Many people see gardening as an easy, simple activity. Although it's a senior-friendly, low-impact activity, Mike Straumietis knows that it requires extensive research, preparation, and manual labor. Seeds don't automatically turn into crops. If you overlook proper feeding and nutrition, your plants won't grow properly, and they will certainly not be able to achieve their full genetic potential.
Sadly, all too often, new or inexperienced gardeners learn this lesson the hard way. They spend little to no effort preparing their crops and end up with zero progress even after several months of gardening. You'd do well to learn from others' mistakes. To optimize vegetative and bloom cycles, make sure you never:
Overlook Plant Feeding Schedules
Your knowledge of when and what to feed your crops heavily affects their growth. Plants metabolize nutrients at different speeds; you will need to be careful to time your feeding accordingly, or else you will risk rotting and wilting.
Buy Fertilizers Based on Branding
Always be sure to check the label of your preferred fertilizer. Look for brands containing the essential nutrients your crops need, and avoid ones loaded with chemicals and fillers.
Rush Your Gardening Strategy
Mike Straumietis encourages all new and would-be gardeners to start small. Striving for bountiful crops is great, but overambition without proper research and training only leads to failure.
Let Weeds Grow
It is important that you strive to pull weeds as early as possible. Waiting too long to remove them gives weeds more time to steal substantial amounts of important vitamins and minerals from the soil. In the worst cases, unwanted plants have been known to spread throughout your garden and grow more quickly than your desired crops.
Ignore Plant Spacing
When spacing your new plants be sure to leave approximately 18 to 36 inches of free space between your plants. Otherwise, the plants will end up competing for the shared nutrients, crippling growth across the entire bed or patch.
Building a Healthy, Sustainable Garden
Remember that gardening requires lifelong learning. For instance, Mike Straumietis has already discovered ways to help thousands of growers from countries all over the world, but he still continues to research the latest findings in soil growing and hydroponics. It is extremely important that you do not feel discouraged if you make the occasional mistake now and then. Instead, try to remember and use these experiences as learning opportunities.
Another great idea you may want to consider is joining gardening groups or clubs. It is always a great idea to seek advice from more experienced gardeners to avoid making common yet potentially damaging mistakes. You would be surprised to learn how many people accidentally find themselves committing similar errors when they are getting started with gardening.
