7 mistakes we make in the garden and how to avoid them
May 8, 2022
If our plants often don’t look in very good condition, we might make some mistakes in their care as a result of which they do not grow properly and lose their vitality.
The leaves may fall, our plant may not bloom or it may look sluggish. Whatever happens, we must know that most problems that appear in our plants are from mistakes that we can easily correct.
From changing the pot, to reducing watering and adding fertilizer, small changes in our plant care can bring spectacular results.
It is important to immediately identify and prevent the mistakes we make both during the selection and planting of plants, as well as in their care.
So let’s look at the most common mistakes we make in the garden and how to avoid them to ensure healthy green plants with abundant flowering and lots of fruit.
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Common garden mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common mistakes we make in the garden are watering, planting in the right place and at the right time, preparing the soil to receive the plants, adding nutrients and protecting the plants.
1. Improper watering
Excessive watering, lack of water, irregular watering and wetting of the leaves are the main causes of problems for our plants in the garden and on the balcony.
For proper watering, we take into account the following:
- We learn about the water needs of plants at different stages. If the plant is in vegetative growth, flowering, fruit set, fruit ripening, adjust the amount and frequency of watering accordingly.
- We prefer to water our plants with a drip system which has many advantages for our plants while also saving water
- We avoid getting the foliage and flowers of the plants wet when watering, especially if it is midday and there is strong sunshine, as we may be affected by diseases.
- We regularly check and adjust the automatic irrigation system and the scheduler and avoid rainy days when we should not water the garden.
- To have an effective irrigation in the garden, the soil must drain.
- When we plant in pots on the balcony, they should definitely have holes drilled in the base to drain the water.
10 secrets for proper watering and healthy plants
2. Planting in a problematic location
Many problems are created in our garden due to planting in the wrong place, as each plant has different needs for sunlight, temperature and endurance.
To plant the plants in the right places:
- We start by choosing plants based on the space in which we want to plant.
- We find out at the agricultural stores about the conditions in which the plants we are interested in thrive, in terms of exposure to solar radiation and resistance to heat or frost.
- If we have sunny spots in our garden and balcony, we choose plants that can withstand the sun and heat. Many plants cannot stand the intense summer sunshine and get burned.
- If the garden and the balcony are in a shady spot, we prefer shade-tolerant plants, which grow best in semi-shaded or shady places.
- For plants that are sensitive to strong winds, we plant in sheltered places in the garden or on our balcony.
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3. Planting in the wrong season
Planting at the wrong time is one of the most common causes of plant problems. Sometimes we can plant too early, with the risk of the plants freezing, or later, causing the plants to have problems.
Most plantings are done in spring and autumn and less in winter or summer.
Regarding the planting season, we must keep in mind that:
- We avoid planting our plants in the garden or transplanting into larger pots during periods of extreme temperatures. Like for example the summer season with high temperatures or the winter season in severe frost and strong winds. In these unfavorable conditions, our plants will suffer and will not be able to take root and will probably dry out.
- When growing spring planting vegetables, we often plant earlier to get an earliness, but this can be detrimental due to evening frosts that prevail until mid-spring.
- When planting autumn vegetables, sometimes due to late planting, the vegetables do not bear fruit due to the adverse weather conditions of the coming winter.
- In deciduous fruit trees such as apricot cultivation, fig cultivation, plum cultivation, as well as fruiting shrubs such as grapevine, blueberry, blackberry and gooseberry, bare root planting is done in the winter period.
Sowing, planting and harvesting calendar for each vegetable
4. Poor soil preparation
If we plant in hard soil in the garden, the root system will not develop smoothly, as a result of which the plants will have problems in vegetation with reduced flowering and fruit production.
Before we plant, therefore, it is necessary to prepare the soil to receive our plants.
- We remove the stones from the garden and plow the soil so that it is fluffy and finely ground.
- We enrich the soil with organic matter, incorporating digested manure, compost and organic fertilizer.
- In addition, we can use soil improvement materials that improve the physical properties of the soil, making the soil more fluffy.
- Good soil composition provides aeration for the plant’s root system to grow and good water drainage to prevent rotting.
- At the same time, it also provides plants with the necessary nutrients for their vegetation to grow, to bloom and to produce good fruit.
How we improve the soil, soil preparation for cultivation
5. Dense seeding and planting
One of the most serious mistakes when planting plants, vegetables, ornamental and fruit trees is dense sowing and planting. When we do not choose the proper planting distances, the plants grow too densely as they grow without good ventilation and lighting. This results in them being more susceptible to attacks from fungal diseases, insects and the tetranych.
When sowing vegetables or ornamentals, we must avoid dense sowing, because the plants when they grow will have corresponding problems. Also, in the case of sowing, when the new plants grow very densely, it is very difficult to remove the unwanted grasses (weeds) that grow.
Planting distances for growing vegetables
6. Insufficient and incorrect lubrication
The lack of nutrients in the soil such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, but also trace elements such as iron and zinc causes problems in the vegetative growth and flowering of ornamental plants, as well as in the production of fruits of vegetables and fruit trees.
Accordingly, adding too much fertilizer can cause significant problems and toxicity to plants. Especially the excessive addition of ammonium fertilizers creates burns in the top vegetation and susceptibility to fungal diseases.
We use each fertilizer based on the needs of the plant and apply the fertilizer at the appropriate stage of plant growth and in the right amount.
Fertilizer: Categories, types and how we choose
7. Reduced protection from diseases and insects
All plants can experience insects or disease at some point. Their timely treatment is very important for the health of the plants.
It is important to observe our plants often for any problems so that we can treat them early and keep them healthy.
- In order to reduce infestations by insects such as mealybugs, mealybugs, thrips, aphids, leafhoppers, and fruit borers, we use biological preparations such as potassium salts, summer pulp, natural pyrethrin and Thuringia bacillus.
- To deal with fungal diseases of plants such as downy mildew, powdery mildew, and fusicladium, we spray the plants with ecological preparations based on copper and sulfur.
- To proactively deal with snails which are a major problem in the garden, we scatter ashes around the plants.
10 natural and organic insecticides for plants and crops
And a secret about the mistakes we make in gardening
Gardening takes time and experience to better understand the wonderful world of plants. Even the most experienced grower makes mistakes at some point. So, we make sure to learn from the mistakes we make, so that next time we can be better prepared.
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