As beginner gardeners we have all made mistakes, especially when it comes to growing herbs. However, you know that the best way to make sure your herbs grow is with minimal mistakes and maximum success!
Here are 8 common gardening mistakes new gardeners make in their gardens:
1. Starting with the wrong variety
The best herbs to grow are those that don’t require much maintenance.
Basil, oregano and chives can be found in your backyard most anywhere with minimal effort required for their upkeep; mints will also do fine as long they get enough light.
Lavender, for example, might seem like an ambitious choice at first because this plant needs a lot of babying – so try and avoid this one if you don’t have a lot of gardening experience.
2. Treating Herbs like Houseplants
Growing your own herbs is rewarding, but it’s not an easy task. Most importantly for success in growing houseplants: you should never treat them like a regular plant!
Instead, water your herbs a moderate amount every day.
3. Not doing Regular and Often Trimming
We cannot stress this enough; herbs need regular trimming to thrive.
It is important for them to have new growths, maintain their shape and size as well increase yield so that they don’t top-heavy or fall over with too much weight!
4. Forgetting to Research
If you’re new to gardening, the two most popular options for starting your own succulent or herbal garden are either through seeds and soil (using a starter plant) or by purchasing plants.
The choice will depend entirely on what conditions suit best in which location; no matter how many times I say this: know all of these different herbs before planting them!
There’s always something that could go wrong when growing certain varieties at home – so research, research, research!
5. Using soil with tired soil or without nutrients
If you want your herbs to grow strong and healthy, it is important that they are in the perfect soil. There isn’t just any type of dirt out there for growing plants!
You should first prep the soil and make sure it has all nutrients needed before planting your herbs.
One super important step is to add compost to your soil. Herbs hate soggy soil, so make sure you have fluffy, well-draining soil.
6. Letting Herbs Go to Flower
When you let the herbs grow flowers, their flavor will alter! Unless growing edible flowers in which case we cut back before they start developing.
Sweet basil for example becomes bitter when it develops its flower buds- this is why trimming regularly is important so that our plants focus more on leaves than blossoms.
7. Mixing Different Herbs
Variety might not be a good thing for certain herbs. If you want to give companion gardening a try, it’s vital to check which herbs grow well with other herbs.
Fennel and cilantro, for example, do not grow well together. They can damage each other’s roots and inhibit growth.
Dill and lavender don’t mix because they require different soil pH.
Avoid mixing herbs with varying needs of watering because you might end up drowning some of the plants.
8. Harvesting the Mature Leaves
Large, older leaves seem like the best ones to get during a harvest. Bigger isn’t always better though, and that’s because these larger mature leaves will dramatically accelerate growth in your herbs – making them top heavy with too much weight on one side if you keep it up!
Tender ones are tastier than mature leaves, at least according to me!