“Plant peas & potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day”—& Other Weird Planting Myths

Artist extraordinaire James Grasdal is putting the finishing touches on the 13^th book in the Superman Duffy comic series—MYTHCONCEPTIONS. Which, you may have guessed has a little something to do with common “myths.” I love myths! So for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’m going to “bust” as many of them as I can—every day (except Sundays) on the blog, throughout April.

Not familiar with the A to Z Challenge? Get the details here, and then hang on, because I’m about to blow your mind with my myth-inspired posts. P.S. Comment on the blogs throughout the month for a chance to WIN a complete set of the Superman Duffy comics, including lucky #13, MYTHCONCEPTIONS.

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MYTH: Plant peas and potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day.

Worried you missed the boat on this? Don’t. Sure the alliteration sounds nice (plant, peas and potatoes…) but even if you DID believe in this gardening superstition, it’s not practical in Alberta, where the weather (most years) wouldn’t allow for it.  Your best bet is to check the growing guidelines in your area.

Erm, just so you know, planting by moonlight won’t make a difference either, no matter where in the world you live. Seriously, I don’t know where people come up with these things!

My mom thinks she has a “black thumb” when it comes to plants—indoor or out—but my grandma says the secret to a “green thumb” is knowing which myths to believe, and which are just “bunk.” (Isn’t that a great word?)

So to help my mom out—maybe as an early Mother’s Day gift!—I’ve busted some gardening myths that hopefully will turn that black thumb of hers green.

MYTH: Knock the tops of onions over to make larger bulbs.

Whatever you do, do not do this. If you knock the tops over too soon, you’ll stop the bulbing process altogether. You can research onion (or any vegetable) growing tips online.

MYTH: For sweeter tomatoes, add sugar to the planting hole.

Makes sense, right? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but tomato plants can’t absorb sugar in the soil—the sugar content of a vegetable variety is determined by genetics, not growing practices (weird or not.) Baking soda doesn’t work either.

MYTH: Watering plants during the day creates droplets that catch the sun’s rays and “burn” your plants.

Not true! Don’t believe me? Consider this—can you imagine the devastating loss farmers would face every time it rained since they obviously couldn't dry off every plant before the sun came back out. Makes sense when you look at it that way, right?

Okay, I’ve gotta jet, but I’ll be back tomorrow with the tricky letter “Q” as I continue busting myths from A to Z. See you then!  

~ Chase Superman Duffy