Growing up, it was always my dad’s vegetable garden. He was the mastermind. Sure, I helped out turning the soil, watering, weeding and clipping the “sucker” branches from the tomatoes, but he paid attention to all the important things.
Things that I would later find out were very important.
I was in my early thirties, and my dad was slowing down a bit. The year before he didn’t even put in a garden. The first time that I could ever remember.
So, I figured I would pick up the mantle. I was living right next door to my parents at the time, so why not.
I was excited. It was barely February and I worked up a blueprint on my computer at work for everything I was going to plant and exactly where it was going to go. I had every plant spaced out perfectly, on paper anyway.
I dug my dad’s old grow light out of the basement and set up a room in my apartment for starting seedlings. Like with everything I did back then, I went big.
Ten different kinds of tomatoes, four different kinds of eggplants, different-colored bell peppers, corn, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and probably twenty different kinds of hot peppers.
Considering the size of our apartment, my wife was, let’s just say not as enthusiastic as I was.
Then there were all the seeds I would just throw right into the ground in May like zucchini, yellow squash, basil, dill, rosemary, sage and all different types of cucumbers.
I think I spent over $100 just on seeds that year, and that was with an amazing deal from Totally Tomatoes, the mail order catalog I used then, and still use today. Online though these days.
Fast forward to October and it’s fair to say that my first vegetable garden was a disaster.
Not a complete disaster, but for all the work and planning that went into it, it was pretty disappointing.
Looking back, I’m actually glad it happened. Well, glad may not be the right word. But it made me a better gardener.
Here are some of the biggest mistakes I made and what I learned from them.
I Started Too Big
Spring had sprung and it was time to break ground. I ditched turning over the soil by hand with a shovel and invested in a used rototiller. The garden was always a decent size, but I figured I would make it a bit bigger.
This was probably my biggest mistake.
My dad was out there with me in his chair and every so often I’d take a beer break and sit with him for a while. He’d tell me stories of all the things they planted when he was a kid. Back then, the entire back property was a farm.
And then he said something like, “The bigger you go, the more work there is.”
We both smiled. Me because I knew everything and that it would be fine. Him, because he’d been there and knew it wouldn’t be.
Well, you know who was right…
It took me almost two full days to rototill the garden. It took me and my dad less than a day to turn over the soil in the garden we had with shovels.
The next weekend, I started planting. I had my blueprint, my plants and my seeds.
I was excited. Things were going well. Everything was spaced out and in the ground. Then I set up the sprinkler. Guess what, it didn’t cover the whole garden. Maybe about two-thirds.
So, I had to buy another rotating sprinkler and set up two. Right there that’s twice the time to water every day and twice the amount of water. I was remembering my dad’s smile.
Then as the weeks went on, there was the weeding. This was before I discovered the Earthquake mini tiller I have now, which is awesome. It was so much weeding.
Then there was all the extra pruning, plus keeping the bugs off all of the plants, while keeping away the rabbits and squirrels, too. Oh, what the squirrels did to my corn.
I Took The Soil For Granted
Sure, I made two passes with the rototiller, and the ground was super-soft, but I didn’t add anything to it. No lime, no compost, no nothing. The crazy composter I am today looks back with shame.
The plants didn’t grow very quickly and most of them weren’t hearty. The tomato plants were thin, the fruit when it showed up was on the smallish side, and most of it developed blossom rot.
Tomato plants thrive in soil that’s slightly acidic. Figure a pH level between 6.0 and 6.5 is the sweet spot. I never tested it, so I didn’t know it was too low. The next year, adding lime fixed that.
I started mixing cow manure into the soil where the plants go, too. What a difference.
Also, there was one corner of the garden that didn’t drain very well at all. Of course, that’s where the zucchini was and it all got root rot.
And there were a few areas that dried out a lot faster than the rest. It took me a few weeks to realize why some of my eggplant was withering, but that will do it.
Oh, The Sun
Growing up, the garden was always in full sun. But it had been over ten years since I really had anything to do with it, so I just figured that was still the case.
Nope.
There were a bunch of trees on both sides that got bigger and started to block out some of that sunlight during portions of the day. Another reason why the plants weren’t doing so well.
Before I planted the following year, I had my nephew, Tristan, come over with the chainsaw and solve that problem.
The Weeds Snuck Up On Me
As I went over to water every evening, I noticed a few weeds here and there. Then it seemed like suddenly I had a weed garden.
And not only were those weeds getting big, they were stealing the nutrients and water that the vegetable plants needed.
I spent an entire Saturday, it felt like it anyway, weeding the garden by hand. After that, I would take five minutes here and there doing it. But because I had made the garden so big, those five minutes added up. And if you’ve ever weeded before, you know just how tedious it is.
The next year, I stayed on top of it better and enlisted a few of my nephews to help out once a week. Once I got the Earthquake, there were no more weeding worries. I do the entire garden with it in less than an hour. Also, the garden is back to its original size now.
I Didn’t Use Trellises
Yep, I just let my cucumbers, snow peas, snap peas and beans run along the ground. I think over half the cucumbers got eaten by bugs.
The other half mostly had water damage or turned into those monster yellow things that happen to cucumbers when you lose them in the leaves and find them weeks after you should have picked them.
Needless to say, the next year I used trellises.
The Animals Were Rough Early On
My garden is fenced in, but the rabbits and squirrels get in. The rabbits ate most of my bell peppers and some of my eggplant before I individually barricaded each plant. I still do this today until they reach a good size.
I noticed the birds pecking holes in my tomatoes. I had no idea why. I tried putting in plastic owls and even bought one with a motion sensor that made a lot of noise to scare them away. It didn’t.
So, I did some research. It was a pretty dry summer, and the birds were going after the moisture in the tomatoes, not the fruit.
So now, I have two bird baths I keep filled in the garden. Hasn’t happened since.
Then There Was The Corn
It was the one crop that was perfect. The stalks were big and healthy. Nothing was bothering the plants. That is, until the corn started to get bigger.
I figured I had two weeks before I could pick the first few ears and put them on the barbeque. One morning, I was walking through the garden, and I saw them. The squirrels. They were scampering off with the ears I was going to pick soon.
I was furious. But they didn’t stop and I didn’t get one ear of corn that year.
The next year, I built a fence of screens around and on top of the corn plants. They got under it and I didn’t get one ear of corn the second year. And the third year… I gave up on planting corn.
Final Thoughts On My First Garden
It was rough, for sure. I didn’t get anywhere near the harvest I expected when I was planning everything out. The hot peppers were really the one bright spot and I was thankful for that.
But the next year, things got a lot better.
I went back to the original size of the garden my dad had growing up. If you take one thing from my failures here, I hope it’s that you’ll start on the smaller side.
You’ll learn different lessons along the way as well. I’m still learning all these years later. Like bugs really, really hate cayenne pepper. My kale has never looked better.
Another thing about starting small is that you’ll be able to have more fun with it. The work won’t be overwhelming and hopefully you’ll get a better harvest than I did the first time around.
About the Author: Anthony Vion is a lifelong prepper from Long Island, NY, with decades of hands-on experience in self-reliance and practical skill-building. He writes about everyday prepping in a straightforward, realistic way, with a focus on simple steps that help families stay ready for the unexpected.
Disclosure: This article reflects the author’s personal gardening experiences and opinions. Results will vary based on climate, soil conditions, growing methods, and other factors.
