Gardening naturally becomes a part of our daily and weekly routines. But just like leaving dishes in the sink or forgetting to turn off the lights, some repeated habits become difficult to break. If you tend to leave the hose on, overcrowd your plants, or let weeds get out of hand, these repeated patterns are probably working against you! Instead of falling into laborious traps that make gardening less fun, you can nix unproductive habits to keep your plants thriving and reduce your garden woes.
However, in order to truly overcome a bad habit, psychologists and habit experts insist you must replace it with something better. A replacement habit is crucial for eliminating the old patterns altogether. Let’s dig into seven gardening habits to avoid and what to do instead!
7 Bad Habits to Avoid in the Garden
Some bad habits are universally known to cause unnecessary headaches, backaches, or plant failures.
There is no one perfect way to garden; every garden is just as unique as the gardener who tends it. But some bad habits are universally known to cause unnecessary headaches, backaches, or plant failures.
Eliminating these seven mistakes will make your gardening efforts more productive and rewarding! The replacement actions also ensure that caring for your yard is fun rather than dreadful.
Letting Weeds Go To Seed
Weedy plant species are known for their outrageous reproductive capacity.
The number one worst thing you can do for a garden is let weeds go to seed! Weedy plant species are known for their outrageous reproductive capacity. What other living things can produce 75,000 babies at once? A single lambsquarter plant can produce that many seeds in one season!
These seeds can sprout in nearly any soil and spread throughout your garden in a single gust of wind. Similar patterns of seedy abundance exist in dandelions, bindweed, thistle, bittercress, purslane, pigweed, and more.
Yet many of us still fall into the habit of allowing weeds to grow large before we pull them out. You may notice little weeds sprouting but decide to ignore them because they aren’t yet a problem for your plants.
How to Reduce Your Weed Seed Bank
The mature weeds are the most important ones to target first.
Unfortunately, weeds tend to grow much more rapidly than domesticated crops or ornamentals. They can also develop flowers and seed heads extremely quickly, creating a garden invasion practically overnight. Once a seed head is growing, you are in a dangerous pickle! A few weeds can turn into hundreds or thousands in less than a week.
For example, a bindweed plant takes under 40 days to grow from a seedling to a mature flowering plant. Research shows that bindweed seeds can stay dormant in the soil for over 50 years!
Imagine that your garden soil is like a “bank” of unwanted seeds waiting to germinate in the right conditions. If you clear an area, till the soil, or water a certain area, those pesky seeds are ready to jump up and take over! Unlike most bank accounts, you want your weed seed bank as empty as possible. Every time you leave a plant to flower and form seedheads, those seeds are added to your weed seed bank.
Clearly, preventing weeds from going to seed is one of the most important good habits for any gardener.
Any time you are in the garden, take just a few minutes to glance around for weeds that are flowering or seeding. Pull the whole weed ASAP! If you have a lot of weeds, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but noticing seed heads makes it easier to target your efforts. The mature weeds are the most important ones to target first. Younger weeds (in the vegetative or leafy state) can wait if needed.
Become familiar with the reproductive structures of your local weeds. We all recognize the fluffy globes of dandelion flowers. Lambsquarters develop dense upper clusters of greenish-white flowers on their tops. Thistles form spiny globs of seeds that can turn to parachute-like hairs if you leave them to mature.
Of course, it’s best to remove all weeds as close to the “bean thread” stage as possible. This is when the weed has just sprouted and remains very easy to remove. But realistically, most of us aren’t that “on top” of our weeding efforts. If you are super short on time, it’s best to take at least five minutes to chop off all visibly forming flowers or seed heads from your weeds. You can go back and pull out the roots later, but as long as you chop off the seed heads, you’ll buy yourself some time to get a handle on the situation.
This solution doesn’t work as well for controlling weeds that are spread by rhizomes and root growths (like bindweed or quackgrass), but it can still slow their spread. The worst weeds typically spread via root structures and seedheads. If you can combat one method at a time, you will cut back on overall weed pressure.
Overcrowding Your Plants
If overcrowded, individual plants struggle to reach enough sunlight and water to fuel their growth.
