In this article I'm going to discuss common mistakes it's easy to make when planning a vegetable garden, along with tips on how to avoid them. First up, is overcrowding. Although it sounds obvious, even experienced gardeners will tell you that every now and again, they succumb to the temptation to try to grow more in the space they have. Perhaps it's because seed packets typically come with generous quantities of seeds so it's tempting to raise more plants than you actually need. And when first planted, they'll look like they're growing perfectly well see you don't notice the issue straight away. It's only as the plants start to reach their full size that the problems start.
As each plant's root system starts to compete with its neighbors for water and nutrients from the soil, the plants fail to mature properly, resulting in a disappointing harvest. To avoid this, make sure you use the recommended plant spacing, as shown here. If you're using our Garden Planner, it will automatically space plants along rows or in blocks, calculating how many will fit, and you can use the colored area around the plant to see how much space the roots require for good growth. Leave a little extra space if you have poor soil. And if you're using the Square Foot Gardening method, be sure to switch to SFG mode to see how many plants can fit into each square.
The second common mistake is ignoring nature. It's tempting to imagine our gardens as miniature farms, with big areas of beautifully growing crops. This all sounds fine at the planning stage, but try it and it won't be long before pests such as aphids strike. They like nothing better than a large area of their favorite crops to eat. But a little forward planning can ensure that Mother Nature is on your side. For example, it's a good idea to mix in several different companion planting flowers which will attract beneficial insects such as hoverflies. When the pests descend, these natural predators will keep them at bay, and your plants will thank you. If pests strike early in your area, remember to include some of the early-flowering companions - a few onions, garlic, or carrots left in the ground from last year and allowed to flower provide an excellent first source of nectar to attract nature's defenders.
Scientific studies have shown that mixing up crop families - shown here by the different colored backgrounds - helps to confuse flying insect pests, but for some crops it's necessary to use further protective measures. For example, brassicas (plants in the cabbage family, which have green backgrounds) are a favorite plant for cabbage white butterflies to lay their eggs on under the leaves. When the caterpillars hatch, they can decimate your crops in a few days. To prevent this, many gardeners keep their crops together in one bed using netting or other protection over them to keep the butterflies off. Similarly, carrots are often covered with fine netting or fleece to prevent carrot fly.
The third common mistake is planting everything at the same time. The old adage 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket' is good advice for vegetable gardeners. Planting out all your tender crops at once can be disastrous if there's a sudden late frost. Similarly, transplanting pea seedlings only to have birds or slugs eat them all is all too common. The best method is to sow seeds in small batches every or weeks. If you're using the Garden Planner, switch to the Plant List where the blue and green bars indicate the window of time during which you can make multiple sowings in your local area, and you'll receive email reminders every weeks. As well as ensuring you have backup options if disaster strikes, this has the added advantage of preventing gluts by spreading your harvest out over a longer period.
The Plant List also shows the number of plants you need for each vegetable, which can be a real time and money saver helping you to raise just the right number of plants for the space you have. Of course, there's much more to gardening success than just these tips but by avoiding these common mistakes you'll give yourself the very best chance of success in your garden, and be off to a great start. .
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commentsso cute
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