Old Wives Tales

[dexterdoglancashire]

Has anyone got any "old wives tales" related to growing fruit and veg? If so, do they work?
Bernie aka Dexterdog

[Snadger]

Has anyone got any "old wives tales" related to growing fruit and veg? If so, do they work?
Bernie aka Dexterdog

I'll say it before Nick does..........ask LJ!!

[NOG]

Mine is don't let the wife pick the strawberrys......cos they are all gone by the time I get home from work.

[beefy]

I'll say it before Nick does..........ask LJ!!

You are in so much trouble. I can hear the peastick getting sharpened.

[pigletwillie]

I thought that this thread would be full of your posts LJ!!!!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Honestly! I meant this to be a serious thread!

One tip I read recently was to do with checking that your soil was the correct temperature to sow your seeds. In the olden days it was said that you could "take your trousers off and sit on the ground"!!! I can just imagine Nick and Snadger doing that! (Sorry guys!).

I don't really think that would catch on on our site!

Has anyone got any other funny old tales?

Bernie aka Dexterdog

[Earthbabe]

We will be experimenting this year with the old sow parsley on good friday and by the boss of the house thing. I'll let you know what happens. The plan is to fill three equal pots with compost. We will each sow some and they will be labelled and see what happens. The suggestion so far is that Miss EBs will do the best.

[Snadger]

We will be experimenting this year with the old sow parsley on good friday and by the boss of the house thing. I'll let you know what happens. The plan is to fill three equal pots with compost. We will each sow some and they will be labelled and see what happens. The suggestion so far is that Miss EBs will do the best.

Funnily enough I've germinated parsley this year with some trepidation as I had been told it was 'awkward'
Surprisingly it germinated quite quickly and with 100% take!!!

[Flummery]

I never have any bother (I do wear trousers a lot!) and it makes a brill white wine!

[madderbat]

BW managed to grow a whole packet last year, so I must make wine with it before we use it all up. I've had problems with keeping parsley growing (so maybe it shows whose boss!!!)

[Alison]

My nan (dad's mum) was very disapproving when she discovered that mum could get parsley to grow to problems - think in her eyes this meant that her son (only child at that!) was hen pecked!!

[pigletwillie]

Touching dandelions makes you wet the bed!

But saying that in medieval times it was apparently known as the "piss the bed" plant and in France is known as "pissenlit" or literally wet the bed due to its diuretic effect. Surely though one would have to ingest some for that to happen?

[Earthbabe]

parsley update

We will be experimenting this year with the old sow parsley on good friday and by the boss of the house thing. I'll let you know what happens. The plan is to fill three equal pots with compost. We will each sow some and they will be labelled and see what happens. The suggestion so far is that Miss EBs will do the best.

Well here's the update. Of the three pots sown under "nearly identical" conditions with the Reiki etc. Miss EBs did best followed by Mr EB's and then mine.

However the "control" pot where I just chucked some in and the pot is a different shape and it got no Reiki is going great guns and is well ahead of all the others.

Result - well it's positive for the fact that sowing on a leaf day seems to have made a difference but I wouldn't call myself boss in the house - garden and lottie probably so maybe that's the reason.

What the scientists would probably call "inconclusive"

[zebedee]

Don't know if it qualifies as an old wives tale, but somebody said about putting banana skins in and planting your tomatoes on top. Old wives tale or not, it worked on ours!!! Apparently it's to do with the sudden burst of potassium.

[TPeers]

Have you told JA, LJ?