Welcome to Garden Myths – We are the Garden Myth Busters!
Our Goal: to provide correct gardening information and make you a better gardener.
Our Process: We research topics and examine scientific studies to bust gardening myths. Then we provide FREE blog posts.
Our Experience:
The author of most posts, Robert Pavlis, has 50 years of gardening experience, is an award-winning author of 11 gardening books, holds an M.Sc. in chemistry and biochemistry, teaches numerous gardening courses, and has written articles for many popular magazines such as Mother Earth News.
Robert’s Plant Science for Gardeners book won the Independent Publisher Book Award for Science in 2024.
In 2025, Roberts’ book, Food Science for Gardeners, won the International Book Award for the Home and Garden category.
Our Guarantee:
- The information on this site is more accurate than most other gardening sites. If you find an error and let us know in the comments, and we’ll correct it immediately.
- None of the information is created by AI – we prefer real people.
- All of the information is science-based.
Start Here:
Start by selecting from one of these popular categories, and enjoy the site (click on image).
Hello Robert, I know you have spoken against over fertilizing in the garden and was just wondering about what to do in my case. I just filled a raised bed to grow peppers in with a soil blend that has high levels of organic material in it. Should I add extra synthetic fertilizers to the peppers as they grow, or would that be to much for them combined with what is probably already in the soil?
Thank you for any help?
The problem with organic fertilizer is that you have no idea how many nutrients are available to plants without a soil test. If you added a lot – I would not fertilize.
Our Goal: to provide correct gardening information and make you a better gardener.
I love, love LOVE your work in educating us. It IS work, and I’m aware of the time and effort it takes to transmit such information. THANK YOU.
However, I was surprised to see advertising on your site about…planting bananas. There is usually a lot of advertising on the pages, sometimes hindering important information you have posted. And I understand that financial support must come from somewhere 🙂 But please, if at all possible guard against such click bait as “Tricks and Lifehacks: Put bananas in your garden! Plant bananas in your garden and look what happens a week later!”
Perhaps this just slipped in unnoticed. My concern is a selfish one: I refer countless people to your website and I would be embarrassed if they saw Plant Bananas! waiting for them. And the know-it-all guys who think MiracleGro is killing baby whales would never let me live it down … With respect and admiration, MaryAnn on Vancouver Island
“There is usually a lot of advertising on the pages”
1) Yes – this pays for running the site – having these sites is not free.
2) I have no control over which ads are shown.
I have an allotment plot for vegetables which is in it’s first season as no-till. I use primarily straw and leaves as mulch. I wanted to use wood chips for paths between beds but was told by the Natural Resources department that oversees the town owned allotment that I couldn’t use chips in case the no-till ever had to revert to being plowed. They assert that chips would rob the soil of nitrogen if tilled. No scientific information was referenced. Is there any sound reason for this claim?
Yes, wood chips should not be buried in soil. They have a very high C/N ratio and need nitrogen to be decomposed.
Hello I have recently watched your video on using flour and yeast to combat slugs and have to say 100 percent success right out of the gate.
Thanks Brian