And the corollary - failing to thin.

One very applicable to this year especially - planting far too early. Monitor the weather patterns and adjust accordingly. Impatience in gardening only leads to poor results.

Dave

Not hardening off transplants. Oops... =(

Starting huge veggie gardens with absolutely no experience. Start small, get your feet wet, learn and THEN expand!

Getting those seed catalogues with photoshopped photos of luscious veggies along with mesmerizing advertising, and ordering a bunch of stuff you won't end up eating.

Working under the assumption that growing veggies is complicated and difficult and will fail if every detail is not done perfectly.

And the corollary is that certain tips and tricks are the secret to success.

Jim

Overwatering.

Expecting things to work on a schedule. Plants need what they need when they need it, not when the calander/dayplanner has it written in.

Edit: can we turn this into a faq?

This post was edited by sunnibel7 on Tue, May 7, 13 at 20:36

Using a small amount of space to plant too many different types of vegetables instead of focusing on the veggies you really like.

Rodney

Starting too many seed, having not enough space.(my problem) .
Planting certain veggies too densly, has a simple solution: THINNING. With certain veggies start early harvest by eating the thinned stuff, such as radishes, cilantroes,( I am doing it).
But Gardener Impatience abnormality has no cure.

failing to prepare the soil in the haste to PLANT STUFF.

Not realizing how much plants will grow during the hardening off process!

My tomatoes (which had been held over too long anyway because of the late spring) have outgrown their pots. They fit the pots okay when I started putting them out in the sun three weeks ago, but shot up like rockets in just a day or two, and haven't stopped. I didn't know whether i should add the additional shock of transplanting to larger pots during hardening off? (anyone have a recommendation?) I didn't plan on waiting so long to plant out, but we are just now finally past freezing weather. They are going out this week.

Lynn

Planting too many! I've seen post asking "are 6 zucchini plants too much for 2 people?" Ummmmm I grow 1 zuk and 1 crookneck and that is too much for the 2 of us! 5 tomato plants here give us eating and sauce tomatoes for the whole year most years. I also plant ONE sungold for giving away and grazing. It does depend on your growing conditions, though! Nancy

LOL. This is great!

Failing to plan. Put it on paper - it helps so much!

I think most of the best answers have already been offered here. All I can think of is becoming obsessed with some Youtube gardening 'guru' or system. People have been growing veggies for a long time successfully without the latest fad/obsession. Prepare your soil, give your plants space, remember to water, and don't try to do too much in the beginning.

Failing to control weeds thereby creating weed problems for years to come.

This post was edited by grandad on Thu, May 9, 13 at 13:38

Assuming all bugs in the garden are bad bugs and MUST be killed at all costs.

Dave

Educate yourself about your soil first before planting anything. LEARN what is, isn't, should be or should not be underground. You can't go back and fix it later.

another one sadly is planting very appealing items (large beautiful tomatoes) in the front plot (most foot traffic) of a community garden.

Trying to start vegetables indoors that should be direct seeded instead. A few vegetables are normally planted as transplants, most vegetables are supposed to be direct seeded in the garden rather than transplanted.

Dave.

Not taking the time to learn how to compost. The day you start gardening should be the day after you started a compost pile (at the latest). There is no better way to understand soil than to watch how it's made, and the more localized inputs you have the more self-sustaining and cost effective your garden will be. Ultimately, gardeners are like doctors -- both bury their mistakes. :)

Deciding you're going to produce all the veggies a large family needs for a year and save money doing it when you've never grown anything before.

Buying seeds and forgetting where you put them at the end of the previous season and worse, forgetting that you even bought them, then buying seeds at the start of the seed sales only to find the ones you already had the very NEXT DAY. I have enough turnip and beet seeds to feed the whole neighborhood for the next decade!! (How long can they stay viable, anyway?)

Edie

I think Camp nailed the problem that causes the most discouragement for new gardeners. Judging by the number of threads every spring about "how do I prepare the soil for planting now that it is already too late?"

I agree about getting the soil ready. Also realising that gardening, especially weeding, is a perpetual activity, not one you can do once in the spring, forget about and then hope to harvest food several weeks later. We get lots of posts saying that the garden is 'suddenly' overrun with weeds. That didn't happen overnight. Little and often is the key.

Over-planning but then not considering the cost of what you are planning. That was my problem this (first) year!

Going back to my original spacing comment. It is like having a new born baby and planning a room for him or her for the next eighteen years an approppriate baby size, he or she will outgrow it! Same with the brocolli I see planted four inches apart in my neighbors garden.

Quite right, Flora. The world is divided into those with the stomach for a lifetime of weeding and those without.

Funny... I think I have done all these, except the spacing, which I was planning to do this year because it seems like I could get more into my limited space. Now my quandary is how to get bug free apples. :)