old wives tales?

Discussion in 'General chat' started by susann, May 22, 2008.

  1. susann

    susann Junior Member

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    Someone recently said that permaculture is full of tricks - his example being: "put a piece of old concrete under a paw paw tree as they love lime". This made me think of my grandma's old sayings the classic being: "Plant garlic on the shortest day of the year, and harvest on the longest"

    So- what tricks or "old wives tales" have you heard or work for you?
     
  2. susann

    susann Junior Member

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    Re: old wives tales?

    Has anyone had success keeping cats off the garden beds by using cayenne pepper? ( I have seven that live across the street)
     
  3. dylanz

    dylanz Junior Member

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    Re: old wives tales?

    Oooo... let me know if the cayenne pepper thing works. I may just try it out for the heck of it. Waaaay too much cat crap in the garden at the moment.

    About the garlic, I did plant on the shortest day, and harvested on the longest. Had some pretty nice heads. However, my organic farmer friend told me that this wives tale was false (would probably differ per climate), and that if you plant it about 1-2 months prior to the shortest day of the year. He said that it encouraged bulb growth prior to the chills, and that you'd get bigger heads.

    Thus, this year I've done just that and will keep you posted :)
     
  4. MikeB

    MikeB Junior Member

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    Re: old wives tales?

    Cat repellent.
    1/2 cup cloudy ammonia in a spray bottle, top with water and gently mix.
    Spray around garden bed a couple of times a day. (It breaks down quickly) Better yet my sainted old father used to fill up a water pistol with it and spray the cats. They stop running about 12 hours later when the smell wears off.

    Hmm 7 cats all on the loose, could be that a call to the local council is needed to permanently fix the problem if they are all comming from the same house.

    Cats have no business being in Australia. Cat owners who don't keep their cats secured either indoors or in a specially built cat run need to be fined into bankruptcy and the proceeds spent on maintaing endangered Australian wild life. (OK rant hat off.)

    My own prefernce is No 4 bird shot, a 12 guage shotgun, a shovel and a lemon tree. Waste not want not.

    As Col Elliot has often said " I don't hate cats, mind you I couldn't eat a whole one unless I was real hungry"
     

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