Two Cringe Worthy Vegetable Gardening Mistakes

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I look back at my many years of having my own vegetable garden and always have a `what the heck was I thinking` moment. Whether it was growing something I had no intention eating or the countless other mistakes I have made in time, had I not learned from them would have been a real tragedy. I wanted to share with you what I believe are vegetable gardening mistakes that can make anyone cringe.

Organization Problems
You mean you can’t plant that zucchini two inches away from the next one? Ok admit it. You have been there also. Excited to plant so much but with little room to do it in, you start squeezing things in so close that by the time they become full grown (hopefully) you aren’t sure whether you have a vegetable garden in your backyard or the 2nd coming of the Amazon rain forrest. Do yourself and your garden a favor. Plan ahead by organizing where you will plant things. Even if you scribble it down on a piece of paper somewhere. If the back of your seed packet says spread them out three feet, then please do that. If you can only plant two zucchini plants, then that is ok. You are better off with two plants that are constantly producing then many plants that might not produce at all.

Water, Water, Water, Water and more Water
You wake up on a Tuesday head out to the vegetable garden and you turn your sprinkler system (or irrigation method of choice) on. You give it a good soaking as recommended by your Uncle Louie who was the neighborhood tomato champion. As the day progresses, it gets hot, so tomorrow you repeat the process, because well it was so hot that all of the water you gave your garden the day before must be gone right? So you water again. You repeat these steps daily but unbeknownst to you what you are actually doing is a disservice to your plants. You may be over watering your plants. When you do this you could be washing away the nitrogen in the soil or just as worse creating a way too soggy soil base for your plants roots which could cause root rot. Solution? Invest in a soil tester or water tester which will give you an accurate reading of the moisture content in your soil. When in doubt with no soil tester around, plunge your index finger about two to three inches into the ground. If the soil compacts well or feels moist then your plants are ok.

I am sure you can think of plenty more that you or someone you know does. These are my two favorite. Hopefully, you, like me, learn from your cringe worthy mistakes and have a flourishing vegetable garden.

About the Author
Mike Podlesny is the owner of Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, the exclusive home of the Seeds of the Month Club, which has appeared on NBC, ABC and MSN Money as a great way for consumers to save money.

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