I've been having a great time gardening this year, harvesting a ton of tomatoes and peppers! I did a lot of research before starting, which I believe helped with my success. I kept track of the nutrients I was giving my plants and spaced everything appropriately, but one piece of common advice I completely ignored was watering the base of my in-ground plants. Instead, I've been watering from above to mimic rain. I know the typical reasoning for watering at the base is to keep leaves dry and ensure water reaches the roots directly, but I'm not sold on it. I feel like I'm justifying my approach, but it's been working so far! I'm curious to know what unconventional habits or beliefs other gardeners have that deviate from the norm. What do you do because of personal beliefs or methods passed down to you?
3 Answers
I’m with you on ignoring common practices. I always transplant whatever I want to grow, even when people say not to. I also let some weeds stay because they can actually help during dry spells, plus I raid my pantry for potatoes every spring — never had a problem with supermarket potatoes! That's free food for me!
Love your potato raiding strategy! Nothing beats free food.
Honestly, I think a lot of gardening advice is just overthought. Sometimes I get better results with plants I just throw in the ground rather than following all those meticulous planting methods. It’s like those volunteer plants thrive better without the fuss! I’ve found that less pruning really allows my plants to grow naturally. As long as you focus on air circulation, the plants do just fine!
Totally get what you mean! My plants seem happier when I let them grow without too much interference.
Yeah, I've found that too. Less interference seems to promote their natural growth!
I don't follow thinning advice either. Why toss out good plants when I can just harvest tiny versions? I chaos seed a lot and even let my goats enjoy some of the weeds I pull. Plus, I've learned that sometimes using unconventional methods — like egg shells for slugs — can really be a game changer! Grandma definitely knew a thing or two about gardening wisdom.
That’s a great way to make use of everything! Love the idea of your goats helping out too.
Egg shells are a classic! My grandma used them too. It’s cool to see those old tricks still working.
I totally agree about the weeds! And those pantry potatoes can be golden if you keep them healthy.