During my time as an Illinois
Extension educator, I have run across many garden myths. Too many to
keep track of. But some myths keep on coming up in teaching and
talking with Illinoisians. Some myths are more localized, while
others are widespread and often touted as garden “hacks” online.
Some garden myths have grains of truth, while others can be
completely false. So, which myths are a bust? The following are some
common and odd gardening myths I come across year after year.
Myth: If I treat my yard for white grubs this year, I won't have
Japanese beetles next year.
Fact: An adult Japanese beetle can fly between 10-15 miles. When
they find a suitable host plant for feeding, they release an
aggregation pheromone that tells other Japanese beetles where to go
for food and mating. So even if you wipe out the white grubs (which
include Japanese beetle larvae) in your yard, they are more than
equipped to travel from distant neighbors’ yards if you have tasty
host plants.
Myth: Adding sugar to the planting hole when planting tomatoes
will result in the tomatoes harvested being sweeter.
Fact: The sweetness of a tomato is pre-determined by the variety of
tomato you plant. Sugar can also stimulate bacterial growth in the
soil. When bacterial growth is kicked into high gear, it can pull
nitrogen from the soil, which prevents your tomato plant from
getting the nitrogen it needs. A better use for sugar is cake or
cookies.
Myth: Ants are integral to
helping peony flowers open.
Fact: That would be a neat trick, but the reality is also
fascinating. Peony flower buds have small organs on the closed
flowers called extrafloral nectaries. These nectaries secrete a
sugary nectar that is attractive to ants. The nectary will feed the
ants until the flower begins to open. This sounds like a good deal
for the ants, but what does the peony get out of it? Ants will
aggressively defend their food source, which in this case is the
peony flower. Any other insect that comes along to take a bite out
of the peony flower will have to contend with an army of defending
ants.
Myth: Use salt in an asparagus patch to help control weeds.
Fact: This is somewhat true. Asparagus has deep roots and can
tolerate or recover from salt damage better than shallow-rooted
weeds. However, there is a reason salting your enemy's crops was a
weapon of war for hundreds of years. Using salt in an asparagus
patch can eventually cause excessive salt buildup in the soil,
leading to both plant damage and soil structure damage. Fortunately,
salt is soluble, and over time, rainfall and irrigation can leach
the salt out of the soil, but the damage will already be done to
your asparagus.
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Myth: Apply turf fertilizer early
in the spring to help encourage new growth.
Fact: Early spring turf fertilizer encourages top growth at the
expense of root growth. That root growth is necessary for your turf
to survive through the summer. A cool-season lawn already has a
storage of energy for early spring growth. That's why we are mowing
so often in the spring! If you plan to fertilize your lawn in the
spring, it is recommended to wait until the vigorous spring growth
begins to slow in early to mid-May. This will help your lawn recover
from the flush of spring growth. Keep in mind that if you only
fertilize your lawn once a year, a late summer to early fall feeding
is the most important for recovery, as summer is very stressful for
cool-season lawn grasses.
Myth: You should always amend the backfill when planting trees.
Fact: It is suggested to only add a minimal amount of amendments to
the backfill in heavy clay soils. Otherwise, use the native soil to
backfill the planting hole. Amending the soil can restrict outward
root growth as it can be easier to grow in the amended soil, and the
difference between the amended soil and the native existing soils
can restrict water movement.
Myths abound in the gardening world. This is just a short list of
some garden myths. If you are ever wondering about the best way to
take care of your yard and garden, contact your local Illinois
Extension office for help and information.
Good Growing Fact of the Week: Controlling grubs in your lawn won’t
stop adult Japanese beetles or the nefarious mole! Moles will eat
grubs, but earthworms are a staple of their diet.
[Christopher Enroth,
University of Illinois Extension
Horticulture Educator]
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