More Gardening Myths....

 Art, drainage, or just a way of getting rid of old crocks?

I have a LOT of cracked and broken terracotta pots. I have been looking at a few ways to use them and initially I thought that these shards of pottery – or "crocks" could go at the bottom of plant pots to increase drainage. It turns out this is detrimental to the plants growth and dispels a century of advice for the poor gardener.  It turns out that it was just a Victorian fashion for practicality and not wanting to throw things away. I’m turning my broken crocks into works of art instead.

Folklore

Gardening is steeped in folklore and superstition and is now incorporating a lot of New Age ideas in biodynamic and holistic approaches. On any allotment you'll soon find someone convinced that potatoes must be planted on Good Friday, that garlic keeps aphids away, or that human hair wards off eelworm, I tried the latter once – it doesn’t work but does make you wretch a lot when applying it. Spraying with homeopathic cures prepared in a sheep’s skull or channelling vital forces through a cows horn buried full of manure might keep you entertained for a while, but do they work? Maybe it’s just paying attention to the plants that matters and if that’s by feeding them rescue remedy then who’s to judge?  There must be something in it as there are 120 Biodynamic farms in the UK and the patron of the organization used to be the director of the soil association. But not all agree, Biodynamic gardening is dismissed by the Royal Horticultural Society, and likened to witchcraft by some leading plant scientists.

  

Fact or Myth?

Here are some more ideas that could go under the heading of “Myths” in the garden.

Compost tea suppresses disease

Fermented “tea” made from compost with sugar made in much the same way you would homemade beer. According to supporters, it increases plant growth, provides nutrients, adds beneficial organisms and suppresses disease. The results show water is more effective and the buckets could be a breeding ground for E. Coli. 

MYTH 2 Lighten clay soil by adding sand

Clay soil turns rock-hard when dry, drains badly, takes an age to warm up in spring and is tough to cultivate. However, it holds its nutrients better than most types of soil and, if drainage can be improved, it produces bountiful plants. You would need almost as much sand as you have clay. Converting a garden is a mammoth task. The RHS estimates that you would need 250kg of sand or grit for every square metre of clay soil. Make a raised bed.

Young trees should be staked

Botanists showed in the 1950s that trees allowed to sway with the wind grew thicker lower trunks than those staked. They also tend to have thicker branches, but don't grow as tall. In horticultural circles, the response of trees and plants to wind is called thigmomorphogenesis. The buffeting from winds releases ethylene gas, a growth mediator that triggers the formation of wood-strengthening lignin. Buy young trees and don’t stake them for best results.

 Sun through water burns leaves

The belief that water droplets on plants focus solar rays and burn foliage has persisted for generations.  Study in Budapest found that water droplets were too close to leaves to cause burning before they evaporated. The only risk was on hairy plants such as ferns, which kept the droplets far enough away to act as lenses. Tell that to my scorched spinach seedlings.

Tree wounds need dressing

Countless generations of gardeners have painted tar or paint on wounds after lopping off branches. It was believed that, without protection, trees would be vulnerable to pests and disease. All proof now shows that applying tar does nothing to help protect the tree but can provide a home and protective layer for pests and fungi.

Add bone meal and compost when planting trees

Although bone meal contains calcium and phosphorus, which are needed for plant growth, the minerals are rarely in short supply in gardens or allotments. Anyway, bone meal does not stimulate plant growth; It’s only a mineral, not a plant growth regulator.

 Natural is safer

Pesticides may be against the spirit of organic gardening, but garden centre shelves are full of organic treatments for insects, slugs and fungi. Although they are labelled "natural", that doesn't make them friendly to the environment. Some natural home-made organic pesticides contain 20% vinegar, which is effective at killing the tops of plants, but not their roots. It is also toxic for frogs and toads.

Bordeaux mix, which is an organic treatment for potato blight contains copper, which could build up in the soil and be harmful. Another common organic insect killer is pyrethrum, made from an extract of chrysanthemum. Natural it may be; discriminating it is not. It will kill beneficial ladybirds and bumblebees as easily as it kills asparagus beetle.

Peeling Spuds

Oh NO! Not spud peeling

I can easily breeze through repetitious work. Take sowing seeds and potting on cuttings for example, especially when I was growing seeds for a living. I’d sit on my stool in the tunnel throughout the cold cold winters (violins can start now) and I’d patiently pot up the plants and lay them out in an orderly fashion for them to grow on. 

This patience doesn’t end in the garden, I realise it’s the journey not the destination. For that reason I can cope with most mundane jobs in the house, washing, vacuuming and dusting.  

