These are what I call "The 5 Rights of Gardening" that help promote successful gardening practices:

The Right Plant (a plant suitable for the zone to be planted in or pest resistant varieties)

The Right Place (the correct location in the garden for sunlight and watering needs)

The Right Time (BOTH sown and planted in the correct season)

The Right Soil (pH of soil, sand vs clay, ability to hold nutrients, mulching, etc)

The Right Friends (companion planting, cross pollination, attracting pollinators, green

mulching, etc)

I am a member of several social media groups that focus on gardening in Florida. The most common posts I see are related to identifying garden pests causing damage, identifying causes of plant disease, and identifying causes of plant discoloration. So basically, gardeners with less than green thumbs are using these groups for help with all their gardening problems. This is a great use of free networking to help people learn and hopefully succeed in the future. So why am I mentioning this? You'll see.

Over the past few years I have also noticed that these posts begin to flood social media right at the start of summer. It reminds me of that meme of the Game of Thrones character where "Brace Yourselves. Winter is Coming" is replaced

with another saying. For gardening groups and forums this meme should be shared right around April and say, "Brace Yourselves. What is killing my plant? posts are coming". And that's because beginning in April, gardening in Florida becomes the one of the most difficult and frustrating things I have ever done.

"The Five Right's of Gardening" were created as a spin off of "The Five Rights of Medicine" which are meant to help prevent medication errors. They do not have a specific order. Each "Right" is as important as the one before it and all need to be followed for the most successful gardening. For example, a plant in the right location may not produce fruit without the right friends. Or a plant in the right place may still not have the right soil.

Lets take a look at each of the "5 Rights" in more detail.

The Right Plant

The right plant is focusing mainly on a plant suitable in the garden's zone. For example, my garden is in zone 9b. It is a waste of time and money for me to expect to successfully grow fuji apple trees in my zone. They may stay alive. They may not die right away. But I will probably never see them thrive and fruit. My zone will never get enough chill hours for most apple varieties to fruit. This means that planting a fuji apple tree in my garden not only wastes money, but wastes space and time as well.

Besides finding plants in the right zone, gardeners should also be finding plants resistant to common pests. Finding nematode resistant varieties of plants could mean the difference between this year's abundant harvest and this year's complete failure. Or finding plants resistant to their common pests such as squash bug resistant varieties of squash.

The Right Place

The right places focuses on sun and water conditions. Seasonal positioning of the sun should be considered when finding the right place. Additionally, the gardener should account for future heights of nearby trees and other companion plants. When considering water needs, it is important to know if this area of the garden receives adequate rain or maybe will need to be supplemented by irrigation if possible. In some instances the right place can be created by the gardener using microclimates, mulching, and irrigation to their advantage.

The Right Time

The right time is commonly the most self inflicted cause of a plant's failure in the garden. The main reason is we lack the patience to wait for the right time. Most people think of frost damage as the only gardening problem related to time. But there are many more. Plants are most successful when their seeds are sown in the correct time of year. Transplants are most successful when introduces to the ground in the right time of year and later in the day. Gardening pests and disease are easily avoided when planting for a harvest before their numbers are highest. For example, zucchini and squash grow almost maintenance free in Florida winter and early spring. But in the summer, will be destroyed by multiple garden pests, mildew, rotting, and other problems caused exclusively by a Florida summer.

The Right Soil

You could argue that the right soil should fall under "The Right Place". With the growing popularity of raised bed gardening and container gardening, gardeners have more control of their soil than ever before. But the right soil doesn't just stop with raised bed and container gardening. In ground growers should always be striving to make their soil better every day of the year. Composting and mulching are effective and easy soil amendments. Other soil factors that contribute to plant success are soil drainage, soil density, and soil pH.

The Right Friends

The right friends is my favorite of the "5 Rights" because it means that I am most likely to be buying more plants. Don't we all use any excuse possible for more plants? Just me?

The right friends focuses on companion planting. This terms encompasses several ways to promote success in the garden by intermixing different plant types. Here are a few examples:

- Green mulching of nitrogen fixing ground covers

- Intermixing highly fragrant herbs nearby food crops susceptible to damage by pests that rely

on smell for finding food

- Cover cropping of nematode resistant plants such as sun hemp, cowpeas, and marigolds

- Intermixing wildflowers that attract pollinators next to food crops that require pollination

- The "Three Sisters" concept for growing corn, beans, and squash

Please understand that "The Five Rights of Gardening" is just a guide to help gardeners do a good evaluation before planting. Experienced gardeners can then figure out how to manipulate some of these and push limits. This unlocks a whole new door for more fun and production.

Good Luck!

Have any other general advice for gardening that aligns with our "5 Rights"? Comment below to keep the conversation going!