In this article, we will be discussing some of the gardening mistakes made by the author and how they can be avoided in the future. We will be looking at nine things the author did that they will not be doing next year. We will also be examining how to avoid such gardening mistakes in the future.
One of the things the author will not be doing next year is buying bulk soil or compost without vetting the source carefully. The author purchased compost last year that was not of good quality. They also bought some soil a few years back that gave only one season of good growth. To avoid such issues, gardeners are advised to test a small sample of the soil they intend to buy. They can even send it for soil testing to ensure it is of good quality. Failure to do this could lead to years of poor plant performance.
Another mistake made by the author was failing to remove plants that were no longer useful in the garden. The author had some shishito peppers that were well past their prime, but they left them to slowly die and take up space, nutrients, water, and sunlight that they could have used for other plants. Gardeners must know when to walk away from a plant and remove them when they are no longer beneficial.
The author also made a mistake of dedicating prime real estate to plants that did not yield much. They were excited about growing different cereal crops like baby corn, sorghum, millet, teff, oats, and rice. However, after waiting for a whole summer, the author only harvested a small amount of rice. To avoid this, gardeners are advised to dedicate prime real estate to plants that are known to be good performers in their area. This will help to ensure better yields.
The spacing between rows was also a mistake made by the author. The spacing between rows was too close, making it difficult to get to the plants for maintenance, cutting back, and deadheading. Spacing is a key factor to consider when gardening, and gardeners must plan ahead to ensure enough space between plants.
Finally, the author made the mistake of not starting the right amount of seeds. Starting the right amount of seeds is essential for a good garden. Gardeners must take into account factors such as germination rates, spacing, and the number of plants they need for the space they have. Starting too many seeds could lead to overcrowding and a lack of space for other plants. Starting too few seeds could lead to an insufficient harvest.
In conclusion, gardening mistakes can be costly and time-consuming. However, by avoiding the mistakes discussed in this article, gardeners can have a more productive and enjoyable gardening experience. Remember to test soil samples, remove plants that are no longer useful, dedicate prime real estate to good performers, plan for proper spacing, and start the right amount of seeds. By following these simple steps, gardeners can avoid common mistakes and enjoy a bountiful harvest.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Intro
00:11 – Buying Compost Or Soil In Bulk
00:52 – Letting Plants Grow For Too Long
01:48 – Dedicating Too Much Space
03:03 – Planting Dahlias Too Closely
03:54 – Starting Just Enough Seedlings
04:57 – Black Friday Sale
06:04 – Applying Too Much Compost
07:34 – Being Behind On Cover Cropping
08:47 – Oat Cover Crop In Prairie
09:45 – Worrying Too Much
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Community gardens and churchs often love extra plants!
I learned that, if you plan on taking a long vacation, your attempt at over wintering will be a waste. Wish me luck that my neighbor will agree to keep my babies alive, while I'm gone.
For new gardeners, you will make mistakes. Plants will give low yields or die. Don’t give up, it’s all part of the process.
when you sponsor your own video is that a tax thing or what?
#2. … I get it, it's not easy to kill your kids
Whaaaaattt!! I didn’t expect to see Blossom & Branch on Epic Gardening. Yay for a Colorado local joining the Epic family!
The only pumpkins that we grew were accidentally planted by our 1 year old!
He dropped them in much sunnier spots than we had planted ours in. Next year we will follow his lead!
You should have the Wild Floridian on your team!
Already placed my order and super excited about getting birdies raised beds for the cul de sac grocery garden!!! I have wanted some of these beds since BEFORE you started selling them and this is an amazing deal. Thank you! Also, I couldnt help but wonder what RED shishito peppers taste like! Did Jaques try any after they turned red?
The Universal Bottom Trays were listed for half a year and never available, then they disappeared off the site completely, and now they are back on the site again, showing In Stock, but not available. What the hell?
if you plant so much that you don't use it all it could be possible to use that extra crop to produce seed like lettuce and things like that just a thought
I think the thing with the oats is they were planted way to densely….at least by looks of it. They are used quite a lot in establishing tame fields very successfully. I would estimate 1 plant per square foot would have supplied the necessary shade. Just my thought. The others are not failures – they are learning opportunities!
Thanks guys really good information here..I learn one or two of these the hard way this year.
I love the emphasis on challenges small-scale gardeners can have with cover crops. I've certainly made both of those mistakes. Given how beneficial they are, I'd love to see more discussion on how to work with them best for a variety of purposes.
Jacques – Why not just do a hard-prune on your pepper plant and let it come back next year? I have a Fresno chili plant that I have gotten two very productive seasons out of (to the point I was making hot sauce, pickle peppers, pepper jelly and then froze a lot as well).
Helpful tips and it's always smart to do a garden review annually. I learn every year. Why not dehydrate and pulverize the shishito peppers? You'd have a great resource for winter cooking. Re cover crops, it's so hard to remove producing annuals before they finish. It seems you need to do this to have enough lead time for cover crops to take hold. Anybody have tips on ways to have the final production along with healthy cover crop starts?
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Great points in here!
YESS CHAPTER 3! THIS IS DOPE!
Do you have a video, or can you do a video on cover crops?!
I like to dry any hot chillies, grind and use the powder mixed with water to make a home made spray insect repellent.
My biggest mistake this year also had to do with compost. I had planned too far ahead with new raised beds, and was counting on using the municipal compost to fill them. Normally there's a near unlimited amount available. Unfortunately, this year the town had decided to dredge out the pond at the local nature center, and dump all the mud and silt into the compost. This meant they could not put it out, because it contained a lot of undecomposed material and could not be inspected. I quickly ran out of topsoil and compost, and had to curtail a lot of my plans.
Fortunately, I did find some workarounds. I got two Chip Drops this year, totaling 30 cubic yards, and planted mushrooms in them to break them down faster. Although the mushrooms did not fruit this year, the woodchips broke down super fast and retained enough moisture to get my plants through the hot dry summer. I also went around and took all the autumn leaves from my neighbors, so I won't be running out of organic material any time soon.
Love the tips especially Chris's! She, like all of you, is clearly a knowledgable and accomplished gardener and it shows. Always happy to hear from her! ~Amy
Hi I want to ask you if you can made a video of all the captus fruit there are out there because I see so much confusion with native Mexican desert captus fruit and people have the tendency of calling everything dragon fruit when even that fruits many people don't know the real name is pitahaya
Walking away is never easy but sometimes it must be done
Finishing my garden off this weekend then just need to wait for harvesting. This is great timing for everyone south of the equator haha. Just in seedlings i lost roughly 25% of everything but thanks to one of your earlier videos I did plenty extra. Whether it was germination, one randomly hot day, a rebel slug/snail taking one night to eat like 5 seedlings… Probably the biggest regret I would have had
Send the peppers to me