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Garden Myths

TenNTenN Posts: 184
in The potting shed
Has anyone seen the website/blog gardenmyths? Some interesting points around a large number of topics but sometimes he comes over as very arrogant, that said his research is well documented. He reminds me of Honest John, the car person in the Telegraph.

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  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I haven’t but I do follow this book that I bought a few years ago. I’ve got it on kindle but there’s copies on eBay.  It’s saved me a lot of time, one such thing was don’t bother digging a bean trench, and I’ve had just as good plants and as many beans with out doing it.  Lots of compost ideas as well. 
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gardening-Myths-and-Misconceptions-Wise-Words-by-Charles-Dowding-Book-The/143310071982?epid=176660166&hash=item215df228ae:g:82EAAOSwnAddFBw3
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    nickten said:
    Has anyone seen the website/blog gardenmyths? Some interesting points around a large number of topics but sometimes he comes over as very arrogant, that said his research is well documented. He reminds me of Honest John, the car person in the Telegraph.
    Link?
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    There’s one here, but what you need to remember is a website is only as good as the person writing it, I’ve seen some absolute rubbish on YouTube tutorials.
    https://www.gardenmyths.com/
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I've come across it a few times while looking things up and it always has the problem that it addresses global gardening based on local information. Some stuff translates but other bits not so much. He also tends to make myths up and then change the goal posts to suit his conclusion. Take the 'dandelions are good for bees' myth for example. He researches well but bases the results mostly on honey bees which ignores thousands of other bee (as well as other pollinator) species. He concludes that fruit trees are better than dandelions so we shouldn't grow dandelions. It's very poor science and quite a damaging conclusion to be publishing. Once you publish one bad article it basically makes the rest of your work look worse too.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I think the guy's a bit of a boorish idiot.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Can’t say I’ve heard any of the myths he’s debunking in the first few pages.
  • TenNTenN Posts: 184
    He really doesn't come across as the sort of person you'd want to meet at a party, seems to take the joy out of gardening.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    "He really doesn't come across as the sort of person you'd want to meet at a party".

    Amen to that. :D
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Have I been reading the wrong bit? Should I have clicked on some links? I didn't find anything particularly interesting on the site but I didnt find anything particularly offensive either. It's reassuring to know that I shouldn't be doing things I wouldn't dream of doing, though.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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