COMMON GARDEN MYTHS!
I feel like I am stepping on the THIRD RAIL here, but, lately a lot of posts and more important some 'suggestions' have had some real Garden Myths. Often these can negatively affect some new gardeners.
- Banana Peels: Many Gardeners hear that Bananas are high in Potassium, so, they put Banana Peels in their soil. This is one of those times when, a little information can be problematic! Yes, Banana's are high in Potassium, BUT, that Potassium is NOT Readily available to our plants. It can take anywhere form 6 weeks to 2 YEARS for the peel to break down and potassium is available. It takes BIO ORGANISMS in soil, to help break it down to convert it to a version that plants can uptake. In addition, the Nitrogen it takes to break down Peels, means a LOT LESS for your plants: MORE HARM THAN GOOD. Put the peels in the compost pile for next year's garden.
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm
- Calcium Deficiency and Blossom End Rot (BER).
YEP... that ugly end to your tomato, pepper and squashes is Blossom End Rot. AND, it most likely means, your tomato plant isn't get enough Calcium. What helps is NOT necessarily putting more fertilizer with high concentrations of Calcium. BER is almost always a result of LACK OF CONSISTENT WATERING. Too little or too much watering means the plants cannot uptake Calcium.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/problems/blossom-end-rot
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/blossom-end-rot/
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/.../VEGES/ENVIRON/blossomendrot.html
https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/blossom-end-rot
- EPSOM Salts
Epsom Salts have been described as a cure all, or solution for Blossom End Rot. in fact, it CAUSES MORE. Epsom Salts are NOT Calcium, they are Magnesium (a type of salt). While that is a nice TRACE ELEMENT, it does ion many cases, interfere with plants' ability to uptake Calcium and other salts.
- COFFEE GROUNDS
Coffee Grounds will lower soil pH. This one is a "KINDA" true. Sure the coffee grounds are SLIGHTLY acidic (pH of about 6.8, almost neutral)... but NO where NEAR enough to significantly lower your soil pH. Better to put the grounds in your compost pile.
- ADD SAND to Clay Soil to improve drainage
BAD IDEA!!! Adding sand to clay soil actually helps to make the soil more like CONCRETE. It's actually MUCH better to add a lot of organic material (Leaf compost, mulch, twigs. sticks, etc) to give clay soil more substance.
NOT A MYTH, but helpful advice: Liquid Fertilizers are readily available for use by your plants today. Granular Fertilizers can take a month or even two, before the soil biology breaks it down for your plants to be able to use the NPK and trace elements. OVER FERTILIZING can be as bad as underfertilizing. be careful in how you apply, to avoid NITROGEN BURNING your plants.
WHAT GARDENING MYTHS DID I MISS?
Most of you know, I prefer to grow my own food, locally. It's healthier for my family, and for the planet. I know what goes into my foods, and what chemicals are NOT in my food. Also, It cuts down on carbon emissions, less trucking, planes, trains, and boats, to get fresh foods to my table.
And that makes me smile... better for the planet, better for my own family.
Are you growing and gardening? Are you participating in GroVid23? use the hashtag #growvid23 for your gardening posts, too!
Let me know below in the comments...
#gardening #tomato #plants #harvest #gardentips #homesteading
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