Garden Mistakes

Host: Gary Bachman, Ornamental Horticulture Specialist

Transcription:

Gardening is all about trial and error but who wants the errors? Learn how to avoid some common gardening mistakes today on Southern Gardening.

Whether You're a Beginner or Master Gardener, we've all made mistakes in our garden; here are four gardening faux pas and how to prevent them.

Some gardeners water too much, and others don't water enough. Containers need to be watered once or more daily especially in hot weather; while in-ground plants not as frequently when properly mulched. Sandy soil requires more frequent watering than loam or clay soils. Always water towards the roots to avoid getting the foliage wet. Morning irrigation is the most effective.

Now we've all tried to grow plants that just don't work in our gardens. Will that pretty perennial survive the recent cold weather we've had? Talk with neighbors, local nurseries, and Master Gardeners to get ideas for what grows best in their gardens.

Many gardeners, especially beginners, tend to overlook the garden soil. They quickly find that healthy soil is essential for a successful garden. Loamy soil is ideal for most plants, because it retains water without being soggy, and holds nutrients for plant growth. To keep these good characteristics loamy soil should be amended yearly with compost, aged manure or other organic matter.

This time a year it's easy to get really excited about the early stages of garden planning especially with all the colorful catalogs arriving in the mailbox every day. This excitement leads to under estimating the time it will take to actually properly manage your garden and landscape. Always be realistic about how many hours you are willing, or able, to give to your garden in the coming year. I'm horticulturist Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.