{"id":3778,"date":"2015-03-22T23:23:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T03:23:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T17:43:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T21:43:32","slug":"ten-gardening-tips-i-will-never-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2015\/03\/ten-gardening-tips-i-will-never-write\/","title":{"rendered":"TEN GARDENING TIPS I WILL NEVER WRITE ABOUT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Perennial Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’ does make a good pot plant in a cold greenhouse.  This one was a gift from the gal’s at Blythewold Mansion<\/a> two years ago. So little in the greenhouse looks good enough to photograph – I have no idea how I am going to rescue it for our garden party on May 1st.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\nFair warning  – you may want to read this post first before you decide to vote this week for this blog as your most favorite gardening blog (it’s in that pink circle ad up there on the right hand side column). I do hate asking folks to do things like that, but, after all, blogs are social media, and good ratings sometimes count.<\/p>\n

Thanks in advance.<\/p>\n

(One more thing – apparently there are lot of grammar and spelling errors in this post – which I apologize for in advance Trying to catch them all tonight.)<\/p>\n

Really, I am not being negative, either.
\nI’m just being honest.<\/p>\n

\nTHE TRIVIALIZATION OF GARDENING<\/div>\n
\nA nice rant.<\/div>\n

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\nGardening advice – beginners crave for guidance, experts seek new inspiration, and everyone else in-between just wants to loose themselves in some gorgeous imagery and text that will transport them into some fantastical garden in their mind. I’ve been wondering lately if all of the abundance of information – Facebook groups, blogs, magazines, tweets and gardening product companies just might be over-informing us? I’m not sure yet about Pinterest, as I too am addicted to it, but as many of you know, it too can be over-used, or at the very least – misused.<\/p>\n

 I beg to ask the question – what is gardening today? I imagine that the answers can be many, a way to grow food, agriculture perhaps, potted plants and house plants certainly, but another definition might be emerging – that of gardening as a craft. A DIY craft project, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all, as what’s wrong with creative expression? Plus, a child making a fairie garden might one day discover that he or she has suddenly fallen in love with gardening. So what then is my concern?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nI think what bothers me is more about incorrect information.
\nSo much information today is shared by word-of-mouth, or instantly as a tweet – often without any thought to it’s validity or regardless of any proof if the ‘tip’ or trick actually works.<\/p>\n

I was reminded of this last week when a large branded outdoor tool company asked me if I would be interested in writing a sponsored post for them. Not something I am used to or even comfortable doing, but I asked them for more information.<\/p>\n

Their social media person wrote me back and said this “Oh, don’t worry, it should be something easy – like how egg shells if spread around your tomato plants will keep slugs away – that’s what our readers want to hear”.<\/p>\n

I thought – “hmm, now this is getting a little weird. Content is being pre-edited for me by someone who doesn’t even garden, and someone who probably doesn’t even know if this trick would actually work or not”.<\/p>\n

I declined politely.<\/p>\n

She then emailed me back and said:<\/p>\n

“Cool, no prob – I can find someone else to write those gardening tips for us – have a great day!”.<\/p>\n

++++++<\/p>\n

 Somewhere along the way, gardening has become very popular with young people – a face we all should be very pleased about, but something else has happened – advice and information about agricultural methods, horticultural expertise as essentially  morphed into something closer to what a gardener might find in a back yard in ‘Lord of the Rings” than at a the local farm. I don’t want to blame bloggers, as many are very informed – experts even, but as in any field, there are also some to be wary of – it should be obvious to you which ones promote tips that look more like”Magic Hair Tonic” and “Snake Oil”. <\/p>\n

We as a community need to remain cautious, naturally, but also we need to understand how difficult gardening can be sometimes for new gardeners. I feel that it is irresponsible to promote a distrust of proved horticultural expertise and practices unless they are indeed proven. New gardeners are vulnerable, and will always opt for the most organic or wholesome-sounding method – why wouldn’t they? They’ve been raised in a world which is fearful of Big Food and Big Agribusiness, they have been raised with fears about everything from GMO’s to Monsanto. The truth lies somewhere in-between the right and the left, organic seeds are fine, but telling gardeners that they must start their self-saved or non-gmo seed in organic egg shells  does go a little overboard. Bloggers need to relax a little, and so do gardeners.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\nII will admit, it is hard to not get scared – with info graphics appearing on Facebook and Pinterest with headlines like ‘AMAZING HOME MADE FERTILIZER FROM YOUR PANTRY!” or “LASAGNA GARDENING WILL SAVE YOUR TOMATOES” , The gimmicks might seem irresistible, but often the don’t provide the real story or optional, and often more practical solutions. Instead, it all comes off as crafty nonsense more than it does real science.<\/p>\n

