Ten Mistakes Gardeners Make

Calling all gardeners and vegetable lovers! Don’t make these common mistakes that can put your garden in jeopardy this growing season.

1. No plan 

Any garden large or small should have a plan drawn to scale. This can be done on simple lined sheet of paper

2. Wrong location

A good vegetable garden need at least 6 hours and preferably 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight per day. 

3. Poor soil 

Planting in an area where there is poor soil will yield poor results. The soil should be soft, compressible loam.  This is roughly equal parts of an organic matter and soil.  If you have clay soil, sand should be added to break up the clay since plant roots would not grow in it.  Sandy soil needs organic matter added to retain water.  

4. Choosing the wrong type of plants.

Pick vegetables that are easy to grow, such as radishes, lettuce, cucumbers, string bean, zucchini, winter squash, and tomatoes.  If available, use all American winners; these have gone through extensive field trials to prove their disease hardiness and reliability.  

5. Planting too early in the spring  

Weather starts to warm up, days become longer, and birds are singing and we have the urge to plant.  Planting too early subjects tender plants to frost and delays the germination of seeds. For optimal plant growth, soil temperature has to be 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Wait for your soil to warm up.  

6. Planting too close

Vegetables need space to grow and mature.  Head lettuce should be a minimum of 9 inches apart. Tomato plants a minimum of two feet.  Cucumbers, a minimum of 2 feet.  Beans, radishes and beets should be planted one inch apart and then thinned; radishes to 3 inches and beets and bean plants to 4-6 inches.  

7. Not using mulch to control weeds

A weed control is critically important.  Using newspapers, straw, or 1.2 mil black plastic judiciously placed to control weeds and maintain soil moisture will make gardening a more pleasant experience.

8. Improper Fertilizing

Preparing the soil with a multipurpose fertilizer such as 5-10-5 or 10-10-10 is an initial and essential step.  Soil tests will give exact needs for nutrients in your particular garden plot.  At the time of transplant and during growth phases, a dilute liquid fertilizer solution will improve plant vigor growth and disease resistance.  

9. Not enough or too much water

A reliable, close at hand source of water such as a garden hose or sprinkler is critical.  A garden needs an average of 2 to 4 inches of water per week.  However, be careful because too much water will damage the roots and encourage disease growth, particularly fungal diseases on tomato plants and vine crops. 

10. Not being vigilant

Watch the garden carefully for any sign of insect damage. Use organic insecticides such as plant-derived pyrethrums sparingly for insects. Insects such as tomato hornworm and cabbageworm can also be hand picked off. Beware of fungal diseases on vine crops and tomatoes.  

Find more gardening tips in my book, Ciao Italia: Plant. Harvest. Cook!