On 2009-07-30 00:42:29 +0100, Judith M Smith said:

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:30:23 +0100, Sacha wrote:
snip

Not if they're along the lines of standing on one leg reciting The
Ancient Mariner while planting parsley! A lot of old gardening lore is
just that but it's been around for centries and seems to work.
Certainly, as it appears to respect the land I can't see any harm in
someone enquiring about it and/or trying it. After all, nitrates were
all the thing as can't-go-wrong, prouce-huge-crops fertilisers at one
time. People are re-thinking their attitudes to chemicals now and I
doubt many people would have predicted that back in the 60s.


I can assure you that the post re planting of potatoes on Good Friday
was deadly serious. It was (and is) the done thing.


I'm not scoffing though I thought that was the lore for parsley, not
potatoes. Growers in Jersey plant a lot earlier than Easter so much
depends on the climate. I would think that long-establlished farming
families have figured out the best thing to do for their soil and their
climate and there's no harm I can see in gardeners experimenting on
their own patch of the planet.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon