Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: April Fools Day and busting garden myths
It’s April Fools day! To celebrate, let’s pull some tall tales out of the Garden Myth bucket.
Wound dressing is one of the top myths.
We used to think that trees, like humans, needed some sort of “bandaid” after they’ve been cut. Not so, in fact, there are times that those wound dressings may even inhibit the plant’s ability to heal itself. Tars, emulsions and waxes can dry and crack. If water gets behind the crack, it can promote disease rather than prevent it. Bottom line, let the tree heal itself, they’ve been doing it on their own for, well, forever. If PROPERLY pruned a tree needs no dressing.
Another busted myth is that we should till our gardens every year. This one’s gone back and forth for years. I mentioned this last week. Bottom line, tilling pulverizes the particles of soil and collapses the pockets that air and water move through. However, if you have clay soil, you may have to till, but don’t over do it.
If you want to kill Creeping Charlie use Borax. That’s true, BUT… you’ll likely kill your lawn too and for a very long time. Borax contains boron which, in high concentrations will wipe out your grass.
I just had this discussion recently with a neighbor. Perhaps becoming a friend of the little purple flowers of Creeping Charlie would be easier!
Another myth is that you can’t grow any plants around a Black Walnut tree. That’s not true. Here is a list of the plants that can handle black walnut juglone.
While I don’t care for the tree, others do like it and as you heard earlier, you can tap them for syrup!
