Fun with garden myth-information
Debbie Teashon
It's hard to keep up with garden myths — what is factual and what is nonsense.
Frankly, it's astonishing how myths breed and spread as fast as a tenacious weed. Some myths have been around for so long, they have become naturalized folklore.
Garden myths spread as fast as wildfire with our social media. Especially on Pinterest*, where you pin pictures onto saved bulletin boards. With so much pinned advice touted as garden tips, it's as if every quack remedy in the garden world has descended upon this fun, social media platform.
The problem is we become the snake-oil salespeople. Granted, there are many creative ideas floating on Pinterest boards. However, wading through the rubbish ideas disguised as solutions is daunting. If it sounds too good to be true, it is, especially recommendations to use household products in the garden. If someone says use sugar, beer, or soda pop on your plants — run, quickly run.
Are you thinking about using Epsom salt in the garden? Toss the Epsom salts into your bath and have a luxurious soak for your aching body after gardening. Throwing the salts around your plants is bad advice. Sprayed on foliage can cause leaf scorch. The highly soluble magnesium sulfate leaches into the environment as a pollutant. In addition, scientific research shows Epsom salt is not a good additive for your garden. If you fear your plants need magnesium, give them a complete fertilizer that provides it. Have your soil tested to see what it needs, and improve from there, using sensible fertilizers.
Another inane myth says rocks improve drainage in containers. I believed it was true, and devotedly added rocks to the bottom of all my pots. It seemed logical – rock or bits of pottery covering the bottom improved drainage. When I learned that this method caused an opposite outcome, I stopped.
Water does not move easily from a soil medium into a coarser material. If drainage is a problem in your containers, toss the rocks (safely), and use a high quality potting soil. Drill adequate sized drainage holes in the bottom of your pots. Don't forget to place pot feet underneath. The lifts elevate the containers off the ground, making sure the plant doesn't sit in a pool of water, while providing good air circulation too.
Polymer crystals are the star of another myth for keeping containers hydrated. The crystal scoundrels will steal moisture from the soil to keep themselves hydrated, leaving the plants dry.
Some gardeners recommend using disposable baby diapers at the bottom of containers, because they contain the same crystals to absorb liquid. Think about it. The crystals absorb moisture and are supposed to keep everything else dry. Plants don't urinate, so let's leave the diapers for the babies.
Sold at your local garden centers, some unnecessary product solutions come wrapped in sweet little packages. They promise you the Garden of Eden, yet waste your money. Spend it on a cool plant instead.
Plants don't need vitamin B-1 to prevent transplant shock. The only noteworthy effect Vitamin B-1 has is making us feel better when we use it. Instead, feel good about watering your plants ahead of planting time. A hydrated plant is a happy transplant. Once transplanted, water them again. Then see to it they don't dry out as they establish their roots.
Using a starter or compost activator is not necessary. The only thing needed to introduce mycorrhizae to your compost, is to either have the compost touching the ground, or toss in a shovelful of soil. Unless you nuked the ground to sterility, the fungus exists. They are waiting for you to feed them. When you do, their populations explode.
Same thing applies when buying mycorrhizae for your garden — don't. A rich soil full of life, comes from adding soil amendments of compost, leaf mold, and/or composted manures. The fungus in turn colonizes the roots and your plants thrive. Only use organic based fertilizers to keep the symbiotic relationship between the fungus and your plants strong and healthy.
Stop the arms race. Introducing foreign mycorrhizae to your soil creates a battle, invaders vs natives. Make compost not war!
*Debbie's Pinterest boards are alive and well.
Orginally written for the monthly "Garden Life" column in the Kitsap Weekly
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Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton
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