Nobody wants to be crammed like sardines into a subway train. It’s hard to breathe, move, or even think! Plants feel the same way, yet so many gardeners accidentally overcrowd them. Overplanting is a commonly repeated habit because the spacing recommendations for different plants can vary widely.
Carrot Example
For example, most carrots should be planted two to three inches apart. You may initially think that planting more seeds in one bed will yield more carrots overall. Logically, it seems that more plants mean more food, but this is not usually the case with vegetables.
If you leave less than an inch of space between carrots, you could actually end up with worse harvests than if you spaced them wider at three inches apart. This is because overcrowding causes excessive competition between plants.
Each individual plant struggles to reach enough sunlight and water to fuel its growth. As a result, you may have a bunch of toothpick-sized roots instead of hefty orange snacks.
Brassica Example
This same concept applies to almost every plant in your garden. Growing too closely actually leads to less yields overall. I often see this habit particularly problematic with brassicas like broccoli or cabbage. These plants need to form a head to yield a quality harvest.
If you plant six broccoli plants with only six inches of space between each plant, they may not form heads at all. In contrast, just two plants with 18 inches of space can yield large crowns.
Ultimately, more plants in a small space do not necessarily mean higher yields.
Break this bad spacing habit by keeping a handy tape measure or planting stick (a stake with measurements) in your tool shed. This makes seeding and transplanting SO much easier. If you accidentally overplant, you should also have thin needle-nose pruners to help you thin out unwanted seedlings. Thinning can save you from big disappointments as the plants mature.
It’s also best to reference a raised bed spacing chart before planting anything new. If you are unsure about spacing, reference the seed packet for varietal specifications. As a beginner, always opt for the wider option. You can always plant a little closer next season if you find that there is extra space between plants.
Overwatering
Adopt the habit of checking soil moisture before watering!
Many gardeners—myself included!—have been guilty of loving their plants a little too much. Overwatering is a bad habit that finds its way into most gardens at some point. It’s simple to just stand there with the hose until the water is soaked.
Even more risky is turning on a drip irrigation or sprinkler system and completely forgetting about it! This can wreak havoc on your plants rapidly, causing issues like root rot, stunting, and lack of fruit.
Common signs of overwatering include:
- Yellow, droopy leaves
- Puddled water on the soil
- Slow, stunted growth
- Mushy stems and roots
- Foul smell from the soil (a sign of root rot)
- Visible mold or mildew
- Algae growing on the surface
But the underlying cause of overwatering is the assumption that plants need the same amount of water all the time (this is not true!) It would be nice to have a simple irrigation schedule (ie. water your tomatoes for 20 minutes every other day), but plants don’t work that way. Changes in temperature, humidity, rainfall, plant growth stage, and soil type all dramatically affect how much water a plant needs at a given time.
If you use a timer or centralized spigot for irrigation, this issue is even more prevalent because you may not check the soil before watering again. This bad habit leads us to irrigate without knowing if the plant actually needs it.
Adopt the habit of checking soil moisture before watering! It may seem annoying to stick your finger in the soil or touch your plant leaves every other day, but this mini ritual can actually save you time and water resources. Every time you walk by a raised bed, stick your finger four to six inches down and check the soil moisture. If some soil sticks to your skin and the ground feels about the consistency of a wrung-out sponge, you probably don’t need to water.
Unless you are growing in small containers or ultra-sandy soil, you probably don’t have to water as often as you think. Moreover, if you address the next bad habit, you will ensure that your plants stay hydrated for longer periods of time between watering sessions.
Shallow watering means quickly hosing down an area in a way that only wets the upper inch of soil.
Most—not all—garden plants prefer deep, less frequent watering. This means irrigating until the lower 6-10 inches of soil are moistened. The water can penetrate the lower parts of the root zone, allowing the plant to stay hydrated for longer.
Unfortunately, many gardeners make the mistake of shallow, super frequent watering. Shallow watering means quickly hosing down an area in a way that only wets the upper inch of soil. This causes your beds or containers to dry out much quicker, which means you have to water more often.
