Blog - gardenmyths.com

Does Peat Moss Acidify Soil?

Some very desirable plants like rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries demand acidic soil and many gardeners have alkaline soil which is not suitable to grow these plants. The most common solution I’ve seen is to mix peat moss with the soil to produce an acidic environment.

Peat moss is acidic so it makes sense that if you add some to your soil, the resulting soil will also be more acidic. But is this really true? How long does the acidity last? Can gardeners with alkaline soil use peat moss to grow rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries?

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Biochar – Does it Really Work in the Garden?

Biochar is a special kind of charcoal that seems to have many benefits as a soil amendment. It holds water, acts like a fertilizer and grows bigger plants. While doing all this it is also eco-friendly and sequesters carbon in the soil for many thousands of years. Sounds like a win-win-win.

What is biochar? Are the claimed benefits real? Should gardeners be using this product to amend their soil? Let’s check it out.

Different samples of Biochar, photo from UC Davis Biochar Database

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Brix, Molasses and Pests – New Science or Fantasy?

I watched an interesting video describing the fact that pests don’t feed on healthy plants. How do you measure plant health? Simple. Just take a Brix reading.

Around the same time I became aware of the fact that spraying molasses on plants not only increases Brix values but also creates healthier plants with fewer pests. This has become a very popular technique among dahlia growers and seems to have some support from gardeners.

Let’s dig into the connection between Brix, molasses and pests.

caterpillar chewing on a leaf and a bottle of molasses. — Do insects only eat healthy plants?, source: Depositphotos

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Best Fertilizer for Indoor Plants and Containers

There are so many types of fertilizer it’s hard to know which one to use. Which NPK ratio is best? Is one brand better than another? Organic vs synthetic. Soluble vs slow release. This all seems so complicated, but in this post I will simplify the whole process of selecting the best fertilizer.

Key Takeaways

The best NPK ratio for most plants is 3-1-2, some like 3-1-3.
There is no such thing as plant specific fertilizer.
Mix fertilizer so nitrogen is at about the 100 ppm level.
Fertilize with every watering, use just water once a month to flush the pot.

Girls watering a plant — Best Fertilizer for Indoor Plants and Containers

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The Latest Science on Soil Health

Most gardeners now understand that a healthy soil is critical to good plant growth and a successful garden. Many of you are also beginning to understand that it is the soil microbes that make healthy soil. Unfortunately, that has lead to a lot of myths about how microbes should be used. Companies are making this worse by supplying microbial products that have not been shown to work.

The latest science has made it clear that it is even easier to build good soil than we thought. Some of the old techniques still work, but there are new methods that are even more powerful.

plant roots covered in thin film of soil — Well developed rhizosheath indicates healthy soil, from Microbe Science for Gardeners, original source: Fred Price, Gothelney Farm

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Using Conductivity (EC) and pH Measurements to Control Hydroponic Solutions

Hydroponics can be a great way to grow plants but it is important to make sure the nutrient solution contains enough food for the whole growth cycle. If either pH or EC (electrical conductivity) is out of whack, plants grow poorly or stop growing all together. It is therefore important to measure and control the nutrient solution. This post will look at what the numbers mean and what you should do about them to keep plants growing well.

Key Takeaways

Keeping the pH and EC in the preferred range is important for plant growth.
Use EC and not TDS for measurements and online discussions.
Nutrient lockout does not really exist, but is important to understand.

an EC meter superimposed on tomatoes growing hydroponically in deep water culture. — EC should be measured for both the deep water culture and Kratky methods

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Do Squash and Pumpkins Need Sun to Ripen?

Does the fruit of squash and pumpkins need light to complete its ripening process? Should you remove leaves so that sun can get to the fruit to speed up ripening? If pumpkins are picked green, should they be left in sunshine or not?

Key Takeaways

Most answers in Google on this topic and many other gardening topics is wrong.
Sunlight is not required to ripen fruit.

fall display of pumpkins, wall nuts and leaves. — Pumpkins and Squash for Halloween, source: Depositphotos

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Attracting Ladybugs to Your Garden

Ladybugs, also called lady beetles, ladybirds and ladybird beetles, are one of the gardeners best friends because they eat aphids and other pests. What attracts these beneficial insects to your garden? Is it the plants or the aphids? Are there plants you can grow which will bring more into your garden?

Key Takeaways

Plant selection is more important than having aphids.
Ladybugs eat much more than just pests.
Volatile chemicals are the key to attracting and keeping ladybugs.

Ladybug eating aphids, source: Depositphotos

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Dr. Elaine Ingham and The Soil Food Web School

Dr. Elaine Ingham and the Soil Food Web School promote a number of controversial topics in soil management and in this post I would like to have a closer look at a number of these.

Key Takeaways

There is little scientific support for the benefits of compost tea.
F:B ratio is probably the result of plant growth, and not a driver for plant selection.
Looking at microbes under a microscope has limited value for gardeners and market gardeners.

diagram showing the soil food web with lots of different organisms each each other

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Molasses for Plants

This is a hot gardening topic these days and many of organic gardeners are promoting the idea that you should add molasses to your compost pile, to compost rea or even spray plants with it. In tea and on soil it makes microbes grow and on plants it can prevent pests.

Molasses; should you eat it, or use it in the garden?

A family of ginerbread cookies. — Molasses for Plants, source: Йоана Петрова

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When Should You Harvest Peppers?

Peppers come in many colors; green, yellow, orange, red and even purple, but when is the best time to pick them? Will they ripen after you harvest them? If they ripen indoors are they as good as vine ripened ones? Let’s have a close look.

Key Takeaways

Peppers can be picked before they are fully ripe.
Peppers will continue to ripen once they are picked if they are picked at the right maturity stage.
Fully ripe peppers are not the hottest ones.

pepper plant with several peppers, some yellow, some red, some green, some partly red. — Which of these peppers should be picked?, source: Depositphotos

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GMO Houseplant Purifies Air – True or Scam?

The company Neoplants has been in the news a lot lately because they promoted a new genetically engineered houseplant that is claimed to clean the air in your home. In their Neo Px white paper they say, “we created a bioengineered plant system that can effectively fight air pollution”.

What is the true story?

Key Takeaways

GMO pothos houseplants have been developed that are more efficient than non-GMO plants at removing VOCs.
The new GMO plants are not yet efficient enough to make a difference in your home.

Is this the future of clean air? source: Depositphotos

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