Garden Myths That Won't Go Away

By Sue McDavid

UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County

Appeared in the 1-01-25 Mountain Democrat

The primary mission of University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Master Gardeners is to extend research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the home gardener. In our many interactions with home gardeners, we frequently hear about so-called gardening remedies and practices that are clearly old wives' tales or more often, information obtained from unreliable Internet sources. Below are some gardening practices that need to be abolished.

Myth: Use gravel for container drainage. No, no, and more no. Why? Water in the upper portion of a container does not move easily through a layer of finer-textured material (the potting soil on top) into a layer of coarser-textured material such as gravel, rocks, broken pieces of pottery, etc. at the bottom of the pot. The result is that water will stay in the potting soil where most of a plant's roots are located far longer than necessary before draining through the non-absorbent material at the bottom and out through the hole. What you end up with is a plant which frequently starts dying because of root rot. Conclusion? Nothing but potting soil should be placed in a plant container.

Myth: Organic fertilizers are better than synthetic ones. The truth is that plants do not know the difference between the two. Organic fertilizers are derived from natural sources rather than from petroleum products which are contained in synthetic fertilizers but are slower acting and usually more expensive. Both have the primary nutrients of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in varying percentages, and both need to be used according to directions on labels. It really is a personal choice as to which fertilizer is used. A word of caution, more is not better whichever type of fertilizer is used. In addition, it's prudent to have your soil tested before any fertilizer is used to verify that it is needed.

Myth: Succulents, cacti, and other drought-tolerant plants do not need water. This is definitely a myth because all plants need water at some point. Although drought-tolerant plants can go far longer between irrigation than other plants, they still need a drink occasionally.

Myth: Add sand to clay soil to improve it. No! Not only will you not achieve good soil, but you will also end up with concrete-like soil. Instead, work in lots of organic matter such as compost to improve the soil over time.

These are just some garden myths that just won't go away. Do your research using reliable resources like The California Garden Web at ucanr.edu/sites/gardenweb or attending one of our free Master Gardener public education classes held throughout most of the year; go to mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/ for more information. If using other Internet sites, educational sites that end in .edu are best.

Master Gardener classes are offered monthly throughout the county. You can find our schedule at: mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/Calendar/ and recorded classes on many gardening topics here: mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/Public_Education/Classes/