Gardening Gaffes Offer Hard But Critical Lessons

Gardening is humiliating because you can do everything right and still fail. Late snows. Mystery disease. We've all been there. However, in 30 years of gardening, I have learned more from my mistakes.

Here are gardening mistakes that taught me difficult but important lessons.

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My first garden project was a bougainvillea houseplant inspired by a photo in Sunrise magazine. How difficult is it? I planted 1 gallon purple bougainvillea flowers by my front door.

I was drinking. I was waiting for him. I was amazed at the amazing growth. (I must be very good at this.) He grew and grew. I trimmed, trimmed, and tied the branches, but it didn't fit the Jack and the Beanstalk trend. Then sharp spikes appeared. Yes, I thought I recently lost a cat fight and should have warned the visitors to be careful.

Lessons learned? Before planting, inquire about the plant's final size, growth habits, and other differences. And don't plant indoors because it's not a smart fire move.

• Use the tray as dog food.

Being a tough guy, I didn't let this experience bring me down. Instead, I started working in the yard, where I planned to plant bushes.

I researched it and it wasn't easy. Why is the earth hard? (Do I need a new shovel?) I was patient and finally dug a well and filled it with water. I was waiting for him. I have seen. My Labrador drank from this well all day and there was water at night. However, I won't let a little water get past me. Don't plants love water?

Unlike the poor but majestic bougainvillea, this plant is dormant. The leaves are wrinkled and yellow. I drank a lot, but this did not save my patient. In fact, he got worse and died.

The reason for the untimely death of this bush is not so much a mystery. You drowned the poor thing. Plants need good drainage so that there is enough air around the roots. My dry soil was rock hard and held water like a bowl. I quickly realized there were two options: choose plants that grow in clay soil, or add organic matter to improve drainage.

• Sloth with weeds

Those little weed patches you always ignored have turned into big problems. I learned to always keep a few boxes on hand to quickly cover the weeds. Planting compost and compost suppresses the growth of weeds and strengthens the soil at the same time. For me, cardboard is as important a tool as a shovel.

• Reduce the number of intruders

We gave our daughter a cherry tree for her fifth birthday, which we immediately planted. However, on the first night, we did not pick the cherries from the tree, because the deer killed it. The best thing that came out of this tree was a six-foot fence.

• Planting tomatoes in March

Oh, those autumn months filled with visions of a bountiful harvest! I could not stop for a year, I used to plant tomatoes.

Tomatoes do not grow in cold weather or in soil and are very susceptible to disease in cold conditions, except for frosts. Until the soil warms up to at least 60 degrees, there will be no plants. Yes, I could try row covers or other heating methods, but I don't like messing around with gardening tools.

Today I'm waiting until May 1st to plant tomatoes and I really try to use the planting calendar for all my preparations.

• Trimming is too small, too large, or too irregular.

I am ashamed to admit how many ill-formed and unsuccessful plants I got rid of due to defective or missing plants. If you don't want to hire someone to do this job, I highly recommend learning the basics. Marine Master Gardeners has a great website and videos explaining proper pruning techniques. Do yourself a favor and be patient.

Funded by the UC Cooperative Extension, the University of California Marine Master Gardeners provides scientific information and research to marine home gardeners. Send your questions to helpdesk@marinmg.org. Add photos to plant questions about pests or diseases. Call 415-473-4910 to find out when the head gardener will be in the office. There is a sample box near the office so that marine gardeners can take samples 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For a calendar of upcoming gardening workshops, visit marinmg.ucanr.edu/ASK_US/EVENTS. Sign up for UCMAR Master Gardner's free quarterly email newsletter at marinmg.ucanr.edu.

Critical nonsense 171! Lessons Learned (full class)