Of course some home remedies do work, but the truth is, few actually work well enough. I am not a disbeliever – I make home made chicken soup when I have a cold too, but I have stopped believing in Echinacea. Anyway, this isn’t really a gripe about home remedies, my issue has more to do with originality and content – both are deficiencies in most of the gardening advice found today on some of the most popular gardening blogs and magazines.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\nI suppose that we can blame the Internet, but that really isn’t fair, as although it has allowed endless streams of bad information to be both shared and downloaded in our minds, it may also be the single most important thing to happen in all of our lives. Has it killed the book store and the library? Perhaps, but the DVD didn’t really kill the megaplex in the end, either. Maybe things just need to settle down get weeded out, find their own place to live ( like videos on Youtube) and then move on.<\/p>\n

After all, there will always be experts in some specific field, and there will always be amateurs as well ( I hope!). The greater issue may just be where to they play, work and share information. In the blogging word and on websites – they are all jumbled up. I think there is a lot of room for improvement- in fact, I think that there is even more room here for businesses or organizations to lead this improvement Sorry, that’s just my futurist side thinking.<\/p>\n

So until someone figures out a way to curate all of the information out there about gardening on the inter web, you the reader is stuck – stuck with a few measly lifestyle magazines which you so desperately want to be awesome, but generally are not – stuck with a feeder or bookmark folder with your favorite garden bloggers, and TV that is, well, meh at best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Blooming today in the greenhouse, this small, alpine post of Ornithogalum fimbriatum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\nAs for me, and what I write? My mission is real – and I can’t help that, as I am a plant nut, a plant geek, a collector, and a lifelong gardener who is more than an enthusiast. Sure, much of the information on this blog might target the more experienced plant person, but I really do try to straddle my audience base – a post on Asiatic Gentians in an alpine trough, followed up by a post about how to raise Shirley Poppies. I’m not sure that it all works, but in many ways, I don’t see a difference between the expert and the curious. We don’t talk down to our kids, so why should I tell you to pee on your tomatoes if I know that a little more calcium added to the soil in spring will do the trick?<\/div>\n
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\nGardening is full of tricks, but the ones I would like you to look out for are the ones that provide helpful cultural tips such as” Scabiosa seed – should it be covered with a newspaper to germinated in complete darkness? (Nope – it need light to germinate, but if you want success with the rarely seen annual Salpiglossis, then yes, you must cover the seed with a total blackout material – a Sunday paper would work, until it germinates. Just don’t cover the seed with soil – allow it to sit on top of the soil. ). One cannot over-simplify or even dumb down when it comes the plant life, especially if you are serious about it.<\/p>\n

Tips should be useful ones ( Lettuce seed germinates best outdoors at 38\u00ba F, and cabbage best indoors at 85\u00ba F., while both should be moved to cooler conditions once germinated, to around 48\u00ba F – 55\u00ba F).  So maybe you can see why I get a little reactive when I see a mommy blogger sharing how she is showing her son how to sow broccoli in eggshells on the windowsill – great idea, just the wrong method. Believe me, her son would really love to know the real way too. As someone who works with children daily, science fascinates kids, and they often respond best to real facts, and not dumbed-down content. If they wanted dumbed down, they would only want to see goldfish and guppies when they go to the aquarium (that said, they will still want sharks – which may elevate one of my other gripes about nature shows, but I will save that one) (Ahhhh – but arent’ sharks are the entry drug for the future ichthyologists). Indeed.<\/p>\n

That said, every botanic garden should not be planting a vegetable garden for kids, but might do better by raising an Amorphophallis titanium<\/a><\/i>. to impress the kids – They are the sharks of the plant world  (and perhaps for future horticulturists), and just as every large metropolitan Aquarium features shark week, a Dead Horse Arum may have just as much luck inspiring a young rebel. We all can trace our love for plants back to an inciting moment (mine was less exciting – Mrs. Carpenters red geranium plants in first grade but it worked).<\/div>\n

