Hi Anne Marie,
Besides the occasional (Weather/Critters/Bugs/Disease) related problems,everybody who "lives" on these boards is constantly evolving/succeeding with our ever expanding gardens. It really becomes very addictive, we plant a seed or seedling and watch that baby grow.....I started last year and was able to produce 600.00 lbs of excess food for the less fortunate in my county....by increasing my garden size over 300% ,this year I should be able to donate over 2000 lbs to the local foodbank.... Life is Good ;-)

You aren't going to find ANY disappointed veggie gardeners in this forum, well.... I should qualify that remark with a simple disclaimer... You won't find any of "US" being disappointed, but you may be able to catch some newbie who hasn't matured as yet, so they may whine a bit.... (but it won't be long before they would want to retract their complaint)... We are ALL Totally Blessed ! !

I don't have too many disappointments any more, but I sure remember a few in my earlier years of gardening and I see people making the same mistakes today. I guess that the mistakes can be minimized by what I have learned.
1. Be patient..gardening should be relaxing.
2. Properly prepare your soil before you plant anything.
3. Do a soil test.
4. Don't over plant..nothing worse that having too much and watch it go to waste.
5. Don't get sucked in by the gardening marketing hipe.
6. Relax and grow with your garden.

Luke

Keep 1 think i mind last year for much of the NE and even down as far as GA Late Blight was overwhelming. Tomatoes, Potatoes, and even pumpkins did very poorly.

It doesn't matter if it was your 1st garden or your 50th mother nature can be the most disappointing thing of them all.

Gardening can be hard work at first but then after that it's just maintenance. Usually the latter part is the part people overlook. They'll fall into the same trap next year when their soil wont be in shape(neither will they).

To garden well you must employ nature to work with you. You cant stop the rain but you can plant winter rye. You cant turn heavy clay soil into into rich loam overnight but you can encourage worms to help you along by mulching.

Last year I was trying to get WGBH in Boston to play an old Garden Show called Crockett's Victory Garden. The show was created during the high inflation of the 70's. The show was immensely successful. Probably the biggest reason is Crockett was like a friendly neighbor not a model. The main focus was on gardening not ridiculous landscaping. Bring a show back like that and it will help new gardeners.

Why are you seeking "disappointed veggie gardeners" to interview?

Just curious.

Anne Marie,

I've been gardening for many years (too many to admit) and every year I have disappointments and things that don't work out. However, I LOVE gardening and those set backs are just lessons learned and the "oh wells" are part of the package (the most recent of which was the late blight last year that took out all my tomatoes).

What I do remember about my first garden is: don't plant more than two or three zuchini plants because the neighbors will only take so many (I had 10 plants for a family of 2). Also, weed every week. It's easy to get rid of weeds when they are only 2 inches high, overwhelming when the weeds are 2 feet high.

I'm now involved in a community garden and what seems to overwhelm the "newbies" most is:
1) the weeds (many abandon their plots at midsummer because they weren't prepared for how the weeds can overwhelm a plot that isn't tended enough)
2) overplanting (not enough spacing between plants or between rows - plants are crowded and don't grow their best, and the gardener can't even get into the plot to walk, never mind to weed!).
3) pests - most commonly cucumber beetles, squash bugs and squash vine borer. It seems the bugs really zone in on a community garden, it must look like a yearly buffet set out just for them.

Hope this helps.

So, if we told you about our disappoinmets, are you going to offer solutionss? I don't think I will confess anything to you or to a priest. LOL

I have never been disapointed in what I raised. Some years are better than others, but never have I wished I havent planted anything at all.

First, I'd like to say, please do NOT take parts of this reply out of context...I love gardening and don't want be misrepresented as one who is disappointed with gardening.

That being said, the biggest newbie mistake (at least my own) was not getting the grass out of the garden. I've done this twice and regretted it both times :)

First time, total newbie, I asked my then boyfriend (now husband) to help me use a rototiller to dig up an area for the garden. He and his friend did a great job, but none of us thought to remove the grass first, so it was all pushed down into the dirt...where it immediately grew right back...what a mess!

