The Top 5 Garden Myths. Advice that is not Correct and Why!

Do Pine Needles Make Soil Acidic?
Does old coffee acidify your soil?
Is Pressure Treated Lumber ok to use in the Garden?
Does the Chlorine in Tap Water Harm Beneficial Bacteria in soil?
Is Epsom Salt useful in organic gardening?

Testing Garden Assumptions Playlist:

Top 5 Garden Myths Playlist:

Next Years Testing Garden Assumptions
Often I have found that you are suggesting videos based on marketing claims made about products. While often there is a seed of truth that a clever marketing team has woven into a products claims and advertisements the science we discuss on the first Friday of every month helps cut through the noise.
If you would like to check out in more detail any of the subjects we spoke about today or other topics I have addressed in this series make sure to check out the Testing Garden Assumptions Playlist at the end of this video.
Next year I am going to take a look at the claims made about compost tea, compost extractions, and the claim that soils need to be remineralized among many other subjects. So keep the suggestions coming and Ill keep working on putting garden practices methods and products to the test!

Check us out on

[THERUSTEDGARDEN]

I really appreciate the time you spend on the videos. I recommend people to you often. I often argue current deck wood is perfectly fine to use. I will no longer say pine needles are acidic. I do see greening effects from ES but only in areas that are being heavily fed on by plants. Like I recommend it for tomatoes and cukes in containers and when they get larger in the ground. But it is not needed nor a miracle. And... I just shared the video on my FB group and about 50k of my G+ followers. This information is valuable and done better than I can do it. Love the science.

[MrMac]

*THIS WAS YOUR BEST VIDEO* Setting the stories straight, people buying junk for there garden, because of a advertisement.
Followers we are, but facts are facts. keep breaking down the myths. thumbs up.

[thenodiggardener]

Thank goodness that there is someone else out there trying to knock a nail in the coffin about the nonsense claims for the use of Epsom Salts in the garden. I'm sick of banging my head against the wall on this subject. Great video!

[sherthom]

Good job! Keep spreading the good word that in the end, gardeners really don't need to be adding much to their gardens except seeds, water, and mulch.

[Arkryal]

Quick comment on the Chlorine effects.

You are absolutely correct in terms of soil bacteria. There's not nearly enough chlorine (or more likely chloramine) in most municipal water to have a significant impact on soil. It's parts per million in the water, and the water isn't saturating soil when irrigating. It dissipates quickly.

However, areas down south which are prone to flooding (particularly in older towns with aging water infrastructure) will use insane amounts of chloramine to keep their otherwise contaminated municipal water lines from becoming a health concern. In some areas of the South Eastern US, the tap water smells stronger than most recently shocked swimming pools. There's a lot of variability in how much chloramine is used to treat water. Communities with deep ground water and springs need very little treatment. Those with large elevated reservoirs are more prone to contamination and will use more. Those using lake water will use a lot, and those who recycle most of their water through a treatment plant will use crazy amounts (for liability reasons). If the delivery pipes are degraded, additional chemicals may be used regardless of the source. Below sea level, the chances of contamination from flood events means a lot will be used, again, regardless of the water source.

I don't know if that difference is enough to skew the results, but it's certainly plausible. Some municipalities use chlorine, which breaks down very quickly. Others use chloramine which is less regulated (allowing them to use much stronger doses) and does not degrade nearly as easily. Some use fluoride, some use hydrogen peroxide... many use a combination of all of these and more.

Ascorbic acid (sold as Vitamin C) will break down the chlorine and most of the chloramine in water very quickly.
C₅H₅O₅CH₂OH + HOCL → C₅H3O₅CH₂OH + HCl + H₂O

... So anyone who wants to remove chlorine from their water, just in case their levels are higher than these tests, they can dissolve a vitamin C tablet in a watering can (works best if you crush the pill first, it's slow to dissolve). ½ of a 1000mg tablet should handle about 10 gallons for most people, but there's no harm in over doing it. Definitely cheaper and much more effective than using faucet attached charcoal filters.

I agree with the findings of this video that for most people, the effects of chlorinated water on soil microbiology are overblown. If you were using an aquaponics system, then it would be a big deal, but in dirt, not so much.

