Top 10 Gardening Mistakes

Dad found this great article on gardening mistakes. You can read it by clicking here.

An excerpt:

Blunder #3: Overlooking poor soil conditions.

Before planting, prepare your soil. Plants generally do better in “loamy” soil that is rich in organic material and doesn't drain too quickly. Compost enriches the soil, improves drainage and helps to fight off pests and diseases.

Other tips:

• Once you've planted your garden, try to avoid walking on the soil. Every step compacts the soil, making it difficult for plants to grow roots. Instead create footpaths between rows.

• Avoid working the soil when it's wet – or you'll end up with clumps of hard-packed soil once it dries.

• Don't overwork the soil. The best soil isn't fine or powdery but consists of particles of varying sizes and shapes.

I would say neglecting your soil is one of the biggest garden mistakes you can make. Your soil feeds your plant. Mom likes to say (and Mark Cullen does as well, I believe) "put a $10 plant in a $20 hole."

If you don't dig deep enough, dig too deep, have soil that is too hard, or too wet, or doesn't drain well or have plain old bad soil, your plants won't do well. How could they? So do the proper research when planting, making sure to amend your soil with compost, manure and soil booster, and buy soils appropriate for your planting (ie Container mix for planting in pots) and you will be sure to be successful!