My Gardening Mistakes

This is my second year to really try on my farming hat.  Last spring, mostly by luck, I grew tomatoes, cucumber, green beans, and zucchini.  Empowered by my need to create things, (and my desire to save as much money as humanly possible while eating healthy foods) I decided to research and plan a phenomenal spring garden.  I started with mistakes I've made in the past.  For the benefit of society, I will share my mistakes and make-shift solutions here.

Mistake #1 - Just plant whenever.

I didn't realize that vegetables are picky.  They don't like it hot and they don't like it cold, which is why people plant spring and fall gardens and not summer and winter gardens.  In my area (zone 8B) people plant the majority of things outside in mid-March for the spring.  The plants will take at least a month, but mostly two or more, to be ready for harvest.  The number of days a plant needs to grow is listed on the front of the seed packet.  Also, frost is the enemy!  It will kill your seedling and leave you depressed.  If you think, “Oh, I just risk it because I’m so anxious to start right now,” don’t.  If you must plant early, there are a few things that will grow.  In my experience onions, carrots, spinach, lettuce, and broccoli will do well planted early.  Tomatoes, beans, zucchini, peppers, corn, and eggplant do not.

Mistake #2 - If you plant it, it will grow.

Plants are also picky about their soil.  Now, there are very complicated mineral ratios, nutrients, fertilizer combinations, blah, blah, blah.  I’m sure that all of that is super important but as a beginner the only things I think are important are:

1.  Make sure the soil is loose.  The plants’ roots need to stretch out as they grow.  If the ground is packed (or clay as in my case) you need to either till the soil (break it up into loose soil) and/or buy soil.  I bought potting soil, peat moss, and shamelessly sent my oldest son and nephews to gather horse “fertilizer” for me.  I put those in my raised beds in equal parts.  I used this ratio simply because an Ag teacher told me to. 

2.  Make sure the soil is dark.  Clay or sandy soil is no good.  It should be black, and it is preferable if there are decomposing trees bits and worms in it.  The easiest thing to do is buy a bag of potting soil, poke holes in the back of the bag, lay it on the ground, cut a large rectangle out of the front, and plant in it.  This is what I did last year.  It worked for some plants, but not others.  Plus, it’s kind of ugly.  So, I upgraded to 3 raised beds, one herb pot, and a potato box this year.

Mistake #3 - You can over-water.

You cannot over-water, at least not in Louisiana.  Unless you are turning your soil to actual mud, the problem with water comes from the intensity of the water, not the amount.  I use a spray bottle to water seeds and seedlings.  Seriously, a spray bottle.  It’s gentle and effective. 

Mistake #4 - Animals are your friends.

This past fall, I lost countless spinach plants to wild rabbits.  Additionally, dogs cannot resist cool, loose soil.  They will dig and sleep in your garden as often as possible.  In the words of Beyonce, “if you like it then you shoulda put a fence around it.”  She said that right?  Which leads to …

Mistake #5 - This will save us so much money.

Is a package of 100 corn seeds cheaper than 100 ears of corn?  Absolutely.  Is it cheaper to grow your own vegetables?  Initially, not really.  If you account for soil, fencing, water (because you need to water them every day by the way, I even watered twice a day in July), wood and paint for the raised beds and other hardware, and your time, the initial set-up costs a lot.  We had the lumber (2x6) on hand for the beds, but the paint was $40, the soil and peat moss were around $10 a bag (I think), the seeds and seed started pods (a tray of 72 seed growing spaces for your seedlings) were $30, and the fence was $20 a yard.  And we still need to build the trellises for the raised beds.  Other handy items to have on hand include: a hand shovel, a watering can, and gardening gloves.

All that said, gardening is a very rewarding hobby.  It is so great to know you grew what your family is eating.  It also tastes better.  I’m not joking.  I planted broccoli in the fall, and it is by far the best I’ve ever had.