There are virtually no regulations on gardening products. Manufacturers can say just about anything about their products even if the claims are not true. They don’t need to back up their claims with scientific evidence. As a result of this, there are useless products on the market. Some don’t work at all, and some are just bad ideas.
Over the years I have written about many such products. This post is a list of all of those products, making it easy for you to find them. For more information on any item, just click on the title link.
Bone Meal Organic Fertilizer
Bone meal is a organic fertilizer that is routinely recommended for gardens and especially for planting bulbs. It is a good source of phosphorus but most gardens have enough phosphorus. Most gardeners should not be adding phosphorus.
Jiffy Peat Pellets
Jiffy peat pellets, also called Jiffy pellets and Jiffy-7, are a convenient way to start seeds. Just add water to the small pellets and they expand, ready for us. This all sounds like a good idea, but how well do plants grow? Are the pellets bio-degradable in the garden?
Vitamin B1 for Plants
Vitamin B1 is that miracle drug that makes all plants grow bigger especially after transplanting. It is added to several different kinds of fertilizer and plant additives. Guess what – it doesn’t work.
Landscape Fabric – Weed Barrier Cloth
Landscape fabric, weed barrier and weed barrier fabric are names for the same product. They are advertised to keep weeds out of the garden, but they don’t work. They also prevent water from reaching your plant roots.
Square Foot Gardening Box
The idea of square foot gardening has become popular over the last few years and some of the underlying concepts of the this gardening technique make sense. Buying a plastic box to do this kind of gardening makes NO sense at all.
Fish Fertilizer – Is it Worth Buying?
Fish fertilizer is reported to offer special benefits due to the proteins and oils, but your plants can’t use these until they are converted to nutrients in the soil–lust like any other organic fertilizer. On a $/lb nitrogen basis, fish fertilizer is a ridiculous price. Unless you have cheap access to fish, other organic fertilizers are a much better buy and offer the same benefits.
Anvil or Bypass Secateurs
There are two types of secateurs, also called pruners; bypass and anvil. If you are using an anvil pruner for most of your pruning needs – you are using the wrong tool.
Soil pH Testers
Soil pH testers that are sold for garden use do not have enough accuracy to be of much help.
Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculant Products
There is no doubt that mycorrhizae play an important role in plant growth. They grow naturally in your soil and you don’t need to buy them for your garden.
Hand Garden Cultivator
This garden tool is designed for weeding and loosening the surface of your soil. You see them everywhere and I always wondered why people buy them??? I’ve never found any use for them.
Invasive Plants
This is a list of invasive plants you should never, never, never add to your garden–unless you want them everywhere.
Blossom End Rot Sprays
Blossom End Rot is not caused by a calcium deficiency, as believed by most people. Consequently Blossom End Rot sprays that apply calcium can not work. See the post on the real cause of Blossom End Rot for details.
Hummingbird Nectar Food
Hummingbird nectar food is easy and cheap to make and you don’t need the red colored dye. There is no point in buying a commercial product.
Orchid Media in White Plastic Bags
This orchid product has the consistency of soil, and is far too fine for growing orchids, which need a very airy chunky media. If you can’t see inside the bag don’t buy it.
Sunlight Calculator
The sunlight calculator is a fancy electronic way to look at the shady areas in your garden. You can easily do the same thing with paper and pencil – I’ll show you how.
Dog Rocks
Dog Rocks are sold to reduce the nitrates in drinking water, thereby reducing burnt lawn spots from your dog. They do not work!
Miracle-Gro Orchid Plant Food Mist
Miracle-Gro Orchid Plant Food Mist is a foliar spray for orchids. Foliar sprays do not work well on orchids and this is an extremely expensive way to buy fertilizer. I’ll show you how to save $2,440.
What is best compost for bearded iris?
I’ve heard cotton burr compost is best. Is that true?
I’ve also heard only top soil and compost isn’t enough…that sandy loam is required. Can you assist me on these questions?
The best compost is the one you can get easily and at a low cost. Once organic matter is decomposed it is all very similar.
