Your First Garden: 5 Novice Mistakes to Prevent This Spring

For me, gardening (prior to I really had a garden) was everything about the clothing. I offered much idea to the devices I ‘d use– a wide-brimmed sun hat, a bandanna around my neck, a set of galoshes, maybe– however very little to the real procedure of digging and planting, which I figured would come naturally and quickly. The very first afternoon I invested in my knees in the dirt showed the recklessness of my presumptions.

Gardening is a lot more physically requiring than I had actually prepared for– and, in hindsight, much of the mistakes I dedicated in my very first garden involved searching for faster ways to prevent the back-breaking work. The faster ways, unsurprisingly, weren’t worth it. Rather of a rich garden, I had lots of flowers that wilted and passed away. The ones that endured didn’t prosper.

Here, all the lazy planting errors I made in my very first year of gardening.

Included picture by Meredith Swinehart.

Error 1: Not Digging Deep or Wide Enough

Above: See more in Gardening 101: How to Plant a Bulb Photo by John Merkl.

I believed digging a hole would be kid’s play, actually. Needless to state, it was absolutely nothing like that. Our soil was hard, rocky in locations, and in some cases shot through with the unbudging roots of a close-by tree. Digging ended up being back-breaking work, and since it was so physically requiring, I did the bare minimum.

Here’s what I need to have done rather: Dig holes two times as broad as the pot the plant can be found in and two times as deep. Include enough garden compost, combined with a few of the dug-up soil, to the bottom of the hole so the plant winds up being flush to the ground. Then complete the sides with more of the garden compost and soil mix. This produces looser soil surrounding the plant, which helps air and water motion, and makes sure roots can grow unrestricted.

Error 2: Planting Too Far Apart

Pink astilbe lights up a corner of the New York Botanical Garden. This is the full, lush look I was hoping for in my garden. Photograph by Kristine Paulus via Flickr.
Above: Pink astilbe illuminate a corner of the New york city Arboretum. This is the complete, rich appearance I was wishing for in my garden. Photo by Kristine Paulus through Flickr.

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