[Milly]

There is a saying that we learn form our mistakes   , maybe it would be better to learn from each other   . Would you mind sharing any mistakes you have made growing veg and also share your triumphs and why you succeeded -

My worst mistake was planting everything together so I had a glut of veg ready at once.

My triumphs are with tomatoes, grown outside in pots and not in growbags. I can only attribute this to steady watering so they don't swell and split. This year I am going to try planting a pop bottle upside down with the bottom cut off so I can water straight to the roots (read it on this site). Will let you know if it works  

[Clampit]

I made the mistake of planting things too close together which made it an absolute nightmare to keep the weeds down.

[millie C]

I made the mistake of filling my raised bed with only bags of compost and not compacting it, so the plants didn't bed in very well, and the drainage wasn't that good. I had to make a new raised bed this year (long story involving my husband and some rat poison....the mind boggles!) and this time I've done about half and half topsoil and compost and I compacted it down a little, so lets hope it all works out better this year. I will let you all know, but I planted spinach and radish last weekend and they're up already - I get so excited when the first shoots show through!

[Milly]

Well I learnt something already, I planted deep planters with compost, hope I have compacted it down enough. Have another to fill so will make sure this is compacted. Thanks Millie.

[sclarke624]

I learnt don't fill the 9ft by 4ft raised bed with vine tomatoes.  Ended up like a jungle somthering everything else and as last year was the first year grew far too many of them.  Didn't get loads of toms though but think it was a bad year last year for tomsor maybe just me.

sheila

[Trillium]

A lot of years ago when I was a beginner, I mulched my tom plants with sawdust thinking I was doing something great. Never saw such stunted plants in all my life  
Before you become a good gardener, you have to be able to write the 'what not to do' book first.  

[millie C]

Hey Milly - don't necessarily take my word for it - I am a complete novice really, and I would have thought that compost in contaners should be ok - just didn't seem to work in my 10 x 3 ft bed, and of course it depends what you are growing - spinace, lettuce, radish did well, but onions were rubbish, but I may have planted them at the wrong time of year - I wasn't lucky enough to have found this site then for advice!  :?

[compostqueen]

forgetting to cover brassica plants before leaving the plot. Doh
Planting sweetpeas and mange tout peas together on the same support - er which is which. Both had bluey purple flowers     I did that one about leaving too little space for weeding between plants. Did it with celeriac and onions.  Mind you they'd probably be fine without weeding

I planted my rhubarb in an out of the way place, sort of under the lotty hedge and it died.  I thought you couldn't kill a rhubarb  :roll:

[nipper31]

Last year I put my potatoes and tomatoes close together on the patio without realising they suffer from the same blight - lost the lot    But the tomatoes inside in my conservatory were a success, so I was happy to get something...

[woodburner]

My first lottie I had to leave it for a month. I was really pleased with myslef for getting so much cleared and sown but in that month I was away it didn't rain :!:  :!:  :!:  very little came up at all and half of what did bolted, plus the weeds loved the warm weather.
Moral of this tale: If you have to go away don't bother sowing stuff, just cover any bare ground with black plastic or cardboard.

[WhippetMaster]

Ive just learnt not to put weed and feed on your lawn and then use the same area for cutting up seaweed with a lawnmower then placing the mulch on my broccoli plants.

What a divvy... :roll:

[mrsbaggins]

I will learn to label seeds I sow indoors. I truly thought I would remember which was which! also label the rows of seeds I sow! Is it a radish? is it spinach? no one knows!

[Milly]

Great answers, lots of the above I proably would have done but wont do now. In answer to Millie I put carrots in the planter, intend to not make the mistake of other years and am sowing carrots and beetroot over a stagered period.

[Yorkie]

My latest mistake?

Assuming that the pigeons on my site will be a different breed from all the others, and so will not be interested in my newly-transplanted peas  :evil:

[Clampit]

I will learn to label seeds I sow indoors. I truly thought I would remember which was which! also label the rows of seeds I sow! Is it a radish? is it spinach? no one knows!

 :oops: I've done the very same thing this year with all my brassica's, looks like i'll be having mixed rows of Kale, cauli's, cabbages, sprouts, broccoli and calabrese :oops: