Gathering old wives tales

Hi
Hope you all might be able to help ..... I am trying to gather a large list of old wives tales .... Ones that work ones that are a bit dubious..... Hints ant tips all from the wonderful world of gardening .......
Or fascinating facts .........
Be great to hear all the concoctions used to cure pest and weed ....

 

I can hear my dear old Grandad saying this about his pea and bean sowings:
"One for the rook, one for the crow, one to rot, and one to grow."
Jenny

 

Doug....i love things like this...
I've heard of planting a row of Onions,garlic or chives around your plot to keep Rabbits away....they are said never to pass through them

Also push a fresh carrot into the soil next to cucumbers to protect them from wireworm....

 

JWK there are hundreds of them out there
When young cabbage plants have begun grow, twist aluminum foil and make a ring around the root base of the cabbage. This will inhibit the larvae of the cabbage fly.

When planting herbs It is said not to plant the same herb in the same spot one year to the next. This rotation helps prevent the soil from exhausting the properties that are important to the health of the plant

Or, plants that grow upwards towards the sky should be planted in the morning sun, while plants that grow deep into the earth should by planted by moonlight.

 

Or, plants that grow upwards towards the sky should be planted in the morning sun, while plants that grow deep into the earth should by planted by moonlight

oooh - I like that one Doug,
Jenny

 

Why thank you Jenny x
If you think about it there are many different alternatives to chemicals even the polythene bag with penny's in it to stop the flys ( in a previous post ... Through the eyes of a fly) they might not all work 100% but if they help ..... Wow

 

Wise owl
Good morning
I used to collect old gardening books, about 15 years ago we decided to move house so packed everything neatly and tidily into boxes and moved them into the garage....... Before the big move we went away for the weekend up to chessington ....... Was very cold !!
When I got back .......... The mains water pipe had decided to burst ...... All over my collection of books .......... 3 days of watering totally destroyed years of collecting .......

 

A few more ......
Make a wish on the first robin you see in spring and it will come true – if you can finish making the wish before the robin flies away
If you make a wish over burning onions, it will come true

If there is a frost after March 15, it will not cause any damage to your garden

If a pregnant woman, plants any type of plants in your garden it will grow .......( never any pregnant woman around when I need one)

 

Not so much old wives tales, but folklore, I think is brilliant.

Who grows Rosemary? Does it do well or does it sort of struggle along? It thrives in households where its the woman that wears the trousers apparently (mine does alright, not sure what that's telling me ).

Before you cut an Elder tree, ask its permission, and after you've cut it, thank it for letting you. If you don't you'll risk the wrath of a witch, as executed witches are reincarnated into Elder trees. As they have been punished for their 'crimes', they are now innocent, so by cutting the tree you are assaulting an innocent witch (I didn't make it up, its in one of my folklore books).

If you have a lone Hawthorn tree (ones as part of a hedge are ok), don't cut it down without making a substantial offering of metal to the ground, otherwise all your cattle will die. I'm not sure what happens if you don't have cattle, but lets not find out

Don't fall asleep under a Rowan tree, otherwise you risk being 'taken' (by the little people whose name mustn't be said).

My personal favourite, Blackthorn is also known as 'Mother of the woods'. The reason becomes obvious if you're lucky enough to find one that's been left alone for a good number of years. There's an example on my neighbour's land. Blackthorn propagates itself by sending runners/suckers out just below the soil surface, and then a new tree will sprout from them. After just a few years its not really obvious what's happening but in the older examples that have had much more time, its truly amazing. You have the very old 'parent' tree in the middle, and an almost perfect circle of younger trees surrounding it. The outer ring of trees will grow and form a dense thicket, as blackthorn does, until it becomes almost impenetrable. Inside this defensive circle, seeds of other plants and trees can then grow without the hassle of deer and sheep grazing them. Blackthorn doesn't grow very tall (in tree terms), so the trees it nurtures eventually outgrow the defensive blackthorn 'womb' and cast it into shade, so the Blackthorn then, having served its purpose, begins to die (except it wont, because the trees in the outer defensive circle will have by now sent runners out too). Doesn't matter though by then. The trees that were protected by the Blackthorn no longer need its protection, as they are big enough to fend for themselves.

 

Oak before Ash, we're in for a splash;
Ash before Oak, we're in for a soak!