We get it, we’ve been there. You’re excited to start gardening and you can’t wait to turn your thumbs as green as they come. If you’re really serious about starting this new venture, it’s important to get on the right track to being a successful grower.

Remember, lots of people can be gardeners, but only some of those are actually “growers,” meaning they grow things worth looking at, using, or eating.

Novice gardeners generally start up with a lot of enthusiasm but you’re bound to encounter some challenges. Stick with our advice and avoid these 10 common mistakes new gardeners make.

1- OVERWATERING. We understand, you’re worried about your plants and you want to do what’s best, which naturally means water, right? Wrong. Overwatering causes more problems than lack of watering. If you’re watering every day, you’re watering too much.

2- OVERSPENDING. This is similar to overwatering in that most people think the more you spend the better off you’ll be. Truth is, you don’t need the fancy tools, clothes, plants, books or magazine subscriptions. If you’d like to get started, check out a book or two from the library. As for tools, you only need a few items including a good garden fork, spade, rake, hoe, trowel and gloves. A nice gardening hat wouldn’t hurt. You definitely don’t need to spend a lot on plants or seeds. Look for seed swaps, or free seeds available from family and friends. You can purchase a few plants, but don’t go overboard before you prove your abilities.

3-OVER-FERTILIZING. Before you just throw fertilizer on everything you buy, you need to take the time to learn the nutrient needs of your plants. If you feed your tomatoes nothing but fish emulsion, you will have lovely, big green plants. But no tomatoes. If you feed your roses lots of nitrogen-rich fertilizer you will have plenty of lovely rosebush leaves. But nary a rose.

4-TRYING TO GROW NON-NATIVE SPECIES. You’re simply not going to grow rhubarb in Texas, cactus in North Dakota, or cranberries in Arizona. Learn what works in your area, and go from there. You can research your zone online, check with a local nursery, or talk to other gardeners to see what works (and more importantly, what doesn’t).

5-TIMING. The time to plant your garden in California isn’t the same time your sister is planting hers in New York. Based on where you live, the timing for your garden will be different. You can research your zone online, or talk to your local nurseries are a good source of information.

 

6-UNDERSTANDING PESTS AND WEEDS. Dealing with pests and weeds is different from site to site, it can even be different from neighbor to neighbor. Still, one of the best things you can do is talk to the people around you and see what they are dealing with. Pay attention to the problems you see and do research to target your specific issue rather than use blanket weed and pest control.

7-OVERCROWDING. New gardeners often want to pack as many plants as they can to get variety, but overcrowding plants doesn’t do them any favors. Instead, plant a few varieties with plenty of room to breathe and get good air circulation.

8-AVOID WEEDING. We all know you hate weeding. Guess what? We hate weeding too, but all good gardeners know how to get those weeds out before they go to seed. If you can jump onto the weeding bandwagon early, you can eliminate the problem before it takes over.

9-GOING OVERBOARD. Of course we all want a large, lush, plentiful garden. But going overboard on your first time around the block is a big no-no. Decide how much to take on based on how much time you have. If you have only an afternoon per weekend to dedicate to your growing space then you’re going to need to grow hardy plants that can fend for themselves in the week without too much work. You might also be better off with a smaller patch or growing in containers at your home.

 

10-GIVING UP. Don’t throw in the trowel after your first year without much yield. Sometimes it takes a couple of seasons to get it right, sometimes you encounter unforeseen hurdles. Keep at it and you’ll be amazed at what you can create.

I wish you the best of luck on your new garden and hope this article has given you the knowledge to make it successful!  If you have any questions please ask. I love to hear from my readers.

If you’ve ever looked for an apartment, you know the term “garden view” actually means you’ll be looking at a window well a good part of your day. Window wells aren’t meant to be beautiful, they are meant to be safe and essential. But if you’ve lived in a basement, you know that window wells tend to be a little dark, dank, and depressing.  Whether you live in a basement, or just want to upgrade your basement bedrooms, here are a few ideas you can improve your window wells to add a little life, light, and color into your space.

