I think for this thread to go anywhere it would be a good idea for you to explain why those are your pet peeves. For example what exactly do you mean by 'watering outdoor gardens'? Do you mean you are for it or against it? Or is it the methods that annoy you?

Agreed. I guess a pet peeve of mine is "discussing" gardening practices without any discussion.

With the possible exception of the synthetic versus organic fertilizer debate, the above list is all pet peeves rather than myths. I have no issues with anyone's personal gardening pet peeves......I have a few significant ones myself.....but I do have issues with gardening myths or untruths that get perpetuated ad nauseum without any personal research or attempt at understanding.

Hmmm......maybe that is also one of my pet peeves :-))

One of my biggest pet peeves is the myth that the trichomes (hairs) on tomato plants turn into roots and that plants that don't have them, like peppers, cannot grow adventitious roots.

I'm also really curious about you watering outdoor gardens comment. If you're saying its unnecessary, try gardening west of the Missouri River sometime and see how far you get without watering when it hasn't rained in 6 weeks.

Building on your comment re: synthetic vs organic fertilizers, the pervasive myth that organic pesticides never do any harm to the environment.

Concerning no-till versus conventional gardening: The field across the garden fence is usually no-tilled yet my garden is more organic than the field is.

I can see where if a person had 2 or 3 raised beds that "no-tilling" them might be very feasible. I have about 1/5 of an acre under "tillage". With the crops I raise, no-till doesn't even make any sense.

Suppose this is a "pet peeve". I'll never understand why so many people say (often repeatedly) they want to grow this or that, or ask why they are having problems but then are too lazy or show no interest in doing basic simple work or learning simple basics. And I mean basic simple things. If you are too bothered to water a plant occasionally, then you don't really want that plant very much.

"Agreed. I guess a pet peeve of mine is "discussing" gardening practices without any discussion."

Ditto. One of my pet peeves on forums is drive-by posters, who never respond to comments on the threads they start. ;-)

If I have a gardening pet peeve, it is gardeners who promote one philosophy or another as the only "correct" way to do things. There are many ways to garden, each of which may be appropriate under certain conditions. We can all find different ways to succeed, as based upon our situation, and our principles. Gardening should be a hobby, or a means of self sufficiency - not a religion.

That being said, my pastor would be happy to have me spend as much time in church as I do in the garden. ;-)

If there is a myth that bothers me, it is that beans or tomatoes don't cross. That may be true in some areas, but is far from true as a rule. As a seed saver, I have received many crosses from others, and observed some in my own seed. That myth has caused a lot of impure seed to be circulated.

My current pet peeve is snow and freezing temps in maritime NW mid February...Cabin fever!

Zeedman, I was wondering what you got with a bean-tomato cross and how it could even happen with such unrelated species. And I knew you were a poster who knew his stuff. Then I realized that I wasn't really reading things right. I missed an important word....OR..... I'm still picturing round juicy green beans or long skinny tomatoes with great big seeds LOL

One PP for me is seeing seedlings/cell packs of corn, peas, and beans for sale at gardening centers.

"Then I realized that I wasn't really reading things right. I missed an
important word....OR..... I'm still picturing round juicy green beans or
long skinny tomatoes with great big seeds LOL"

... or picture bean ketchup, or string tomatoes. Could make some interesting casseroles... the mind struggles to wrap itself around the possibilities. :-)))

Thanks for the good laugh, Naturegirl. In retrospect, I probably could have stated that more clearly: "...that different tomatoes, or different beans, won't cross with other varieties in their species".

It occurs to me that I can be long-winded sometimes in my posts, which may even be someone else's pet peeve. I'm trying to cut back. ;-)

A myth circulates from time to time: you can’t grow herbs in pots. All of my herbs grow quite successfully in large pots.... which I think is the trick to Pot Gardening.

A myth popular here is that you can. not. grow in containers with regular garden soil. You can. Many people do. Your ancestors did grow things in pots without commercial potting medium.

Medania Spinach seeds arrived today!

Having to purchase seeds, soil, and pots a year beforehand because they never hit shelves early enough.

edit on my original post

*-OVER watering outdoor gardens- I see a myth every now and again about how people over water out door gardens. (not indoor pots) Not sure where they live but I'd be hard pressed to find anyone in my neck of the woods that could possibly over water an outdoor garden. Probably not a myth, I just don't think over watering an out door garden is an issue unless your living in a high water flood table. and even then it should go without saying.

I guess the same people that complain about over watering outdoor gardens also build raised garden beds to combat the high water tables which would make sense for them.

^^ Or the outdoor garden has poor drainage for whatever reason (but I get what you're trying to say).

Myth: Miracle Gro products are good. Well, maybe that is perpetuated by marketing, but people think of these products as "easy". Humans gardened successfully for thousands of years without these products. Miracle Gro may not be the spawn of "satin", but these products are not a good lazy shortcut to learning decent gardening. And over reliance and abuse of the magic Miracle Gro blue crystal probably hurts your soil. But then I'm not sure of the value of the "organic" labeled products either, or whom to trust.

Any myth (read: bullcrap) related to companion planting that gets echoed by people without question. Examples, ‘Tomatoes taste better if you plant them next to basil’, ‘Mint keeps rats away’, ‘Don’t grow dill and fennel next to each other, you’ll get dennel (fill?)’, or my favourite - ‘These plants just like each other’...

Other than that I don’t really have any pet peeves, though I do have a pet cat named Peeve.

I've not heard the overwater myth. But due to vacation times during low rainfall, I found out that my garden does just fine with less water than I usually give it. If drainage is good, more water doesn't cause harm to the plants. But it may leach out some nutrients and be a waste of water...but so is showering, car washing, etc, etc. I enjoy hand watering as it gets me to look closely at my plants so I'll choose that water waste over others. But I could try just looking more without a hose in my hand.

It is certainly possible to overwater a garden!! It depends a lot on soil types and porosity and how well an area drains.

Typically it is not the duration but the frequency. Daily light waterings, even in very hot, arid climates - can prevent the surface layer of the soil (3-4 inches) from drying. And since that is where the majority of any plant's roots are located, the constant moisture can prevent necessary oxygen penetration and promote root rots.