Does anyone know of any old wives tale about gardening?

Answer 1

Some of these are 'wives tales' that have proven true. Put "Epsom salts in the hole when planting tomatoes. True...epsom salts contain magnesium which are very good for tomatoes. Scatter ashes on the garden. True.....ashes contain potash, which is one of the big three fertilizers. Don`t throw away egg shells. Crush them and scatter on your garden. True.....eggshells are calcium, a key component of lime. Plant above ground crops in light of the moon, root crops in the dark of the moon. Unproven............To get rid of a wart, cut a potatoe in half and rub it on the wart, then plant the potatoe in the garden on the full moon night. The wart will be gone by next moon. Unproven..............Some garden jokes.....Don`t talk about anybody in a cornpatch, they have ears........Don`t do anything bad in a potatoe patch, they have eyes...........Don`t give anyone a compliment in a cabbage patch, they`ll get the big head.........God bless!

Answer 2

On a different note, and Jason you hit the nail on the head, one of my biggest pet peeves is people who say to water at night. Another one that is considered an old wives tale by me, is that if you water in the middle of the day, you may burn up your lawn! ... LOL. I must of burned up 30 formal lawn areas in my lifetime then. What a laugh that one is. If it's that darn hot out, that the bead of water on a blade of grass will "burn" the lawn, I guarantee you that the bead of water will evaporate well before it torches the lawn in some silly way.. These are two of the most goofiest gardening old wives tales I have ever heard of. One other thing. As many times as I have read these "don't water in the heat of the day" statements, I have yet to see any evidence, or a picture of just what this damage looks like. Not even on any gardening sites, or turf care sites. Hmm, maybe this is an old wives tale or a fallacy after all. What do you think. Hopefully, we'll stop seeing these statements in the near future.

**Billy Ray**

Answer 3

Old Wives Tale: Gravel improves drainage.

NOT true.....

The Truth About Garden Remedies by Jeff Gillman, a professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota.

He cites research by Dr Mark Reiger at the University of Georgia, who found that when you put gravel in the base of a container, you simply make the smaller volume of compost more waterlogged. Added to which, the water in the compost does not move easily from the finely textured compost to the coarser textured gravel, compounding the drainage problem. The conclusion is that drainage is better if you use compost throughout the container. If you want better drainage, just mix perlite or grit throughout your compost to open it up.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/main.jhtml?xml=/gardening/2007/06/19/gbunny19.xml

Answer 4

One old wives tale is if you plant your garden in the light of a full moon, everything will grow bigger and faster.
Was told this by my great grandmother. She had a whole lot of them but that is the only once I can think of right now.

Answer 5

One of the "old wives tales" that persists is to "Water your Lawn at Night".
In doing some research recently I found again and again proven studies that watering the lawn at night promotes fungal based diseases and some pest problems. The notion to water at night is common advice in neighborhoods across the USA... but one will not find a single source of modern documentation supporting the practice. Search the online cooperative studies for Lawn Care - you won't find one that suggests watering at night and you will find many that instruct not to do it.
Watering early in the AM is the best practice for a healthy lawn.

Answer 6

Has anyone heard the one that thanking someone who gives you a plant is bad luck ? And what would the reason be? RScott

Answer 7

Never put roses to bed with wet feet.