Iris prefer good drainage, but I grow them in clay just fine.
I’ve been hearing quite a bit about the benefits of Insect Frass lately, and how it “protects your plants” by triggering their immune response etc etc.
Good sir, is this a gardening product to buy or not?
Thanks
I have not looked at it in detail. If someone makes such claims – ask them to present a link to the scientific study that confirms the fact.
my guess – it is probably a good organic source of nutrients, and not much more.
Hey Robert,
My name is Jim Loar and I am the creator of Oregon Forestry Laboratory Christmas Tree Preserver. I just watched you on UTUBE regarding Christmas tree care. Actually several years ago the National Christmas Tree Association gave a grant to a northwest university to test tree preservers vs water. 5 trees were used for each product and for water alone. The test ran 28 days. At the end of the test the 5 trees in water alone lost 33.2% of their needles. The 5 trees in our preserver only lost 10.5% and had the top score in the test. Also, our trees were judged best for overall quality, beating water again. A consumer group was brought in to judge the trees and they gave our trees an even higher rating. It’s a good preserver, Robert, and I would like to send you a dozen packets for you and your friends to test. It should be an interesting test for you. I have tweaked the formula a couple of times and it’s better. Let your followers know the test showed a tree will soak up 65% of all the water it uses the very first week. One of the ingredients in my formula is polymer beads which will soak up to 400 times their size and that will protect the tree stand from going dry which is a huge problem in the industry.
Happy New Year Robert,
Jim
You did send me those results.
1) “our preserver only lost 10.5% and had the top score” – that is not correct – statistically two preservers had he lowest number – that is what the “c” indicates.
2) After 21 days the tree preservers were not any better than water.
3) how would I do that test? I would need to set up at least a dozen Christmas trees and have 6 controls and 6 treated. Then I would need to redo the test with other species.
4) You sent me the results of that study. What you sent me is a photocopy of a piece of paper with no heading and no indication as to who produced the information. A second piece of paper says “Not for publication”. We don’t know the details of the study, who did it, or what the results were. No conclusions from the researchers. Without this being published, at the very least on proper letterhead by the researches it provides no value.
5) Polymer beads do soak up water very well – but then they tend to hold on to that water and not make it available to the plant.
6) Polymer beads eventually degrade to for polyacrylamide which is a strong carcinogen and we still don’t know how damaging it is to the environment.
If you want to use that study as evidence get the authors to publish it a scientific journal, or at least in a National Christmas Tree Association publication.
If you provide the names of the researchers I can contact them to get the information.
When you say “Fish Fertilizer” are you talking about products like Alaska Fish Fertilizer which has a NPK rating of 5-1-1? What is a cheaper alternative?
The Alaska fish fertilizer is one example. Almost anything is a cheaper option.
Can you start a FB page for a “Gardening Mythbusters” if there isn’t one already? Better yet, want to do a TV/Youtube show? I can be your co-host. 🙂
Our FB Group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/356927494777686/
My Youtube channel is GardenFundamentals: http://www.youtube.com/Gardenfundamentals1
For slugs and snails:. DUCKS!
I might add to the list garden hoses with zinc end fittings. A great many manufacturers are producing hoses with zinc fittings that have a “gold” flashing to make them appear to be made of brass. They are not made of brass and when such zinc comes in contact with other types of metals and water intervenes the result is the rapid corrosion of the zinc fitting and after a very brief time you will have junk.
Hi. Great source of information. Do you think ‘liquid seaweed’, is any good? Thanks. M.
Not really. Very expensive source of nutrients, and it contains very little organic matter.
Azomite? thank you
No use for garden cultivator?
I agree that it’s probably not the best tool for weeding.
Try mixing potting soil or mixing small volumes of concrete with a garden cultivator. It works for breaking up a root ball too. It can work well for digging small holes in both soft and hard soils.
Weeding? Not so great. I often use a butcher knife.
I use mine to pull grass and claw away dirt to expose grass rhizomes for removal.