Have you heard some good juicy garden gossip lately?
Did you know there are different types, such as the non-consequential; hey, you – I heard your next-door neighbor is a midnight gardener, is it true? What are they doing out there in the garden that late at night? How do they see what they are doing? Isn’t that strange?
Well, if you think that is strange,
I witnessed the older lady on the corner picking worms out of her front lawn at five in the morning! She had empty bread bags over her hands; I think she was using them as gloves! Doesn’t she know worms are beneficial to the soil? What is she doing with those worms? Strange.
She talks to her plants incessantly – I think she hears them reply.
He mows his lawn every other day – I think he is trying to get away from his wife.
They re-purposed their old living room carpet for weed barrier in the vegetable garden – Isn’t that gross? Aren’t there toxins in carpet?
Her lawn is awful & full of weeds – She should be ashamed!
That guy calls his acreage – naturalized – I say he is just lazy!
Pink Flamingos! There goes the neighborhood!
Or the garden gossip of consequence such as; His trees are full of pine tip weevil, when is he going to do something about it? She never cleans her leaves up in the fall and by spring my manicured property is covered in them! He starts his leaf blower at six every morning and wakes me up! Even on Sunday! They built their property up above ours and now we get all of their run-off. Our lot never dries out!
These are all true stories I have gathered from over eighteen years in the green industry and there are numerous others – Some garden gossip, once confided to me, will never be repeated, not even for fun. I apply no judgment and may have been the originator of one of those earlier comments. Sometimes I feel like a Garden Hairdresser of sorts and I find myself comforting gardeners who feel offended by some half-hazard adrenaline gardener practicing their gardening mayhem nearby.
If we are honest with ourselves, I am sure we are all guilty in some form or another of garden gossip. Whether it is coveting a fellow gardener’s prized Hosta, disagreeing with someone’s pruning practices, mowing practices or lack thereof, plant choices, yard ornament placement and the tree at the property line no one can seem to agree on.
Though, I have some sobering news for us. The previously mentioned garden gossips, non-consequential and consequential, are both yet formed from an opinion or a theory.
Our gardens do not grow in theory and they do not thrive in gossip – much like our own lives. Our plants and lawns appreciate facts.
True or False – There are at least 16 essential nutrients needed for most plants to properly thrive.
True or False – Different plants require different sites, nutrients, pH, water availability, sun exposure, environmental exposure, maintenance, etc.
True or False – There are signs a plant may express to tell you what is happening with the soil.
True or False – A soil test will give you the lab verified results in which to guide you in the proper applications to meet your lawn and gardens needs.
Take advantage of the weather this week and get a jump-start on your spring garden chores. Take a soil test on any of the areas you intend to plant or improve this year. A soil test should be number one on your garden chore list. Don’t guess at what your soil needs, ask it. Don’t apply lime to your lawn every year unless you know it is beneficial. Do not apply insecticide continually to your lawn because your brother in law told you it would annihilate the insect population. (That is why the Ohio Department of Agriculture calls it I.P.M. – Integrated Pest Management – The pest is not completely extricated from being it is purposefully managed).
What does gossip have to do with proper lawn and garden maintenance? Make sure you are getting the right dish on the dirt. We cannot fully understand what is going on in our environment or our gardens without the facts. Most gossip does not deal in facts. We hear a lot of buzz about organic gardening and organic lawn fertilizing. When someone asks my professional opinion on – organics in gardening – I ask them – How long is a piece of string? –
What is my point?
Don’t guess.
Know the facts.
Action speaks louder than words.
Get a soil test.
And while you’re at it, could you tell Bob to take down his Christmas decorations!