The second time (last year) I had to plant some flowers in the front bed for an appraisal and didn't have time to take out all the grass or edge the bed. Guess what I'll be doing this spring??? I already moved the flowers to another bed, so it's dig out the grass, edge and replant.

I agree with everyone else. Gardening is a learning experience and just like anything else...no one is going to do everything right their first time. Like learning to play an instrument, it takes practice and commitment, but the rewards can be tremendous.

My favorite garden is a mixture of vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit. Also, you can never go wrong with a few roses and lavender :)

Because I didn't start gardening as a result of a 'grow-your-own' fad or to save energy or any other reason outside of myself and my upbringing, perhaps I can't answer your query.

Parents gardened, so did theirs and so do I. Have made some really bone-headed mistakes over the years, but that's more due to my "mad scientist, push the envelope, wonder if this will work" streak than anything else. I do recall shedding tears when the pressure of raising 4 kids, working, and housework didn't provide enough 'free' time to grow a decent garden. It took me a few years to get the hang of downsizing my expectations. Hmmmm... now that I think of it, my age-related infirmities are forcing me to do the same kind of downsizing.

Some of the other answers have touched on unrealistic expectations that may cause a newbie to become discouraged. I hope your colum will convey that disapointing results should not discourage a new gardener.
Hanging out with Mother Nature is fast company and it takes a while to learn to slow down and keep up with 'MAW.

I do not like this post very much. We all make mistakes in the beginning, but it is part of life. I ran into a lot of troubles when I started gardening in a zone different from where I grew up, and I did not read enough before starting.
Later I more than made up for my lack of reading, and of course trial and error makes you smarter. I made similar mistakes when I remodeled my house or when I resumed fishing, which I had not done since I was a child.

But here comes this journalist out of the blue and wants to talk about a tiny, negative, irrelevant part of the gardening experience. About bruised egos and half grown people complaining that they can't do something 90% of the people in the world can do easily, and that people have done for thousands of years. Am I the only one who sees it this way?

Well.... You are quite GLIB ;-)

Well I am very disappointed.......with myself for not starting my hobby earlier in life. Getting away from the phone, tv, computer, has been a great boon in my life.
Watching the birds, having the fish in the koi pond greet you like you are their best friend, watching newly sprouting snow peas reach for the sun, Having a vested interest if the bees will find your flower blossoms. Walking outside and picking something off and eating it, grilling and going over to the veggie garden and picking some peppers or whatever and throwing it on the grill. I don`t think you will find the ones who gave up on gardening on this forum. Yes I did have plants that didn`t produce well and I did fight bugs and I did start to small, but I look forward to spring and baby plants making food for myself and my family. I think we all have the same desire to plant those seeds, graft that pear tree, feed those earthworms. But thanks for giving us a platform to express ourselves. :o) Deanna

Deanna- Well said. Printing that response would be the best thing a reporter could do for any would be gardener.

Thanks, all for some really terrific insights! The story will be more specifically about how to really PLAN a great veggie garden. There is so much planning involved, and I think some newbies last year (there were many!) rushed to excitement--not a bad thing--but then got frustrated.
So the story is intended to help them--and I guess all of us, me included--plan better.
I love getting voices and anecdotes in my stories, so you might include in your messages whether you'd be open to being contacted (verbally) by me.
Best wishes
Anne Marie

I agree with "eyesofthwolf," above: my biggest disappointment is with myself, for not gardening when I was younger. Everyone notices the rhythm of the seasons, but the sensation is deeper and more satisfying when I am gardening.

My family has had a garden for all of my life. When I was younger, my parents would have us kids go out and weed the garden every few weeks, which we all hated. About 4 years ago (I'm 18 now), I fell in love with it. I don't know what happened, but suddenly I didn't mind weeding and found myself fascinated by plants. Now I do the garden by myself. We have a huge garden, and it definitely isn't easy, but I enjoy every minute of it.

