Gardening Advice Can Be So Confusing.

 

I once looked at the Farmer’s Almanac for information on the proper time to plant my garden, but could never figure out the moon phases.  I cannot tell the difference between a waxing or waning moon, and using the signs of the zodiac is of no use now that half the populations’ signs have changed or does the Zodiac even matter in planting?  I get Astronomy & Astrology mixed up too.  But thankfully I get a lot of advice from gardeners who come to the Garden Center to buy their plants, so I will gladly share them with you.

·         Start your garden when blackberries bloom.

·         Plant corn when the Dogwoods bloom.

·         Plant your garden on Good Friday.  That is the only day of the year when the devil is thought to be powerless.

·         Crops should be sown from North to South, and never East to West. This one actually has some scientific ground as crops sown in this manner receive more sunlight between the rows per day due to the angles of the sun.

·         Putting eggshells into your tomato planting holes to help prevent blossom-end-rot has also been proven "true-ish" by modern science. (Calcium helps prevent BER, and eggshells have calcium in them.)

·         Plants that grow upward toward the sky should be planted in the morning sun, while plants that grow deep into the earth should by planted by moonlight.

·         Plant potatoes at night so the eyes don't see light.

·         Planting peppers when you are mad makes the peppers grow hotter.

·         If a red-headed person plants peppers, they will be hotter than normal.  Will they be really hot if planted by an angry red-head?

·         My mother swears that the only way to get rid of a locust tree is to cut it down on a black night in August

·         Sage thrives in the garden of a woman who rules her household and her husband firmly.

·         Stolen plants grow better, because "they want to make you feel guilty."

·         Do not thank someone for seeds or they will not sprout and do not thank them for a plant, or it will wither and die.

·         Eat sugar before planting fruit trees to make the fruit sweeter.  If I thought this would work, I’d gladly plant fruit trees and eat Milkyway candy bars.

·         You may have heard the old saying that planting potatoes should always be done on Good Friday. This is an old wives' tale that should be forgotten. Good Friday does not fall on the same calendar date each year and many parts of the country are still deeply buried under snow at that time   However; I like this one because I think I was a little late getting my potatoes in the ground this year.

·         For a good crop of watermelons, crawl to the patch backwards on the first day of May. This one is just downright ridiculous