the roots getting enough water. Plants take in the water through their roots, and if you simply sprinkle water at the top, they might not get the required nutrients.
Also, some plants do not need watering every day. Thus, before planting the seedlings, reading the seed packet is essential.
#3 - Not Knowing about Mulching
Mulching does a lot of benefits to your plants. For instance, mulching maintains the moisture in the soil since it minimizes evaporation. Aside from that, mulching your soil with leaves, wood chips, and grass can add organic materials to it which is good to make the soil healthy.
Mulching also keeps out the weed, and it makes the roots of your plants cooler than the usual. You can mulch your crops such as herbs, trees, and vegetables.
#4 - Not Knowing the Site
Knowing the site of your crops is essential for you to be aware of your plant’s exposure to sunlight, wind, and even pests. If otherwise, your crops may not grow healthy because they will not get the necessary nutrients and protection.
Not all areas of your garden can get ample exposure to sunlight. It can also be the worst case if your garden is vulnerable to the invasion of pests and weeds. You need to be mindful too of flooding. If your area is prone to flooding, it might ruin your plants.
So before making your garden, you need to spend a lot of time knowing the site to avoid the typical garden frustrations.
#5 - Pruning in the Fall
Most first-time gardeners think that the best time to prune their trees, shrubs, and plant is during fall. However, they are wrong. Plants during the fall are preparing themselves for the winter, and if you prune them during the fall, you zap their nutrients and weaken them. Thus, do not prune during the fall, and wait until it is mid-winter or spring.
#6 - Putting Too Many Fertilizers
Unlike animals, plants only need sunlight as their source of energy. However, plants need to get the necessary nutrients for their healthy growth. Your plants need potassium, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous that they can get from dry organic fertilizers.
Just make sure that you avoid putting too many fertilizers on the soil. Seasoned gardeners will tell you that many people overdo their treatment on the soil which can harm the plants.
For long-season plants, you can fertilize the soil for a couple of times during the growing period. You can fertilize the soil at the first fruiting and again to the first harvest with mature compost or grass clippings.
#7 - Letting the Weeds Invade the Garden
Weeds are the greatest enemy you can find in your garden. They are annoying as they take over your garden, outnumbering your plants and eating a significant part of the nutrients for them. Once you know where to buy glyphosate weed killer nearby then you can deal with the problem properly, in the meantime though you shouldn't let them grow freely, even if it means getting your hands dirty to pull out the tops.
Thus, for you to avoid weeds invading your garden, you need to remove them as early as possible. You need to look around for weeds in your garden regularly. Early morning each day is the best time to look for weeds.
For you weed out the weeds in your garden, you need to have the necessary gardening tools for this purpose. You can look for gardening tools in sites like Deal Wiki.
#8 - Lousy Soil Preparation
The soil varies greatly across places, and the best way to know what type of soil you have in your place is to test it with a soil testing kit. After that, you should improve the soil if it needs improving. Soil preparation is important whether you are growing vegetable or herb crops.
For soil preparation, you need to loosen it twelve inches deep, then put the right amount of fertilizers before planting.
Takeaway
Mistakes are inevitable in any activities and endeavor, especially when it comes to gardening. However, there are mistakes that we can avoid to help our plants grow and make our garden beautiful and bountiful. You can correct the common mistakes mentioned above for this purpose.
Author Bio: Cynthia Crane is a gardener and home improvement blogger. She writes stuff such as tips on gardening and how to prevent pests from invading your crops. When not writing, Cynthia loves to travel and go on hiking with her family.
About the Author Laura Bennett
Hello, I’m Laura Bennett. I love nature especially when it comes to flowers and different kinds of plants. I started a very small garden behind my house and I named it Humid Garden. So, I created this blog to provide aspiring and inspiring thoughts about gardening for gardeners and anyone who has the intention of keeping a garden.
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