I don't remember any disappointments, other than when we only weeded every few weeks and it became almost overwhelming. Now I go out every day for 10 minutes and walk up and down the rows. There are very few weeds in my garden.

My grandpa grew up on a farm, so he saw the importance of gardening. His garden is as close to perfect as possible, I think. He measures his rows and marks them with stakes and string before planting and makes sure they are separated by the exact same distance, down to a 16th of an inch.

While I'm not as precise, he's been there to guide me through the process of gardening since I started. He's told me things at the beginning of the season that seem unnecessary, but prove to be worth your time. I think that's the main reason that I haven't experienced many disappointments.

Over the last almost 50 years I've had a lot of disappointments in gardening, but never such that I'd even consider giving up the joy of growing my own food. Sometimes the tomatoes blight really badly. Sometimes the squash bug does in the squash. Sometimes the voles eat the potatoes and sweet potatoes and carrots. Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes. But the harvests come in and the food is bountiful.

One really low point last season for me (related to the OP question regarding planning) was when I set out my tomato plants for their last week of hardening. Our house gets tremendous winds coming from different directions, and I guess that day the wind shifted. When I came home from work, the 24 tomato seedlings that I had grown from seed and nurtured and were going to be the best tomato sauce we had ever eaten, well... they were broken, bent, torn and otherwise destroyed.

Disapointed? Yup! Angry? Yup! With myself. I couldn't believe I had been so careless, and I wondered had I been in a situation where those tomatoes could represent life or death (like food crops were for our pioneer families), it would have been a grave error. Now I know to not put out all of my seedlings in the same spot, at the same time.

I have learned my lesson, so perhaps someone else can learn from it as well.

And btw, lighten up everyone. He's asking for stories, not for a contribution to the end of gardening itself.

I grow for a farmers market and have had several customers TRY for a garden, but for one reason or another they have decided NOT to have a garden and just buy from me. They do ask about the farm and farming, and they are welcome to come out and 'play' in the dirt at my place. My market is in a town/community of 100,000 without alot of community gardens. the community gardens are increasing and I still have customers that either come down to buy or to talk garden produce.

Disappointments;
didn't know anything about unfinished compost (I make my own compost)
learned about morning shade
learned about frost date
learned about quality of seed

Short version;
don't use unfinished compost. Test your compost by sprouting small seeds in it.
the beds that did best were the ones that got early morning sun
there's no point in planting tomatoes before the 'last frost date', they won't ripen any sooner just because I got them started sooner. If you want to extend your season, try hoop houses or greenhouses.
Best melon and corn seed came from a mail-order catalog, not local sources.

Surprises;
weeding has not been an issue,
despite the dry climate, watering is easy, too,
how much better fresh, home-grown food tastes,
how easy it is to grow and preserve berries,
how easy it is to start tomatoes, peppers, etc., from seed,
and how easy it is to experiment with ideas of my own.

Other lessons;
learned which varieties of tomatoes, potatoes, and corn to grow,
don't be afraid to 'go big' with garden size,
grow a wide variety of foods.

Next adventures;
chickens,
bees,
nut trees.

Aren't these bulleted lists annoying?

Hi Anne Marie (and all)! Perhaps you're getting the idea that gardeners who are here would not start an article from the somewhat negative viewpoint of "Failure"? :) Anyway, here in the information age I would think that the obvious way to circumvent failure for new gardeners is to come here to GardenWeb! And learn how to do a proper search for answers both here and on the web.

I will be honest, it takes time and practice to view life through a plant's eyes (so to speak). Thinking about what a plant needs to survive and thrive doesn't come naturally to everyone. I have never had a garden that I would call a failure, but I have had certain crops fail, usually due to my lack of understanding what was happening. But that is how we learn, so I think new gardeners would best keep in mind that things probably won't go perfect the first time.

My best advice? Plan a small garden at first. This limits the amount of new knowledge you have to take in, the amount of new work that you have to find time to do and should limit the frustrations involved. Pick a few vegetables that your family likes and learn about them. Be realistic- if it says it's a cool-weather crop, don't try to plant it in Georgia in the middle of June. If information seems confusing, find a place where you can ask a question. And plan on having some amount of failure and frustration. It's part of life, and life is at the heart of gardening.

