Save yourself time and frustration by avoiding these mistakes and your vegetable garden will be a success season after season.

1. Don’t plant in too small of a space- make sure the area you are using is large enough for all your vegetable plants. For years, I kept making the mistake of buying too many plants for too small a space. Or, there would be more plants in the pack than I could use, but I was determined not to throw anything away. One year the cucumbers overtook the tomatoes and caused them to die. Another year I planted watermelons that wrapped themselves around the other plants until they choked the life out of them.

2. Don’t plant more than you can care for. Unless you have a lot of time every day to work on your garden, limit your choices to two or three vegetables you want to work with and what you’ll look forward to eating freshly picked from your garden.There’s nothing like a home grown tomato sliced up with mayo between two pieces of toast. I plant at least two varieties of tomatoes so they won’t all be ready at the same time and I can enjoy them for months.

3. Don’t plant where the light is bad- make sure your garden is in full sun at least six hours of the day. As the trees in your yard grow every year, the shade they provide changes as well, and eventually they might block the sun your plants so desperately need. One year I planted too close to my wooden fence, and didn’t realize that this spot got sun for only an hour every day. My plants never grew well and I wound up having a disappointing growing season that year.

4. Don’t forget your garden- plant your vegetables where you can see them from your kitchen or deck. Not only will this remind you to water on those days it doesn’t rain, but you can see the results of your labor every day. You’ll notice how tall the plants are getting; see that first vegetable that’s ready for picking, and you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment as your garden changes from week to week. Plus when you have company over, they can see the ‘fruits of your labor’ for themselves!

Copyright © 2006 Kathy Swann