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\nWe bloggers need to move forward from what many of us keep repeating and repeating.<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nI don’t know if you remember this, but a couple of years ago, ‘Martha Stewart  got herself into a bit of trouble in an interview on Bloomberg<\/a>, do you remember how insane those news reports were? How mean the blogging community became toward the woman who started the brand that made so much of what we now take for granted, possible?  This article – ‘Martha Stewart Speaks Out: Bloggers are not Experts”. struck me – in a “Thank God someone finally just said it” way. I will say that the entire blogging world would probably not exist today, if it wasn’t for Martha Stewart – but I will also say that she was pretty much, correct even though it’s not exactly how she wanted the sentiment to be read. I want to believe that deep inside, she felt like ‘ there, I said it”. After all, Martha doesn’t hate bloggers, she only probably has some issues with the stupid ones. There. I said it.<\/p>\n

She happens to be a great blogger, as well as a savvy tech  person, and even though she probably has little time to blog herself, the idea and authenticity of her original brand still exists in her blog<\/a>.
\n(I secretly wish that Martha would go just out on her own too, but that is another tale). Then again – if I was Martha, I would just go to one of my homes and build 10 specialist greenhouses and have fun, and call it a day! She deserves to have some fun, don’t you think? Cash it in, relax, enjoy life. I can’t imagine the struggle of trying to balance it all – no, wait a minute, I sort of do it too. Maybe that explains this little ulcer pain I’m experiencing lately.<\/p>\n

Look, in the end, those bloggers who have proven themselves and whom are considered experts will survive – it doesn’t matter if you cook, garden or craft. originality and curiosity will lead the way to excellence.”.<\/p>\n

I hope that I am one of them.<\/p>\n

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The greenhouse is a mess! I just haven’t found the energy to clean it out after the big freeze. Maybe once our snow melts here in the Boston area – when that will be? Who knows.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

We also need to encourage new talent, if one wants to write about gardening expertise, they not only need to know what worked in the past, as well as what might work in the future. Of course, we all need great curators and greater editors to make these ideas relevant and to weed out the weeds. If I was a new gardener, I would like a knowledgeable plant person to curate all of the best techniques and plants to use for me. I would imagine that for a new gardener, the landscape is too crowded with poor information.<\/p>\n

Source Information like a Chef<\/p>\n

If I felt like baking Banana bread today, I know from experience that I will first need to filter through the most simple or paid-to-post recipes that appear first on sites like MyRecipes.com and FoodNetwork.com.<\/p>\n

I then will need to edit out the brand name sites like Kingarthurflour and Bettycrocker, ( I know, lots of you experienced cooks do this too). I may eventually end up at a small micro bakery website with a blog, a site which could be from Belgium or Poland, but one that many have told me had the ultimate never fail and most importunity -delicious banana bread recipe. My point is that today –  it’s more about editing and curating, than it is about anything else. Some of us will look for the easy way out and just make the first recipe we land on, while others will spend time sleuthing out for the most excellent recipe that they can find.<\/p>\n

It’ sad, but often the last place I seem to look anymore, is in my bookcase, I am sorry to admit. At least I still buy lots of gorgeous cookbooks! What’s up with that? For the experience, my friends – the experience of reading them and dreaming. We can learn from this quirk.<\/p>\n

Which is why I think the same thing is happening right now with gardening. Some books are being published which are amazing with hard covers and gorgeous typography. Nurseries are starting to carry incredible plants – hellebores and snowdrops are everywhere now. It just might be information which is easier to get, therefore I don’t need it in a book. Let’s say I was gifted a packet of some rareseed from Tibet – the first thing I think I would do would be to Google it, and see how I should grow it. Do I need to double stratify it? Should it sit in a pot of gravel out in the snow all winter?<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\nThat said …..<\/p>\n

I promise to never write about:
\n
<\/b>
\n1. Home made Fertilizer – <\/b>Epsom salts, molasses, vinegar, human pee, etc. I will write about unique mixes, or formulas specific to particular species or plants, but never generalized nonsense like this.<\/p>\n

2. Coffee Grounds  –<\/b>as a good choice for compost pile – yes. For just adding to your garden? Why? I give you permission to just throw them out, for I am certain that you are wasting far better composting materials from your kitchen, but I also want you to be conscious about your soil acidity and pH before using any home remedy that will raise the ;acid or reduce it. I’ve seen people say “This is great! It will raise the acid in my soil!”, but do they need to? If you cannot explain to someone what your soil analysis test has revealed to you then why are you adding chemicals? Just be smarter. OK, Coffee ground wont hurt your plants, but they probably aren’t doing all that you think that they are either.<\/p>\n

