Things I have learned on the Internet
I have had a lot of fun lately joining gardening groups from around the world and discovering what the heck goes on over there.
One cool thing I learned was that elevation impacts fruit and nut growing in Hawaii. In the hills, some things simply can’t grow! Fascinating. Never really considered that.
But the best place to find some ‘wow’ nerd gardening moments is when I go onto Facebook and look up Pacific Northwest Gardening because, oh my gosh, it is different to New Zealand.
Wild ginger: enormous problem for us in NZ, pest plant. Lily of the Valley: beautiful, wish I had more of it!
How about these ones?
Agapanthus: terrible weed here, most of us are horrified it isn’t one of the few banned invasive plants. Pacific Northwest: highly prized.
They have invasive ‘Spanish bluebells’ that are a huge problem. I’d love me a bluebell problem!
Ok, enough of that, how about some interesting advice that is totally not mine?
Have not tried. My fig tree is leafless. Would like feedback from anyone who HAS tried it.
And, below, one which I am not keen on, because all that happens is that the slugs eat till they are super full and have a big nap on the ground. Then you have to go and pick them all up and throw them out somewhere (slugs are toxic to chickens so I would literally be throwing them out! In the road reserve, maybe!). If you don’t pick them up, they will just get out of their food coma and slither off…
The best sounding one, which I am going to try, though-
Tillage radish is an absolutely brilliant idea and I want to try it in some clay gardens this year!
Ok, and now for the ‘take home’ advice…
How to evaluate gardening information you found on the internet
Assume that it is NOT specific to your personal location. Because it probably isn’t. Have a bit of a google and see if the relevant plants/items are even available in your region and how well they are received. Local gardening shops will have much more accurate information (Auckland Botanic Garden, weirdly, has some great info).
Look for some clues as to what the advice expects your temperatures to generally be at. A lot of advice is for climates which are substantially warmer. Remember to adjust expectations!
Consider what information is more global- plant ID, pest ID, clear identification of the problem coupled with clear identification of how the solution will solve it.
If what you are reading is worded strangely (not mine- my brain works faster than my fingers and you are just along for the ride, sorry!)- or you are not familiar with Chat GPT/AI writing, it is helpful to do quite a bit of research to help you identify if something is written by AI.
Don’t trust anything which comes from AI. We actually had an AI garden chatbot in the works, but it hallucinates (makes up answers), pulls answers from the wrong places (I asked it what people in NZ will want to read about in the next month and it said ‘preparing for Winter’), and is generally no good at discerning good advice from bad.
Photos online are extremely helpful. This is mostly what I use the internet for when it comes to garden stuff- hours and hours searching for photos of the things that I am interested in.
Videos (eg instagram reels, youtube) are often more helpful because you can see the location in which the advice is being given. Is it similar to yours?
And finally…
Facebook gardening groups. I think that in the end, accepting that you are dealing with the opinions of a large number of essentially anonymous users, you will get a lot of ideas. I would then research those ideas before putting anything into practise!
I hope this helps you on your journey! Have a great week, everyone. And if you are in NZ, DON’T plant your plants yet, unless they are leafy greens- it’s too cold!