And I hope you get the chance to mention that at GardenWeb, there are no "Disappointed" gardeners! :) I wish you luck on your endeavors. I'm thinking that if you want more detailed advice on the specific, different aspects of planning a veggie garden perhaps a series of specific questions would get you those. It's sort of hard to answer such a broad question as "how do you plan a successful vegetable garden to minimize frustration and failure for a new gardener?" Anyhow, I'm willing to answer any further questions that I have an answer to!

Cheers!

Sunni

Yes, I would definitely write the story with a focus on planning and not disappointment, there is so much connatative meaning with some words. What you call disappointment, a true gardener will call a learning experience and laugh about it for years! Growing up with gardens, and then not having any place to grow my own for many years, my biggest "disappointments" when I had some land was that I didn't do my homework (I thought I remembered how it was done), and tried to go too big too soon. I remembered my dad planting cucumbers and zucchini..since they look alike, I planted them the same way, a hill with 2-4 seeds per hill. Then in case the zucchini didn't make it, I planted 3 zucchini hills. Well a month later I had 9 or 10 zucchini plants in a 5 x 5 area..which lead to bug problems and mildew problems. I couldn't quite bring myself to sacrifice some of the plants for the good of the others, and so I kept them all. What did I get? Some excellent organic zucchini (for me and the entire neighborhood), a crash course in how to treat a bug infestation organically, and the knowledge that you can make just about anything out of zucchini! The bottom line, anyone gardening only because its the thing to do may give up, but anyone who tries it and really likes it treats it like a big experiement, it is one big life learning experiement on how to improve on what we did last year, and to try new things! we accept that you don't always get what you expect...doesn't everyone like a surprise now and then??? THIS IS WHAT GARDENING IS ABOUT!!! Good luck with your search for disappointments, but like everyone has already said, if you are looking for people so disappointed that they quit, they aren't here...check the produce section of the grocery store for people with really clean fingernails:)

There's been lots said here that is of great value. I, for one, would recommend to anyone starting a new garden that they READ. Books that are written for your own geographical region can save you many many disappointments. I am a transplant from Indiana to the south (30 years ago). I tried vegetable gardening (the Indiana way) for more than ten years and threw up my hands and gave up. I turned to ornamentals because I couldn't bear not to garden. THEN I subscribed to my first gardening magazine and began to spend the winters reading garden books.

Last year, because of the economy, I decided to give vegetables another try. I went to Amazon and ordered two books on vegetable growing in the south. I am totally hooked on vegetables again and enjoying, not only the food, but the entire experience.

Do you want to know what is REALLY disappointing? the taste of grocery store vegetables after you got used to eating veggies from your garden! pfwew! no taste at all!? it might look like a carrot, a tomato or a cucumber, but it has not taste! How do they even do that!? now I understand why people would say vegetables are not that good. They sure have not tasted my carrots, beets, lettuces, cukes, tomatoes fresh from the garden!

This is it! I am not buying grocery store vegetables ever again. I will plant more potatoes, more onions (I did run out of those and HAD to go to the grocery store). I will concentrate more effort into getting carrots every month of the year, tomatoes, peppers, as many months as possible. In the 'dead' of winter here in Southern California we get nice cool weather crops, radishes, beets, all the brassicas, artichokes, peas, favas, so I just eat whatever the garden produces. Mine is always producing something!

Disappointed in gardening? me? no! never!!!! (sorry to disappoint....LOL)

I've had veggie gardens of some sort forever -- i did my first one at age 12. There are years that are good and years that aren't, crops that thrive and those that don't for various reasons. But as so many here have said I've never been disappointed in the whole process.

You also can't beat the taste of vegetables from the garden, especially tomatoes. As Cabrita noted, what they call tomatoes bear nothing but an outward appearance to a real tomato.

