A Conversation About Old Wives’ Tales

The big lie(s). That’s what I “call the old wives’ tales” or “common knowledge” we have all heard about gardening. I’ve been listening to a fascinating series of podcast segments by Master Gardener Volunteer Devon Russ, a Lexington resident.  Devon has delved into a number of common myths and where they come from. Some arouse passionate arguments, which always makes them more fun. One biggie is planting by the phases of the moon. There are books written on the subject, and many classes and lectures available, both on line and in person.  The problem with this array of information is that it lacks the unbiased confirmation demanded by scientists. And such research is expensive to conduct. So people revert, as they always have, to word of mouth and “tradition”. A lot of this, I think, is a result of wishful thinking. Who doesn’t wish for a set of rules that seem to be written by Mother Nature?  Listen to Devon’s explanation on episode 4 of “Nature Calls, Conversations from the Hudson Valley.”

Another belief set fondly held by many is the idea of Companion Planting. What’s not to like about companionship?  Devon discusses this belief set in episode 14. Here, too, is available a whole library of books advocating companion planting. Frankly, I enjoy these books for their upbeat attitude unbothered by proof as required by scientists. I’m as easily persuaded as the next guy by anecdotal “proof”. And there are many pairings in my garden inspired by observed camaraderie.

Of course, appearances and convenience hold equal sway. I plant basil and tomatoes together because I harvest them together. I underplant my roses with chives because I like the way the chive flowers look and because I like how they crowd out weeds. Physical compatibility is also worth considering. The famous example of the Three Sisters of Native American agriculture is the most easily understood. Corn grows tall and provides a structure for the beans to climb up. The squash makes a ground cover to smother competing weeds, and the beans are a soil improver when they decay and provide better access for the other plants to Nitrogen. The Natives didn’t know about the Nitrogen, but they observed that the soil benefitted and the crops all seemed to benefit one another. That’s as close as precolonial gardeners might get, anyway. 

In a nutshell, the jury’s out on this one. There was an author once who wrote a best seller called “Plants are Like People”. He had no scientific proof for most of his ideas, but he was surely interesting. My point is this… try any companion ideas that amuse you. But just for fun, set up an actual experiment to compare results with and without the plants being together. I know, I know, it takes more space. That’s why scientific proof is so hard to come by. And you have to write down your observations.  I once knew a farmer who kept immaculate detailed records of every crop in every season over every year he farmed. He kept his notebooks in the same cupboard where his father and grandfather had kept theirs. Now that’s pretty thorough. As far as I know, his son and grandson are following suit. So don’t feel sorry for yourself if you have an extra row of carrots to monitor. Enough said about companion planting.          

I’m running out of time here, so I’ll throw in one last myth, and this one is a pet peeve of mine. Devon talks about the wooly bear caterpillar in episode 9. For the last time, people, the band of black doesn’t mean a thing when you want to predict the weather! Go listen to her explain it.