With Thanks to: https://www.gardenrant.com/2019/03/we-need-a-gardening-snopes.html
Who knows?
Like I haphazardly follow gardening training on social media Facebook, but frequently on Instagram, I notice enormous variances in the quality and content of this discourse. I’ve also noticed the way that the discussion among gardeners spreads to networks doesn’t even seem to encourage conversation or alternative points of view. As an example, our variant of this local discussion team, Nextdoor, needed a post by a member flatly saying that pollen from plants bought at Home Deport tagged as comprising neonicotinoids would, when planted, lead to mass destruction:”bees accept the pollen from these treated plants back to the hive, where they die.” The problem using neonics is a bit more subtle than this. As many here know, HD is one of the few retailers that bothers to tag and they are pretty much phasing out their use of neonics, which are still debated as to their parasitic harm (although the EU has now banned them). You wouldn’t understand any of this from the discussion that followed. It was shocked assurances that HD would be avoided by all.
This is very well; I hold no brief for HD or big boxes. There are not any warranties since my little retailers don’t require labels that the plants I purchase haven’t been treated with anything. That point was not brought up in the conversation I saw. Or I see. Houseplants are supposedly toxic to cats and other creatures. All types of folk wisdom about care is dropped with depart into plant groups. Companion planting remains frequently adviced (marigolds repel aphids, etc.).
What if there was a Snopes for gardening, manned by a band of scientists, all and expertise with the industry as well as real world studying? As fresh questions/myths appear This kind of organization could pull together reasoned rebuttals to the most frequent gardening myths and add answers. I suppose the Garden Professors offer this into a certain degree, but it isn’t as especially question-responsive.
There’s something really satisfying about Snopes coming into the rescue as a different social networking buddy posts even a scare or a meme. It is often a bastion of reason in a maniacal world class, although I know Snopes is by the bogus news crowd on event.