I would say "disappointment is in the eye of the beholder". Does mine look the way someone else's does? Nope. Does it produce any worse or better than someone else's? I don't think so. My garden is exactly the way I see perfect. What I get from it out weighs any mistake I might make, once!!!

I think one of my worst 'surprises' as a new veggie gardener was walking out one morning to say hello, and seeing my zucchini and squash plants dying, seemingly overnight. (psst...squash vine borer. I whisper it lest saying it out loud conjures up that beast, like Beetlejuice).

Otherwise, I can't really claim too many other disappointments. I'd rather look at them as lessons learned, something to help me out this year. (like planting my peppers where they eventually got shaded out by the tomatoes...:)

disappointment follows some sort of excpectation. Gardeners do not normally excpect their garden and the vegetables to perform a certain way. Also, if somebody has worked with the nature should know that you have to fight and challenge the elements. So there is no disappointments to me.

Ann Marie -- Since we're obviously all online, how about sending us a link to your columns to read? The generous and sincere responses that you got to your request may be a hint that more grows in a garden than plants. And as for "planning" a garden to avoid discouraging results ... that's OK as long as the gardener understands that failure is as much a part of the process as baskets full of produce.

disappointed Gardener! Yes I am, I am disappointed that last year was the first time I had been able to do more than a couple of tomatoes, due to time and space issues, space is no longer a problem, disappointed at the amount of time my twin 5 yrs old's are prepared to attend, "their" garden, way to keen, disappointed that I will never be able to keep supply to demand, disappointed that I don't seem no matter what I try, beg, borrow, steal! I can't make a huge Compost heap....
Gardening is not just about the veg at the end, if it where, no one would do it, I love the time I spend, examining, weeding, spending time with my boys, teaching, their keenness on the growing process, the look of pride on their faces, when they have pulled out from the roots, the first tomato plant, with 1 very small, very green tomato on it...
I as hinted at before only started gardening last year and boy I have learned a lot in that time, I had to start from scratch as although I gardened as a Child with my Dad and Pop, that was in England, and the rules of the Game are different there, such as tomatoes are difficult to grow without cover.
I started with Books, catalogs, and the internet, which was when I got my first bit of the mania which comes with Gardening, I brought almost every seed available to mankind..even stuff I don't like or in some cases had never eaten...
I managed to reign myself in and start small, a couple of lonely stacker boxes, without friends and Marg' tubs and dollar store trowel...
not enough, I needed more, so I hunted about and used one of my sons old toddler, beds to create a raised garden bed, not enough, I need more... so I brought 2 more beds...
It is an addiction, to which the only Patch available is a Veg Patch.
I am champing at the bit, to crack on this year and I plan on more raised beds including using the other Toddler bed....
I used raised beds as my soil wouldn't even grow weeds.
link hopefully works and shows my toddler bed of which I am disproportionately proud.
open to contact, nothing else to do until the weather warms up :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: My small start

I started gardening in 1987. My freshman year at Georgia Southern University. There was always free time. Being the smartest 18yr old kid in the world and knowing everything, I decided to resume gardening. My dad got me hooked on gardening although he did not ever garden. When I was around 10yrs old I wanted to grow my own watermelons. I was told my grandpa was a good gardener. I wanted to be like him. Anyways, I started my one watermelon plant. It grew and grew and grew but no melons. I was very disappointed and my expectations of the biggest watermelon in the world were fading. I guess my dad saw it on my face. He traveled a lot to scratch out a living. The next week he went on the road as normal and returned on Friday. Saturday morning I went out to check on the great watermelon and to my surprise it had one of the biggest watermelons on it. Unbelievable I thought to myself. It was like finding the golden Easter egg. As time went on I realized that my dad had bought the watermelon from a road side produce stand and adhered it to the watermelon vine. From that time on I have always HAD THE FEVER. Many big disappointments my freshman year, cukes planted too early and freezing, growing store bought potatoes for seed, weeds, over fertilizing, bugs, etc. I would get discourage but would shake it off. I am sitting here today, 55 degrees, cloudy, but contemplating on what type of tomato to start in my green house for mid April transplanting. It is kinda ironic, my dad loves garden fresh tomatoes and I supply all he can eat!