Frequent shallow watering is linked to more shallow root systems that don’t reach as deep for moisture and fertilizer. This creates a self-perpetuating cycle of thirsty plants, shallow roots, and a constant need to irrigate more.
In some crops, like tomatoes, shallow watering is often linked to blossom end rot. The upper layer of soil may appear moist, but the lower layers remain dry, causing the plant to experience big fluctuations from drought to saturation. This inconsistent watering makes it hard for the tomato to uptake calcium, leading to rotten “butts” on the fruit.
Water less often with more volume! Deep watering requires running your irrigation system for longer or standing with the hose for an extra minute. However, this can save you more time later on because you won’t have to go out to the garden to water every single day.
Deep watering is easier in larger raised beds and pots because there is more soil volume to hold onto moisture. Longer watering sessions allow moisture to reach the deeper layers, keeping the soil wet for days to come.
Kevin coined the term “water-wait-water” to help you water more deeply. If you’re watering a row of plants, hold the hose to soak over the root zone for 30-60 seconds, then wait for the soil to absorb the moisture as you continue down the road. Before leaving, go back down the row and water for another 30-60 seconds per plant, ensuring that the moisture has reached the deeper layers. This method also helps prevent puddling.
Finding the perfect balance of water is not always easy, even for the most experienced growers.
This video can help you better address irrigation issues and perfectly meet your plants’ hydration needs:
Planting Too Early or Too Late
Frost damage, pest attacks, and stunted growth are common problems with crops that are planted too early.
The rush for spring planting is no joke, but starting seeds or transplants too soon can cause major disappointments. Many gardeners rush to plant cucumbers or watermelons on the first nice weekend of the spring. Unfortunately, that unseasonably warm weather can quickly transition to chilly nights that kill the plants you just invested in.
Frost damage, pest attacks, and stunted growth are common problems with crops that are planted too early. Unless you have season extension devices like greenhouses and row covers, it’s usually safer to monitor temperatures and wait until your last frost date has passed. Knowing the days to maturity and temperature requirements of each plant variety is crucial for proper timing.
A similar bad habit is starting plants too late. This mistiming often leads to plants with tons of foliage and insufficient time to produce fruits. If you plant melons or peppers in August in zone 6, you probably won’t have time to harvest many ripe fruits. Your expected first fall frost date is an important gauge for your summer plantings. If you don’t check the days to maturity on a warm-weather crop, it may not be worth it to plant later in the year.
Always check your frost dates and crop days to maturity. Better yet, use a crop calendar to time your plantings! Most of us are eager to get in the garden in the late winter, but you can use your last cozy days by the fire to plant out your season for more success. A calendar creates a nice visual to help you properly seed, transplant, and harvest your vegetables and fruits. It also helps you keep track of what worked best last year and what needs to be changed this season.
Remember, there is no need to rush your spring garden. Early planting can often waste a lot of time and money. Oftentimes, a healthy tomato transplanted on April 15 can outgrow a cold-damaged tomato seedling planted on April 1. Putting a crop in the ground earlier does not always mean earlier harvests! Most plants grow slower in cold weather and waiting to plant can actually speed up your yields later on.
Excessive Tilling
Tilling creates a repetitive cycle of disturbance.
If you’re accustomed to tilling your garden beds between every crop, it can be a difficult habit to break. A rototiller is the most common tool used in home gardens and lawns to “turn over” the soil. While it may seem to create a “clean slate,” this form of bed preparation actually does more harm over the long haul. Tillage is one of the leading causes of global soil degradation, which devastates farmland, releases loads of carbon into the atmosphere, and can even lead to desertification.
Tilling creates a repetitive cycle of disturbance that can cause:
- Major compaction and hardpans
- Degraded soil structure and fertility
- Increased runoff (water cannot penetrate the soil, so it puddles or flows away, often carrying fertilizer and nutrients into waterways)
- Increased erosion (wind or water easily blows or washes away tilled soil)
- Harm to the soil microbiome (reduce beneficial microbes and increase harmful microbes)
- Increasingly aggressive weed invasions
If you want to build healthy, resilient garden soil, kicking your tillage habit should be at the top of your to-do list! Reducing tillage can dramatically improve soil health, plant health, and overall yields. Your soil will become fluffier, better drained, and richer in microbial activity. Eliminating tillage also reduces the need for supplemental fertilizers and amendments because it helps your soil retain natural organic matter that fuels plant growth.