So can anyone tell me why, oh why do I break out into a cold sweat when I am asked to peel spuds?   From getting the first potato in my hand and starting to peel until the last one plops into the pan, I detest the process. My chest tightens up, blood pressure goes up and I feel like I need to scream. You can probably guess that I am not asked to do this very often and if left to my own devices I will always make pasta, rice or noodles. 

Less work

If I am in a shop buying vegetables I will usually go for the ones that look as though they have come out of the ground with a bit of soil on them - unless they are potatoes. Just in case for some unexplained reason that  I am asked to peel them I will go for the cleanest, biggest (that’s important too as it’s less fiddly) least recessed eyes and the ones with as little or no blemishes as possible. Less work and anxiety for me.  I don’t even look where they have been grown. Shame on me, but when my health is at stake I can’t be too careful, I won't even grow them! I think maybe my spud peeling resistance is something to do with valuing my time and thinking I should be doing something more useful than peeling off imperfections.  

Taking your time

I remember a friend of mine filling up some large flower containers using a dessert spoon to scoop out the compost from the bag and place it gently into the pot. I suggested she could do it faster by tipping the compost straight into the pot from the bag. It’d save her time I thought. “Why would I want to do that?” she said “I am enjoying doing it this way.” Maybe I ought to employ the same philosophy when it comes to peeling spuds. The only way I can cope is by throwing them straight into the oven “as is” and bake them for an hour.

It’s all about the timing

I’m very conscious of timing in the garden this year. For some reason the season is moving forward at a seemingly faster rate than usual, it must be an age thing. I’m following Klaus’s growing and planting guidelines on his seed packets and so far have planted everything he suggests to the end of April. I now have basil, peas, mange tout, kale, onions, spring onions and sweetcorn in.  I still have a lot more seeds to sow but I am taking my time, especially with the French beans, they won’t need to go in until the end of May. 

Planting Herbs

I’ve made the finishing touches to the granite set walls I built last week. It’s made a great place for the dogs to sit as the sieved soil is nice and warm for them. They can also get to look straight into the kitchen window at me longingly looking for food. As the beds are near to the back door I will be planting them up with herbs we can pick whilst cooking. I also thought a bit of lawn chamomile might go well in between the cracks in the slabs. The highly scented plants will serve a few other purposes too. They will give off a pleasant aroma when walked on of brushed past. Secondly, if the dogs insist on still sitting in the same spots after the herbs are planted, it might help to make them smell a bit sweeter. It might not come as much of a surprise but the dogs don’t half pong, especially when they have just come out of the river.

Hoarding - Collecting, it's a fine line

The on-going quest for the garden NOT to look like the backdrop for an episode of Steptoe and Son continues. Not only is the garden looking similar to the programme, I seem to be looking more like Wilfred Bramble’s character Albert Steptoe the older I get. There are a few differences, he has more hair than I do for a start and (as yet) I don’t own a horse and cart. (For those of you too young to remember the programme Google the title to see what I mean. It’s uncanny.

Granite Sets

I have made a decision to make use of some of the accumulated “stock” in the garden and found somewhere to put the granite sets and old hexagonal paving slabs. I don’t think I have mentioned the yellow slabs before. I dug them up last year when I was clearing a space for the polytunnel. They have probably been buried for 30 years but are still miraculously in one piece, they must have used strong cement in those days.  We have an area outside of the back door that would have been planted up at one time and slops down from the lawn. Over the years the ground has slipped and if anything grew in it in the past it doesn’t get a chance now as I just mow it when I cut the rest of the grass. It has only been used as a place where the dogs can site and look longingly into the kitchen window whilst waiting for either a walk or scraps of food to be thrown out of the window. It’s my own waste disposal unit.  I’ve spoken a lot about how to plant on a slope so had a pretty good idea what to do so didn’t see the need to complicate things by making a plan. I am just making it up as I go along.

Two Levels

The slope is steep enough for a couple of levels. I have a row of just two of the old slabs then a row of three high, dark granite sets. There is then a level area about three feet wide before the next level of granite sets go in. This time only two high of the lighter speckled ones. I have done a rough estimate and think I’ll have enough to finish. If not I know where there are some more if I need them. There will be a space next to the wall wide enough for the dogs to poke their noses over into the neighbour’s garden over the dividing wall. Our house isn’t the only place the dogs use their longing puppy dog eyes for food and the neighbour will come out at least once a day with something tasty for them to munch on.

Light Work

The slabs have developed a layer of gunge and greenery but I am not going to clean them up. The house and garden pathways are old and the dirt seems to fit in a bit better. You can pay a lot of money for getting things that look old so they match their surroundings – that’s my excuse anyway. The granite sets are not going to be cleaned either.  

