5 Gardening Fails to Avoid
It’s National Gardening Week April 27 through May 5 and time to drum up excitement about growing things. The reality is gardening should come with a warning. Failure at growing things can be depressing but it shouldn’t be. The secret being hidden is that people really do or do not have a green thumb. If you can’t be a grower of things, well, there’s really nothing you can do about it. Following prescribed steps doesn’t work for those of us with no aptitude for encouraging plants to flourish. For those who would ignore this insightful warning, the following are five gardening fails to avoid.
1-Your Timing is All Wrong
Gardening properly means going by a schedule apparently written in nature. This is probably what made the Farmer’s Almanac so popular back in Benjamin Franklin’s day, since it focused a lot on planting, etc. Well, the publication still exists today, but that’s beside the point. The point is that seeds can’t survive if they are planted too early and become exposed to frost. Also, if you wait until late summer to plant tomato seedlings, for example, there isn’t enough time for ripened fruit to grow before the next season’s frost comes along and kills gardeners’ dreams.
2-You Didn’t Consider Geography
The growing season in one geological area is different from another geographic region. You are screwed if you plant seeds for a long growing season in one where the season is short. Check your seeds. You can’t just order them willy-nilly.
3-Planting in Dirt without Enough Growing Space
It’s important to understand what’s packed into tiny seeds. The idea of digging a hole and dropping in a few seeds sounds normal, but it can make a mess of a garden. Some seeds will shock you and become 8-foot plants that take over your garden. Plants become distressed if they can’t get enough dirt or sunlight. You can even cause fungal problems if you’re a gardener who crowds up your plants. These issues can lead to guilt and feelings of incompetence.
4-You Didn’t Factor in Sunlight
One would think that planting a seed in a sunlit garden is a no-brainer but not so much. Some plants will fry if they are exposed to full sun. It’s essential to take note of shade patterns in your garden. Some plants actually prefer shade to lots of sun. Honestly, new gardeners are often surprised at just how finicky a plant can be.
5-The Death Knell: Bad Watering
Finally, would-be gardeners with the knowledge that they don’t have an officially green thumb should beware of the water issue. Plants (translated as gardeners) can fail miserably because of the handling of water. Plants will die because you give them too much water or because you failed to give it enough water. Inconsistent watering causes fruits and vegetables to crack, providing evidence of a gardener’s inadequacies.
Garden if You Dare
So as National Gardening Week approaches, you may feel compelled to try your hand at cultivating plant life. People with green thumbs will encourage anyone to dig into the soil and enjoy the thrills of gardening, but don’t fall for it. For any money you spend towards gardening, you could be in for guilt, remorse, and feelings of inadequacy but no flowers to admire or homegrown vegetables to eat.