3a. Egg shells<\/b> for starting seeds – Nothing against egg shells at all – but they are just about the worst thing to start any seeds in. Start wheat grass in them for the Easter table, but you are doing a disservice to your seedlings if you are starting vegetable seeds in them. Too small, and you risk damaging the roots.<\/p>\n

3b. Eggshells for anything else<\/b> too<\/b> for that matter. Sure, they are shown to reduce blossom end-rot by adding calcium to the soil in some studies – but do know how often you need to add powdered shells to each plant and how much you need to achieve such results? Do you know how long it takes to extract the calcium from egg shells? Do you know if that Epsom salt drench affects how your eggshells decompose? Do your homework first. There are better ways. Just toss them in the compost and move on to watering your plants consistently while they are forming fruit. Boom. Solved.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n4. No airplant ANYTHING — <\/b>People – nice idea, but they will die. <\/b> I even started a Pinterest board entitled ” Best ways to kill Air plants – and people re-pinned them with notes like ‘Great idea!’ . Air plants are good in the ideal location, perhaps a steamy shower with a window? Sadly, air plants have become the goldfish-in-a-goldfish-bowl of today’s generation. Most, if not all, will die. There are ways to successfully grow air plants, and none of them include a hot glue gun. Try some fresh sphagnum on an orchid mount and place them outdoors on a shady wall on your deck where you can mist them daily – you know – so that they will actually live? <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n5. Fairie gardens – OK, OK, OK – I LOVE FAIRIE GARDENS!<\/span> But<\/b> if you are dude over 40, you might want to pass on this. Unless you use action figures perhaps! OK, Fairie gardens can stay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n6. Succulents  in a terrarium or orchids in a terrarium<\/b> (unless it’s an orchid that belongs in a terrarium – and sorry to tell you this, but no succulent belongs in a terrarium. It will rot, and then it will die.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n7. Home-made seed tape<\/b><\/div>\n
\n (OK – – this trend just confounds me – really? Saving money? At $1.50 for 15 feet at most seed <\/a>catalogs – you’re welcome.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n8.  Chalkboard plant labels – <\/b>there is a really good reason why one cleans a chalk board with water.
\nPaint markers on black? Love it. Chalk board paint and chalk? Good luck with that.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

9. Lasagna Gardening<\/b>. If you really need to mulch you can use most anything – because mulching is a good thing (Thank you Ruth Stout!), but corrugate b-flute cardboard and newspaper with grass clippings is just asking for trouble. Stick to thick layers of straw or hay, and leave the sheets of board and newspaper along with grass clippings to the compost pile.  The same goes for wood bark mulch in the veg garden. Slugs, over-heating, mold, chemicals from the paper and inks, it has not place in good horticulture for so many reasons – It’s a bad idea with a good name. I do encourage mulching however, for plant that appreciate mulch but remember, not all plants do. Some prefer that the soil is left alone to breath naturally, other plants do better wit gravel or stone, some do best with just leaves or pine duff. Know what your plants need first, and then, either learn to week, or much consciously with what works best for the plant – it may be fresh compost, or fresh or well rotted manure, straw or salt marsh hay for the best results. Best mulch ever? In the fall, save your leaves and shred them in a shredder. Make long piles along the edge of your garden, add manure if you can get it, and then add this after you perform a soil test in the spring. Stand back and let your tomatoes rejoice.<\/p>\n

\n9. Wine Crate vegetable gardens<\/b> – Look, I ‘get it’ – I love the look of many wine crates, but most will just fall apart in a few weeks once wet. There is a reason why most photos on Pinterest look as if they were just planted with a few 6 packs of lettuce. If you’ve ever tried to do this yourself, you know what will happen. Manufactures are not making good- quality wine crates, and most are just too small to do any good.  I can’t remember that name of the blogger who had the guts to show what really happens to these containers after a couple on months, but believe me, it was anything by pretty.<\/p>\n

If you feel that you really want to try this, either make a cover for your plastic tomato crate or container from the panels, or have someone make larger wooden boxes and then attach the panels to them with brass screws. Otherwise, unless you are just planning to write a post about what  great idea this is and just photographing your project expecting it to last for a few weeks, I advise you to move on.<\/p>\n

10. Companion Planting<\/b> – I know, it seems so nice and friendly, but there is no proof that Marigolds planted between tomatoes or cabbage will deter pests. I do it, because it looks good. Period.  The same goes for those Pelargoniums (Scented Geraniums) sold as ‘Mosquito Repellent plants” – (you it’s coming – great name, bad idea.<\/p>\n

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