I am not going to cement the slabs, or even put them on a level of sand for that matter. It’s such a small area and because of the shape there will be a small planting hole every two slabs where I can plant herbs for harvesting from the back door and will also give the dogs a softer seating area as I am sure they won’t be long using it. The granite sets will be free standing too as I would like the dry stone wall effect with lots of strawberry plants jutting out of the cracks.  As nothing will be secured into place I can modify, adjust or take the whole thing down when I get bored with looking at it. It’s one step away from having a garden on a pallet where you can move it around to suit. 

Oil Can

What do you do on a sunny morning at the weekend? Last Sunday I spend a few happy hours cleaning up my old rusty oil can and coating it with six layers of clear lacquer. When I say cleaning up I mean brushing it gently with a paintbrush to get rid of any loose flakes of rust and then adding the spray.  The finished effect (I think) looks fabulous and will delay the rusting process for a good few years.  I proudly showed it to Julie and asked her what she thought. 

 

She thinks I ought to get out more.

Boiling water on plants

There was a knock at the door today and in front of me was someone with a very sorry looking Peace lily plant in their hands. These plants tend to have droopy leaves anyway but some of them on this plant were transparent, the person held it up to my face.

“Someone in the office was looking after it whilst I was away for a week” they began “and I asked them to water it”.

“Didn’t they”? I inquired. “It’s looking a bit sorry for itself.”

“They did water it,” came the reply “but as they were in a hurry to finish for the day they used the recently boiling water from the kettle.”

These plants are pretty tough but I think that will be enough to finish it off.

“Could you do something with it?” I was asked.

My first response was to throw it into the compost bin, at least it’ll give the worms a bit of food as it rots down and you could just pop to the shops and buy a new one. But then came the story.

“I’ve had the plant for three years, it was a present from someone very special and I have become very attached to it”. The story continued. “I have it on front of me on the desk in the office and I prefer to look at this plant than out of the window. I couldn’t bear to be without it.” 

Just swap it

I’ve learnt my lesson trying to swap things in the hope that people won’t notice. Take the time I was entrusted to look after a friend’s goldfish. When it died I thought they wouldn’t notice the new one I bought from the pet shop. They did, and I am sure this person would know if a new peace lily appeared on her desk. No-one could explain why all of the leaves miraculously turned a lush green overnight. 

“Could you fix it?” said the person at the door with eyes all wet and expectant.

“I’ll see what I can.” I said helpfully.

Hardy

Peace lilies are really hardy and are one of the favourite house plants of the time. One of the many reasons is that they purify the air making them ideal for offices. They also don’t really require any feeding and can withstand a bit of watering neglect. But not, I fear boiling water.

I took the plant and headed into the polytunnel to work a bit of magic whilst Julie consoled the owner. If truth be known I didn’t really “do magic” These plants are made up of a lot of smaller plants and they divide easily. I just pulled the plant apart and threw away the bits where the roots had turned brown along with the leaves. The remaining smaller plants were then bunched together and put back into the pot with some fresh bark based compost. The lilies grow in tropical woodland conditions and like a bit of composting bark.

Five minutes later I return with a slightly smaller but happier looking plant.  “Don’t water it for a week or so” I told the woman. “The soil was very wet around the roots so it’ll give the plant time to dry off. “And next time just leave the plant to dry out when you are not at work, it’ll stand a greater chance of surviving.”

One happy customer - and hopefully one happier plant.

Easy open fruit and more gardening tips

There’s a video going around on youtube on how to open a banana. It doesn’t sound very exciting but it made me realise I have been doing it wrong all of my life. I complain a lot (it’s true) that the fruit are harder to open now than ever they were. I have always opened them from the top. The video shows you how a monkey does it… from the base. It just pulls apart. Revelation. This got me thinking of a few gardening related tips.

Gently brush your hands across your tiny seedlings several times a day. This stimulates them to grow slightly slower, resulting in stronger, sturdier stems.

Soak finished compost from containers in water to "brew" compost "tea," a nutrient-rich liquid that can be used for foliar feeding or for watering plants in your garden or houseplants.

Use newspapers as weed barriers when creating a new bed. They are printed with soy ink and decompose nicely, and are simple to lay out again when decomposed. Don't use slick colored advertisements or coloured pages.

Once a seed sprouts it must be kept watered. If it dries out, it dies. If seeds are lightly covered with soil, they may need to be gently sprinkled with water once or twice a day to keep them moist.

Check moisture in container plants often with your fingers. Potting soil is often lightweight and dries out quickly.

Cinnamon makes an excellent natural fungicide. Mix in your potting soil when planting seeds to prevent damping off of the seedlings.