Early Spring Garden Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

February 19, 2019 No Comments Irrigation Information

Gardening Mistakes to Avoid this spring

The snow is receding and bringing in temperatures that fit something a bit closer to gardening season.

Here on the irrigation supplies blog, I want to help you avoid making the same gardening mistakes I have. Some would say the only real way to learn life’s lessons is to go down the wrong road, fully experience the consequences, and then adjust accordingly.
My advice: Get started!

“Stage-setting” late winter/early spring tasks can create all the difference once it comes time to plant (and beyond).

But it’s necessary to not act too soon or improperly—you might harm your plants, the soil or your yard’s good appearance…

for more gardening articles check out my blog https://www.irrigationsuppliesstore.com/blog/

Table of Contents

FIRST TASK: ARRANGE YOUR TOOLS

Why it matters:

Dirty blades, loose bolts, and dull edges make garden tools less helpful and make the chores difficult even dangerous.

Mistake:

If tools are dirty, don’t force off or chip off caked-on crud. If tools are dirty, don’t force off or chip off caked-on crud.

That can gouge a tool surface—and may strain your hand, wrist or arm within the process.

What to do instead:

Wipe down every tool with a moist rag. Yet dirty?
Immerse it in a bucket of warm water for an hour or a lot of. This may reveal still-persistent crud or rust places—sand these off or scrub with abrasive.
Then wipe blades with a soft, oil-soaked rag.
Some people swear by flaxseed oil, however simple oil from the room can just do fine, honestly.
Burnish wooden handles with the oily fabric, too.
Check bolts on loppers and clippers, and tighten loose ones with a wrench.

Make a Note of That (Oops, I Forgot!) – Too Much Enthusiasm

Why it matters:

As you begin your gardening season, plan the right way what you are going you do. What varieties are you planting? What date did you get them in the ground? How close together did you plant them? And etc….

Mistake:

Last year, I thought radishes would be a great first crop with my children. The children had a fantastic time harvesting, but it was Too spicy for them!
Other problem You planted lots of seeds and visited often at first. Make a Note of That for your planing garden

But then, you got busy…life happened…and after you finally came back…disaster!

Maybe this has happened to you.

You understand that your seedlings dried out or aphids have covered the plants or weeds have taken over. Yikes!

If so, you’re not alone. This has definitely happened to me, too.

What to do instead:

Your best information will come from your gardening journal. Start one now to better plan your garden in subsequent years.

At those rainy spring days, take time to sketch out your garden and plan what and how much you’ll plant. You can think through how summer crops can follow some of the (mostly) one-time spring crops, like broccoli and radishes.

-Start with the foods you love. I would have been happier beginning with a couple of for the early harvest fun than planting additional carrots and spinach.

-Plant in succession. Summon up your will power and plant only a little area during your first planting day.
Put the spring seeds in a very convenient place and plant once more a few days or a week later.
Then, you’ll have abundance spread out so you’ll actually eat it all!

-Choose plants that you can harvest a few times. In spring, consider plants you’ll be able to cut and come again.
Loose leave lettuces, chard, and kale are smart examples of plants from which you’ll be able to harvest outer leaves while the middle continues growing. Again, you’re spreading the abundance across the season.

REPAIR WINTER-DAMAGED SHRUBS AND TREES

Why it matters:

Snow and ice will snap off branches, and extreme cold will kill branches, too.
To improve your garden’s appearance and health, prune branches with broken or dead parts in early spring (once daytime temps are higher than freezing).
Tip: Cutting on a warmer, sunny day is more comfortable for you and better for the tree. REPAIR WINTER-DAMAGED SHRUBS AND TREES

Mistake:

Cutting only at the point of damage. That can leave the plant looking awkward.
Furthermore, stubs left behind eventually rot and will spread rot to the rest of the tree.

What to do instead:

Clip or saw off a branch or stem all the way back to the trunk or the main stem. Make it flush.
Exception: If there’s a substantial branch collar—that thick area wherever a branch attaches to the trunk—don’t cut into it.
It makes a protection zone, helping to keep infection out of the trunk.
Also, removing the collar will cause unwanted sprouts to grow within the wound area.