Try to adopt no-till gardening methods that minimize soil disturbance. Switching to low-till or no-till techniques can dramatically improve soil and plant health. The soil is like Earth’s fragile layer of skin. Any time the soil is disturbed, it disrupts ecological cycles like decomposition and nutrient cycling. These vital activities are performed by beneficial soil microbes. When you reduce tillage, you are effectively saving your microbial friends!
One simple way to stop tilling is to remove crops from the base, leaving the roots intact. You don’t need to use heavy machinery in between each crop location. Instead, use loppers or pruners to chop the plant at the base and take the upper parts to the compost pile.
For example, if I wanted to transition a spring broccoli bed to summer tomatoes, I can simply cut the broccoli plants at the soil level and carry the dead stems away. Next, add a layer of topsoil or compost, and transplant the tomatoes. No tiller needed! This method is also a lot quieter and more peaceful.
Contrary to popular belief, reducing tillage also reduces weed pressure over time because it doesn’t bring new weed seeds to the surface. Instead, it smothers them by retaining the soil layers. If you imagine soil like a layered confetti cake, most of the weed seeds are like sprinkles in the frosting. Once you remove the “sprinkles,” no other seeds can come to the surface unless you churn the cake layers over.
Weed-Smothering Transition Method
Mow down any grass, weeds, or crops, and optionally till the surface shallowly one last time.
The transition to no-till can be difficult for weedy gardens that have tilled for a long time. Your garden soil has adapted to repeated disturbances, allowing weeds to rapidly proliferate in between tillage sessions. Tarping is a great way to get ahead of the weeds before you get rid of your rototiller.
Mow down any grass, weeds, or crops, and optionally till the surface shallowly one last time. Water the area to sprout the remaining weeds. After about one week, lay a large silage tarp over the raised bed or in-ground growing area. Leave the tarp in place for two to three weeks to smother all the weeds that come up.
For very aggressive weeds, lift the tarp, water again, then smother for another few weeks. This practice can exhaust perennial root systems and help ensure a nice, clean bed refresh for your no-till methods. I like to add a two to three inch layer of compost over the bed after I take off the tarp. Then, you are ready to plant.
Working Too Hard
Gardening is supposed to be enjoyable and relaxing.
Gardening is supposed to be enjoyable and relaxing. If you find yourself with a hurt back, aching knees, a grumbling stomach, and a bad attitude, maybe it’s time to switch up some of your garden habits!
The goal should be to work smarter, not harder. You can achieve this by adopting less intensive techniques and upgrading your equipment for easier garden maintenance. For example:
- Prioritize crops that grow well in your region and taste great in the kitchen.
- Install a drip irrigation system for easier watering.
- Switch to no-till, low-mechanized management.
- If you have back pain, be sure to invest in tall raised garden beds.
- Grow a groundcover lawn instead of high-maintenance turf grass.
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew; only plant beds that you have time to tend.
- If your knees are aching from bending over, get a garden kneeler pad.
Streamline your garden efforts with low-impact techniques that offer more “bang for your buck.” In other words, you can harvest more of your favorite crops while working less.
This video has more ideas for reducing your garden labor:
Key Takeaways
Bad habits become ingrained in our daily routines, but fixing them can be simple if you replace them with something more efficient. Here are a few ideas to make gardening easier and more effective:
- If you often avoid weeding, prioritize removing large seeding weeds first.
- If you’re accustomed to tilling your beds after every crop, try using a tarp instead.
- If you’re prone to overwatering, start a ritual of checking your plants’ soil before watering.
- If you’ve made a bad habit of seeing gardening as a chore rather than a fun hobby, consider upgrading your supplies for more comfort and easy accessibility.
