Lore - Cures and tips

Gardening is an inexact science and surrounded by centuries of tradition, folklore, myth and superstition. Hidden amongst it is some age old wisdom and also some age old cobblers.

Connected pages Botanic Latin | Christmas | Cures and gardening tips | Trees | Vegetables / edible plants / Wild plants

Boots and banana skins

As these rot down they release lots of valuable nutrients into the soil.

Bananas are supposed to be one of the nearest to "perfect foods" in that they supply lots of all we need in the right quantities, so the skins are probably good too. Bury them near roses and other established shrubs.

Leather boots and shoes are also supposed to be good buried near trees (take the soles off first if they're man-made). This would make sense in that leather is essentially animal protein (tanned skin) and as such is high in nitrogen. Should make a good long-term fertilizer.

Problems with mice (equally as effective with other small rodents)

Supposedly originating in ancient Greece, farmers would write letters to the mice offering alternative accommodation. Try writing a polite letter and placing it in the offending rodents' current abode.

Deterring rabbits

A liberal planting of fox gloves around a vegetable garden is meant to guarantee a rabbit-free area (maybe its all the foxes that come around to try the gloves on). They also have an aversion to onions, so a vegetable plot with lots of them around will deter rabbits also.

Alternatively you go down the sacrificial plant route and plant some dill in your borders to protect the vulnerable young shoots of many perennials. The idea is that the rabbits ignore the less tasty offerings and go straight for their favourite food. Not sure what happens when they go off to fetch their mates though.

While on the subject of onions;

Rub wasp stings with raw onions to cure them. – Culpepper’s Complete Herbal and English Physician 1653.

Onions were thought to absorb and destroy impurities because in the plague of 1666 and cholera outbreak of 1849, onion sellers were thought to be immune to infection. More recently onions and garlic have been shown to have antibiotic properties.

Deterring aphids (worth a go, but nothing guaranteed!)

Companion planting

Plant garlic cloves (just one or two) among rose bushes. An infusion of garlic crushed into water

Many herbs, such as hyssop, sage, dill, lavender and thyme discourage aphids if planted near to susceptible plants.

Nasturtiums prevent woolly aphids infesting apple trees if planted at the base (probably more so if encouraged to grow up the tree). If you have all of the nasturtiums eaten by cabbage white caterpillars, just think of the butterflies you're helping to grow.

Rhubarb soap - shred a couple of pounds of rhubarb leaves into a couple of pints of water and boil for half an hour (don't use your best pan, these leaves contain oxalic acid and whereas it might be ok, I wouldn't risk the cooks wrath!). Strain the liquid, mix in two ounces of soap dissolved in another pint of water. Spray only healthy plants as prevention and affected plants to help get rid of infestations.

Nettle manure - Steep stinging nettles (as many as you can) in a bucket of water for about 5 days. Dilute this 1 + 5 with water and spray on plants as a preventative.

Horsetail tea.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is a pernicious weed which spreads by underground stems that go very deep and form horizontal rhizome systems. This makes it particularly difficult to control particularly on heavy soils where trying to pull it up just breaks off the stems leaving a piece in the soil to carry on. If you have a horsetail problem, there's a bright side to it because an infusion of the weed makes a good fungicide for control of mildew on strawberries and other crops, and checks rust on celery and celeriac.

Collect the horsetail, foliage, stems, rhizomes and all, and for each 28g (1oz) pour on 1.1 Litres (2pt) hot, not boiling, water, and allow to stand for twenty-four hours. Strain off the 'tea' and use undiluted.

Slugs and Snails (well almost anything's worth a go)

An old remedy to deter snails and slugs is to collect as many as possible, morning and evening. Tip them into a bucket of boiling water and let it stand for a few days until the smell becomes fearsome, then strain off the liquid and use it to sprinkle round vulnerable plants, such as the young growth of delphiniums, lettuce and so on - but not on them. The remains of the slugs and snails can also be scattered.

Problems with moles

Give them a good dose of castor oil. Moles are carnivores that make themselves at home in lawns rich in grubs and insects. When their food is seasoned with castor oil, they will go elsewhere for meals. (Wouldn't you?) Mix up a spray of 3 parts castor oil to 1 part dish detergent; use 4 tablespoons of this concoction in a gallon of water, and soak the tunnels and the entrances. Check your soil for the presence of pests; if you have a lot of moles, you probably have an oversupply of grubs and bugs.