April Showers and May Showers
I made quite a few gardening mistakes this year. I got too excited to plant the seeds I started and soon after I planted them, we had an unexpected freeze. Most of the seeds I started died. Then came the rain. It rained so much that the plants I had started in containers drowned. I drilled extra holes in the bottom of them, but it was too late for my spinach.
While I am upset that my garden did not work out this year, that is something that comes with inexperience. Here are some of the gardening mistakes I made and what I will do differently next year.
- Not hardening off my plants. I was so happy that I had sprouts blooming, that I wanted to plant them right away. The correct thing to do would be to harden them off, that is, get them used to being outside first before transplanting them.
- Not waiting until the last frost. This was almost unavoidable. The weather was so nice and I did not have to plant them right away. I should have waited an extra week when the threat of frost was gone.
- Not planning for rain. I should have drilled extra holes in my planters prior to planting everything. My spinach probably could have been saved.
I do have some lettuce coming up that looks fairly good. The broccoli is doing well and I have a few sprouts that are still making it. The garden is not as rich with plants as I would like. I direct sow some of the remaining seeds I have soon.
In the meantime, I have joined a CSA, also known as community supported agriculture, which starts next week. I am looking forward to that.