Top 10 Gardening Lessons Learned of 2020 | My Mistakes are Your Gains
These are my top 10 gardening lessons I’ve learned in 2020 that will help you succeed in your garden. My lessons are the mistakes and failures that you can avoid to have a successful 2021.
I hope these lessons are valuable to you and you can share them with your loved ones. Gardening has become one of my ultimate teachers for sure.
Too many non-food producing plants in one area
- I wanted my raised beds full of color so I planted too many flowering annuals.
Add more fragrant plants
- There is nothing like strolling through your garden and actually smell all the different plant varieties. It is so soothing and relaxing.
Once plants stop producing, it’s time to replace them (have starts ready to transplant for the next season)
- I kept plants too long hoping for more production because I did not want to leave empty spaces. But when they are done, the season they were in has passed – so you need new plants.
Grow your seasonal plants indoors 6-8 weeks so they are ready for the day to transplant.
- I only grew indoors in February and in September
- I had to purchase a lot of starts. This can get quite expensive.
No large tomatoes for fall planting or melons – not enough sun to ripen.
- I wanted to experiment and try a second crop of summer crops but I started them too late. I should have done succession planting probably a month after the first batch.
Plant brassicas for fall/winter
- My brassicas didn’t like our Southern heat so once they were ready to kick their growth in gear, it was too hot and they had stunt growth until November. I kept the plants (non-producing) for an entire year due to this mistake.
Read your seed packets!
- So much information is in our seed packets. I could have avoided some of my mistakes by reading and applying what I learned.
Stay ahead of Pests:
- Keep your soil healthy so you have strong plants that wont give off a scent that indicates a weak plant. Those get attack 1st.
- Ants – if you have ants, you will have aphids (they destroy your plants if not controlled). Ants also love strawberries so keep ants away.
- Aphids – if not caught early, they multiply quickly and feed off of new growth.
- Spider Mites – these are similar to aphids in how they consume your plants.
- Squash Vine Borer – I had a few squash plants and they where all mostly attacked by this pest.
- Spray an organic pesticide weekly and stay consistent.
- Check plants daily – most issues can be caught early.
- Keep your soil healthy so you have strong plants that wont give off a scent that indicates a weak plant. Those get attack 1st.
Termites on boxes (due to untreated wood):
Nematodes, Neem Oil, or Borax is a good pesticide. I will try Vinegar as my next remedy. Avoid by placing a cloth barrier against the wood or purchase high-end wood.
- Cedar
- Cypress
- Hemlock
- Ironwood
- Mahogany
- Redwood
- Teak
Soil
- Sandy Soil – I had too much sand % in the Top Soil I purchased (means too much drainage – in the heat of the summer, I had to water very frequent). Sand doesn’t retain nutrients.
- I didn’t apply enough compost material.