Informative Guide Revealing The Truth Behind Basic Gardening Myths

Did you hear all the gardening advice shared by your professors during the graduate school? You have somewhere followed certain garden advices without checking the information at your end. While you maintain your home garden, just think about it, if you have been simply following certain techniques passed to you through years with no valid proofs.

Here are some of the known garden myths demystified by science:

• Small Trees Need To Be Staked:

Truth: The practice of staking a young tree can lead to hindrance in its growth. It reduces the expected plant development for future. This method was used by farmers to help trees attain good growth. Although staking can help sapling against the wind, it can weaken the plant. In 90’s botanists showed that trees that were allowed to sway along with the wind had thicker trunks than the ones staked.

• Sunlight through Water Will Burn The Leaves

Truth: People avoid watering their plants during the sun but it definitely doesn’t lead to sun-burn. The sun rays are not powerful enough to cause the burning of leaves. The best time to water your plants is early morning time because of low evaporation rate.

• Add Sand To Lighten The Clay

Truth: Clay soil is not suitable for the gardening purpose. When dry, it gets rock hard and takes long to warm up and very tough for cultivation purpose. The balanced soil contains ingredients like silt, clay, and sand. Adding sand to clay soil can create sump drawing water in and drowning the plant. Instead, you should make use of organic matter such as compost to improve nutrient quality.

• Drought Tolerant Plants Need No Water

Truth: Drought tolerant plants like sage, aloe vera, etc. can survive with average supply of water, but they are not drought tolerant during the first year. Regular watering and mulch-ing application is a good idea. Please remember that even the toughest of all plants will be benefiting from little soaking.

• If plant is under stress, they should be fed

Truth: Adding fertiliser to the plant with no nutrient deficiency can add to the stress. You should add fertilisers to the plants that grow in poor soil. Heat, salt, improper placement, faulty planting are the common reasons for stress in plants. If fed, these stressed plants use all the energy that should be instead used for growing roots or defending plants again in-sects and disease.

Gardening techniques are available wherever you look, but remember all is not right. Be open to changes and alternatives to something new.