5 vegetable gardening mistakes I learned not to make when growing crops in my small backyard

Three pictures - one of three planters with green radish seedlings, one of a purple watering can, pots, and two gardening tools, and one close-up of a radish label in the ground.

I'm growing vegetables for the first time ever, and I've quickly found out that it's not as easy as it looks when playing farming games.

I've made a bunch of mistakes on the way that I've learned not to make, which I'm sharing with you all so you don't do what I did. I also asked gardening pros for errors they commonly see, as well as their advice for fixing them. Overcrowding (guilty!) and poor soil preparation (also guilty!) are a couple of common errors that cropped up.