3 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid This Summer
3 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid This Summer
1. Hole is not large enough
Here’s what you should do first: Dig holes twice as wide as the pot the plant came in and twice as deep. Then, add enough compost, mixed with some of the dug-up soil, to the bottom of the hole. Next make sure the plant ends up being flush to the ground. Then, fill in the sides with more of the compost and soil mixture. This creates looser soil surrounding the plant, which aids air and water movement, and ensures roots can grow unhindered.
Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade. –Rudyard Kipling
2. Planting Too Far Apart
Don’t underestimate the number of plants you will need to fill in your flower bed. Instead of a return back to the gardening store, just spread them out more. Instead of the lush garden of my dreams, I had a lonely-looking garden I spaced them too far apart. In essence, follow the spacing directions that come with the plant.
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Cicero
3. Not Enough Water
The summer of my first garden, my soil was very dry. Plants were stunted, turning colour and some died. It took me awhile to figure this out. My neighbour helped me out. Again, follow the directions that come with the plant. Here is a helpful link in Canada.
Later, I learned that this type of shallow watering isn’t good for plants; I was essentially wetting the foliage. It’s much more effective to water plants deeply and less often than to water them a little bit every day.
Bonus: Weed a little bit whenever you can. Trust me, if you wait it’s torture !