Where I would disagree is when it comes to soil fungus. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are extremely susceptible to both trace amounts of chlorine and copper. Even mild tap water is instant death to them. Bacteria are pretty resilient organisms, but many types of fungi are much more fragile, they haven't needed to evolve any defenses against such contaminants. That's from my own observation. Some species may be more resilient than others, but as symbiotic plant/fungi relationships have only been seriously studied for a couple of decades (most species don't even have a name or classification yet, just a sample number), I don't believe much substantial research has been done on the subject. If it were, it would likely be very incomplete at this stage. There are likely acceptable levels of chlorination which will not have a significant impact on soil fungi, but but those levels are likely to be much lower.

In a garden setting, it's not likely to make that much difference, but on a production scale where small differences add up or in research beds where small differences are the subject of study, I would still dechlorinate the water. No one can argue however that people are unable to grow successful gardens on municipal water sources, that's been proven possible by millions of gardens worldwide for decades. In the backyard, it's really not going to make that much of a difference either way.

[meehan]

Thank you Stephan for clearing up those 5 myths which 'til now were misunderstood. I Love science and your approach. All the best. Patrick

[theIAMofME]

I got a bunch of pine needles from a friend who has pine trees. I covered the bottoms of my blue berries and black berries several inches deep. Oh well. I hope at least it's good mulch for them. ;) Thanks so much for a great video. I'm also glad to hear that about treated lumber.

[poppyb.]

Great video as always Stephen!! I've found that the large longneedle pine needles that are so common where I live make for a longer lasting mulch, and since they are so abundant, I can use more of the rapid decomposing leaf litter that is available on my property for composting and layering between applications of needles.I am so glad you posted this info again, as I am sure many avid gardeners just like myself have been misinformed over the years.

[richardgodke]

Thank you for your great testing of important gardening questions this past year. I hope your great work continues.

[iamorganicgardening]

I am always so impressed on your knowledge and your open mind at looking into these garden myths.

[rickschulte]

Thank you for all your work, that we who are not as studious can learn from you. Sincerely Rick. I also appreciate patrick.

[dakotabob]

Thanks for doing this series. It dispelled a lot of garden myths.

[JebGardener]

I really enjoy this gardening series and I wonder if you get much grief from certain... enthusiasts. A great thing about science is that we can all try out what you discovered to confirm (or dis-confirm) your findings. I encourage any skeptics to try your experiments and share their results. I don't doubt your results, but I might try a few of them out myself just for fun. Thanks!

[hansgruetzenbach]

Great info. I have been telling my customers about these myths for years, but the are hard to convince.

[yearvet]

Great video Stephen! Most of what you said supported my own views based on just my observations, experiences and logic. I even did a PH test a couple of years ago on a garden plot I have under a pine tree that showed a neutral result. People STILL argued with me even though I showed the results on a video. I've avoided treated lumber because the only treated lumber I was aware of was the old style methods that really is harmful. Didn't look into it because up until this year I really didn't have any need for it. Appreciate the info on it and will be looking into it now.

[CleanSlateFarm]

Great information and well researched. I have often wondered about many of the commonly held beliefs and your work puts many of them to bed. Thanks!

[LawrenceTheTruth]

Thank you, I have tried all of these methods and it is good to see real honest facts :) Keep up the good work and I look forward to the compost tea and extraction results!

[MarkSM]

Well done, Stephen. As always, easy to understand. An excellent lesson in organic gardening. Tap water holds a large fear for me. I mostly find there are no reports about what's being done way down the pipeline. There are times, I open the Tap, and the Chlorine smell is very noticeable....other times, there is nothing noticeable. I use bottled spring water. Tap water is used for washing dishes, cloths, showering. I did drink Tap water for about 10-years here in Danbury, CT.. When I stopped--and was using Poland Spring, a slight skin condition disappeared.It was like I had permanent goose bumps. It took 30-days of drinking the Poland Spring product to notice a change. I've tried those faucet filter products. Can't really say they are effective, at least here in Danbury, CT..(about 100-years as a Hat City)  (maybe more)  Good luck with your projects.  Good information.

[priayief]

Wonderful video. I like like your objective and scientific approach for the back yard veggie gardener. Thanks for your efforts.

[jeffsullivan]

Just want to say thanks for all you do to bring good information to us.