Have you ever listened to someone swear by a garden tip they got from grandma or another source, like a friend? Or, perhaps you’ve even tried a few yourself to discover you had wasted valuable time.
Believe it or not, there are some old myth tips that do work today. And, unfortunately, there are many that don’t.
I think you’ll enjoy the article below, not only because it is well written, but it does focus on mostly what is true and works.
Do grandma’s great gardening tips still hold true today?
“Your gardening grandma probably taught you about the benefits of putting crushed eggshells around plants and planting tomatoes deeply, lengthwise in a …”
http://www.dailypress.com/features/family/home-garden/dp-fea-diggin-0628-20120628,0,5331300.story
There are lots of gardening fact or myth tips though, that are just plain out in left field. I’ll begin with one I was stupid enough to try.
- Pull weeds at night when there is no full moon. The theory is that without light, new seeds can’t begin to germinate. The only good thing that came out of this was that it was cooler. (This was actually in an Old Farmers Almanac.)
- Feed plants that are stressed. If your plants aren’t deficient in nutrients, you will cause more stress. It’s better to check to see if heat, faulty planting, compacted dirt or faulty plant placement is the culprit.
- When you prune, cover the wound with paint or tar. Do this, and you likely will help promote organism growth and fungal decay.
- After pruning, sterilize your tools with bleach. You do know of course, bleach is a corrosive? Instead, wipe with a cloth dipped in isopropyl alcohol and wipe dry.
- Loosen clay soil by adding sand. Clay is a binding soil, if you add sand to it you will worsen the condition and end up with a mortar-like substance. The best solution is to add organic matter. You’ll also be adding beneficial nutrients.
- If you water in the heat of the day, you will burn the plants. Most of us experimented with a piece of glass or magnifying glass to try to burn something when we kids. Do you remember how far and at what angle you had to hold the glass to light a fire? It definitely wasn’t right on the object. If you believe this myth, you should cover your plants every time it rains! If you water in the heat of the day, the water will evaporate more quickly and not reach the plants as efficiently.
Hopefully you enjoyed these notions. In closing, i’d like to add one more that I just never grasped the logic of.
Rows shoud always run north and south when planting peas and beans, because the sun moves from east to west, giving the plants maximum sunshine. Go figure!