FLOWER BEDS-Wait until the daytime temperatures are reliably above freezing. That’s true even if the plants below have started to show growth. Better safe than sorry!
When you remove mulch, use your hands, a light rake or a leaf blower rather than a shovel, hoe or heavy-duty rake.
Work rather gently so you don’t inadvertently break or uproot plants.

Once you take away the mulch, cut all dead perennial stalks right all the way down to the bottom or at least to the crown of the plant (the spot where the plant stems
meet the roots). Fresh new growth will soon follow.

Don’t Ignore Your Soil Moisture (Working When Soil is Too Wet)

Why it matters:

Healthy, aerated, well-drained soil its a garden ideal, and fooling with it too early may compromise this.

Wait for your soil to dry out before working it! The soil is fragile. If you treat it with care and patience, you will be rewarded with towering, healthy crops.

Mistake:

Don’t Ignore Your Soil Moisture (Working When Soil is Too Wet)

Inadvertently compacting your soil.
If you get to work outside too early within the year, when the ground remains semi-frozen or muddy, your footsteps or the wheelbarrow will over compact the soil.

That denies the reawakening plants the oxygen within the soil that they need.

In addition, A cleared garden area (flower bed or vegetable garden patch) may look tidy, but not for long—it’s an open invitation to weeds. And the exposed ground is vulnerable to compaction or erosion when drenching spring rains pound your soil.

What to do instead: Feel your soil!

Hold off till the ground dries out a bit more, or try putting a plank wherever you walk or kneel to distribute your weight more equally.

When you squeeze a handful soil, does water drip or mud ooze out?
Is your hand left a muddy mess?
If so, your soil is just too wet to work.

Do your boots get caked with mud when you walk between the rows or along the edges? If so, your soil is too wet to work. Get out of there!
If you’ll be able to squeeze a handful without drips, the soil crumbles back apart after, and you’ll be able to simply brush most of the remaining soil off your hand, you’re good to go.

Don’t Skip the Mulch

Why it matters:

Don’t Ignore Your Soil Moisture (Working When Soil is Too Wet)

As we know, there are many reasons to mulch around plants and gardens. Mulch prevents weeds, it retains moisture, it keeps the soil cool, and it can help create a thriving soil microbial ecosystem as it slowly breaks down.

Mistake:

Leaving open ground.
A cleared garden area (flower bed or vegetable garden patch) might look tidy, however, not for long—it’s an open invitation to weeds.
And the exposed ground is vulnerable to compaction or erosion when drenching spring rains pound your soil.

What to do instead:

The goal is to mulch as soon as you plant.
Sprinkle nourishing compost (homemade or store-bought) over the beds to a depth of 1 to 3 inches.
look out not to bury the crowns of emerging perennials or spring-flowering bulbs.
Do this on a nice day when there’s no rain or wind in the forecast.
Unlike some mulches, compost is rich in organic matter, contributing nutrition and texture to the soil.
As it breaks down, it produces heat—a hedge against springtime’s temperature swings.

This way the soil is protected, spring weeds will be kept at bay, and all I have to do is rake back the mulch and plant more when I have time.

Overplanting and Overcrowding

Why it matters:

The key theme here is that we all spend a lot of time, money and prayers on our gardens. So it’s worth it to be patient, take the time to create systems and finish projects thoroughly, and above all, pay attention to the needs of your soil and plants.

Mistake:

Planting too much from a specific vegetable or to close together.

What to do instead:

Read plant labels and seed packets, do your research, and plant just enough of each crop.

Equally important is thinking about how close to place plants together in the garden.

Early spring garden mistakes conclusion

Even when you know how to avoid Early spring garden mistakes, it is very likely that you will still commit one of these gardening mistakes.
And this is okay as long as you learn from them.
You’ll simply be more ready to do better next time.

most important, JUST DON’T QUIT.
THE ONLY way to really FAIL AT gardening IS TO QUIT trying.

Do you accept that these are the worst gardening mistakes?
Or do you know about another common mistake that is not listed? Let me know the comments.