An antidote for anecdotes

Cats and orchids – what’s not to like?

I often feel slightly nauseous after a day of debunking misinformation online, in emails, and in person. Others who selflessly give their time and energy to the same efforts probably feel the same. An antidote counteracts poison; in a very real sense, those of us who guide gardeners through the six circles of horticultural hell are routinely exposed to the mind-numbing dregs of lazy thinking.

Not exactly Dante’s Inferno, but this ‘Inferno’ coleus is certainly ablaze. Courtesy of The Blade.

What are the six circles of horticultural hell, you may ask? After playing with word lists and acronyms I have come up with the ABSURD approach, as in “don’t be ABSURD with your gardening information.”

This is a first draft of ABSURDity and I imagine it might get tweaked and shaped a bit. But it’s a good mnemonic device for educators to consider using, right along with the CRAP test.

A = anecdotal. Anecdotal evidence is simply one person’s observations that are not supported with scientific evidence. Reporting that your roses grew better when you used compost tea is an anecdote. Anecdotes are often collected by advertisers and called “testimonials” which sounds vaguely legal and therefore more reliable.

B = bogus. Bogus information is verifiably false; factual evidence exists to disprove it. Claiming that water droplets will scorch leaves on hot days is bogus.

There are lots of photos of water drops on leaves, but none that show scorching. Courtesy of pixabay.com.

S = scam. Scammy sources of information exist to sell stuff. Websites selling seeds for nonexistent flowers whose pictures are generated by AI are scammy.

A scam is born…

U = useless. Useless information promotes something that has no effect. Adding eggshells to gardens for any purpose is useless.

At least this photo is from a website with good information!
Courtesy of MSU Extension.

R = ridiculous. Ridiculous recommendations defy even common sense. Placing plastic forks into the soil to discourage animals from digging is ridiculous.

Salad fork takes on a whole new meaning.

D = dangerous. Dangerous products and practices can injure people, pets, and the environment. Putting mothballs in your landscape to discourage nuisance wildlife is dangerous.

Mothballs are highly toxic and do not belong in your garden! Courtesy of Public Health of Madison and Dane County.

You can find many more examples of ABSURDities in our 15 years of blog archives. Simply type in the word you are looking for and have fun diving down the (mothball-free) rabbit holes!

Type in a word, or part of a word, to find archived blog posts to explore.

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Linda Chalker-Scott

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State University and is an ISA certified arborist and an ASCA consulting arborist. She is WSU’s Extension Urban Horticulturist and a Professor in the Department of Horticulture, and holds two affiliate associate professor positions at University of Washington. She conducts research in applied plant and soil sciences, publishing the results in scientific articles and university Extension fact sheets. Linda also is the award-winning author of five books: the horticultural myth-busting The Informed Gardener (2008) and The Informed Gardener Blooms Again (2010) from the University of Washington Press and Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: Good Science – Practical Application (2009) from GFG Publishing, Inc., and How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do from Timber Press (2015). Her latest effort is an update of Art Kruckeberg’s Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest from UW Press (2019). In 2018 Linda was featured in a video series – The Science of Gardening – produced by The Great Courses. She also is one of the Garden Professors – a group of academic colleagues who educate and entertain through their blog and Facebook pages. Linda’s contribution to gardeners was recognized in 2017 by the Association for Garden Communicators as the first recipient of their Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award. "The Garden Professors" Facebook page - www.facebook.com/TheGardenProfessors "The Garden Professors" Facebook group - www.facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors Books: http://www.sustainablelandscapesandgardens.com

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