Before you do anything to your wells, hop down in there and give them a good cleaning. This will most likely mean that you’re going to need to get down and dirty. Get rid of anything that’s not meant to be there. If possible, use a power sprayer to actually clean the concrete or metal surround.

When the well is cleaned out, give the window a good scrub. This will ensure that any light that can get in will make its way in, and now you can actually see all the pretty updates you’re ready to make.

Add succulents!

A simple succulent garden is a great way to brighten up those window wells. You can start your succulent garden inside if you’d like, but add plants one by one to your window well once they are strong and the weather is warm.

Get rid of the metal

Instead of drab metal or depressing concrete, use a graduated rock wall as your window well. This is naturally more appealing and gives you a nice landscape to look at rather than an institutional piece of metal or concrete.

Make them lighter

 

Most window well covers actually block out light, but these help bring more in. By using an angled cover, you can try to capture more light. I also love the step garden style so you can use the well as a mini greenhouse.

Go big or go home

If you have to have a window well, blow it up and make it significantly bigger and more beautiful than it needs to be.

Get in a greenhouse

Did I mention you can use your window well as a greenhouse? Well, you can. This is an oversized window well with a corrugated cover that makes for a beautiful greenhouse right outside your window!

Make it green

Green is better than grey any day of the week. Best of all, these aren’t even real plants. This is a window well mural that you can buy, peel, and stick onto nearly any current window well. That’s a significant upgrade in less than an hour.

Give it to your kitty

Tiny window wells make great places for your cat to enjoy the outdoors a little more. Give them this little bubble well cover and allow her to nap in the sun.

Creeping plants

Most creeping plants do a great job of growing in partial shade, making them a great addition to your window well. Do a little research to see what would grow well in your area, and transform your well into a beautiful garden bed.

Decorate!

If you don’t have much of a green thumb and you can’t make any major renovations, just use your window wells for your seasonal décor. Create a spooky Halloween scene, a cheery spring scene, a heart-covered well for valentines and even lighted trees for Christmas.

Chances are, you’ve heard of vinegar being the miracle cure for about a billion gardening woes. It actually reminds me of that character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding who uses Windex to cure anything, am I the only one who remembers that movie? Probably. Anyway, vinegar isn’t necessary a magic pill, but it definitely has some benefits.

First of all, let’s just go over what vinegar is NOT. It’s not a fertilizer, it actually contains only acetic acid, which is carbon hydrogen and oxygen (which is the stuff plants get from air, they don’t need more). Vinegar also has little to no effect on your soil pH level, the effects are temporary and you’d have to pretty much drown your soil in vinegar before seeing any meaningful difference.

The truth is, vinegar is a great herbicide. But as well as it kills weeds, it can also kill your flowers and plants. Because it doesn’t affect the roots, it only burns the foliage and it doesn’t discern between weed and not-weed, so it’s probably not the best option for weed control.

So what’s the point and why are people still talking about vinegar if it doesn’t fertilize, it doesn’t help soil and it doesn’t kill weeds? Well, because it does have a few hidden benefits.

Get rid of ants by spraying it around windows and doors.

Extend the life of cut flowers by adding 2T to a vase of fresh flowers.

Create a fruit fly trap by hanging cans with a mixture of vinegar, sugar, water, and molasses around fruit trees. The mixture attracts flies and traps them in the can.

People have always talked about how the grass is never really greener on the other side, but what about when it is? What do you do when the literal grass is actually greener on the other side, on every side, except yours? How do they have a green lawn? No one wants to be the worst lawn in the neighborhood. Settling for a dull shade of sage when others have vibrant green blades by spring is frustrating to say the least.

 

We’ve discovered the best tips and tricks to be sure that your lawn is the envy, not the eyesore of the neighborhood. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. The good news is you can start now and you can see a difference faster than you might think.