As far as seeking disappointed gardeners...

Mostly gardening is like riding a bike. Its not because riding a bike is no fun that you fall down and skin your knees.

Once you learn the basics of it then things go remarkably better than going in with no education on the matter at all. That being said, there is ALWAYS a new trick to learn.

A good gardener is a person who is willing and wanting to learn (and will seek out answers--preferrably BEFORE doing something dumb LOL!). If someone wants some fruit and just throws some seeds out in the backyard and puts no effort into it at all... those people will probably be disappointed.

Aside from that though, gardening is a game of slow improvement. That continual learning will drastically cut down on the amount of work and effort you need to put into your garden. A gardener with 5 years of experience can work half the time as a brand newbie and still end up with better results.

Why? because he/she generally knows what kind of equipment and tools to use, when and where to dig this hole or put that stake. Its just like anything else...you have to practice to get good at it... and you also may need a coach...

Hence this entire website. If someone tries to garden without reading up, reading books, or asking questions about their specific situation... those generally are the disappointed ones (ultimately that is)

Agree with alamo5000. Gardening is a learning experience, and those who've been taught as a child have a big advantage over those who haven't. This is one reason I would give to start gardening when one has small children; if you can learn together then you pass along the ability to produce one's own food. What could be more valuable than that?

Also, soil is an issue. It may take years to get the soil to a point where it is truly viable. One cannot expect good results on dead soil. The point of the Square Foot Garden is to bring in your own soil so you can have an instant garden. Although there have been lots of disappointed people in his new approach to using only 6" of soil, his ideas have helped a lot of people have more instant success.

Here is a link that might be useful: What is Square Foot Gardening?

last year was my first year gardening and I'll admit I had quite a few disappointments. But I've learned quite a bit from my mistakes and can't wait to try again this year.

part of my square foot garden got much less sun in summer than it did in winter and spring when I planned it. I blame this for my disappointing pepper harvest (although the relatively cool summer probably affected it too). Next summer I will try growing more lettuce or greens or something that can handle a little more shade.

my cucumbers sprouted, then sat there with just a few leaves for about a month, then started growing again. by the time the plants got big, it was frost time. Next summer I may start them earlier indoors.

All of my squash plants (and my monarda) got powdery mildew and died just after flowering. I tried a few different sprays to get rid of it but nothing worked. Next summer I will plant resistant varieties.

the varieties of peas and beans that I planted grew ok, but weren't very tasty. Will try different kinds next year.

Probably my biggest source of frustration were the squirrels who dug up a large number of my seedlings. Still not sure how to deal with that next summer.

My tomatoes, tomatillos, and swiss chard grew like crazy though, and more than made up for my disappointments!

OK, here's a story for you.

All summer long, I worked on building a greenhouse so I could raise tomatoes in winter and not have to buy or eat those cardboard imitations one finds at the grocery store.

Planted seeds, raised the seedlings, concocted a great soil mix for the containers, dug ditches to set the containers in so they wouldn't dry out too quickly, learned how much water equals an inch of rain.

The plants looked great and by the end of November, I had dozens of blooms and was drooling over the bountiful harvest of red, ripe tomatoes I would enjoy on Christmas Day in the morning.

Then the overcast skies set in. No sunlight for days in a row, only about 12 hours over three weeks. Blossoms dropped, the ones that set fruit took forever and then some to grow and ripen. I doubt I have harvested two pounds of tomatoes from the 38 plants I have growing.

Disappointed? Not at all - I learned a huge amount of stuff that will help me next year and am thankful for my experiences.

If you want to do an article about some of the "bad" parts of gardening, ask people how they feel about spilling compost tea on their clothes, using their bare hands to scoop piles of matured manure into holes, getting really sweaty tilling, hoeing or harvesting produce in the garden.

"Disappoint veggie gardener"? What an oxymoron!

YMMV,

Mike