Get a soil test

 This might seem a bit extreme, but it’s not really, and just because your neighbor got the test doesn’t mean you can piggy back on his results. Soil tests are extremely sensitive and can vary greatly from lawn to lawn.

Why? A soil test will show you your baseline, so you know how and when to plant and fertilize for optimal results. The goal is a pH balance of 6.5, potassium between 2-5%, magnesium should be 10-15%, calcium 60-80%, hydrogen 10-15% and sodium should be less than 3%, if any of these numbers are off, then you know where the problem is.

Fertilize

 Start in early spring, March or April, or whenever your grass starts to actively grow and the frost season is over. Fertilize with nitrogen first, and then repeat with another application a month or two later.

Why? Fertilizer has three key ingredients for growing up, down, and all around green grass. Nitrogen for helping your lawn grow “up”. Phosphorous is good for helping your turf grow healthy roots “Down”. Potassium helps your grass grow in size in general, “all around”. Hint: use your soil test to figure out what ingredients your lawn needs most.

Mow High

source

 

 If you wonder why your neighbors grass always looks impeccable. Start paying attention to how much he mows. Chances are, it’s more often than you do. You should only remove the top 1/3 of the grass height every time you mow, this means you’re likely mowing once a week. If you mow shorter or get lazy and slack off, your lawn will pay for it.

Why? Every time you mow, the resources go to the top of the blades instead of growing the roots, the more damage you do when you mow (the shorter you go), the more work the grass puts into healing the tips which can lead to disease and weeds near the roots.

Water Low and Slow

 If you have new turf, it will require more watering, but established lawns need less watering that is long enough to really soak the soil early in the morning.

Why? It’s best to water when it’s cool, but not overnight when the lawn is more susceptible to disease, this makes morning watering ideal. Watering long enough gives the soil time to be completely saturated so that the roots get the hydration they need.

That’s it! We told you it was easy, right?

Stuffed, grilled, sautéed, I will take peppers any way they come. Especially if they come straight out of the garden. The good news is that peppers are easy to grow, but growing amazing, huge, voluptuous peppers takes a few secret tricks of the trade. Good news – we’ve got the secret to growing peppers… all of them!

    Start Out Right

Peppers can be difficult to start as seed. They must be started 8-10 weeks before transplanting, and sometimes getting the seeds to germinate correctly can be tricky. Start off by purchasing plants that are ready to be transplanted. This will give you the best start.

 

    Sun

It’s no surprise, peppers like it hot! Wait to plant peppers until the soil is warm. It’s really never too late to plant peppers, they can start producing in as little as 30 days with the right environment. Keep the area nice and warm, peppers need as much bright and hot sun as they can get.

 

    Water

Peppers are thirsty, but they don’t like to get their feet wet. This means they need a steady supply of water, and good drainage so you don’t over-saturate the soil and waterlog the roots. Add organic matter to the soil to increase moisture retention and use mulch to prevent too much evaporation, especially in particularly hot climates.

    Fertilize

To fertilize or not to fertilize can be a heated debate among green thumbs. Too much fertilizer can make pepper plants create beautiful foliage and lots of leaves, but not very much actual fruit. So keep feeding light, by adding just a little bit before transplanting and than a little more when the plant begins to produce. That’s really all you need to enjoy beautiful peppers.

 

    Pruning

Once you have a few plants that are producing fruit, clip off some of the flower buds. This will encourage the plant to use its energy and resources to product fruit rather than leaves. Also prune down suckers, which can deplete fruit quantity and quality.

That’s really all there is too it. Hot pepper varieties can take longer to grow than bell peppers, but you can enjoy homegrown peppers in less than 100 days if you give them a little TLC. You’ll be ready for fajitas, salsa, and salad in no time.

 

You need tomatoes with those peppers, am I right? Amazing Tips for Growing Juicy Tomatoes