Got banned from a gardening forum for calling out a fake plant expert

I joined this gardening forum last year because I needed help saving my tomato plants. Some guy kept giving advice about using epsom salt on everything, and I found studies showing it kills soil bacteria. I posted the links and got a 24 hour ban for "harassing a respected member." After that, I started a tiny subreddit where we share actual science-based tips instead of old wives tales. Has anyone else run into forums that protect bad advice over facts?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire4431mo ago

Hold up, let me say this louder for the people in the back. That epsom salt thing is a perfect example of how bad advice spreads like crazy in gardening groups. Someone's grandma used it once and now it's gospel, but nobody bothers to check if it actually works or just makes the soil salty. I got into it with a guy who insisted coffee grounds were the best fertilizer, but coffee grounds actually repel earthworms and can mess with soil pH. So yeah, forums that protect "respected members" over actual evidence are basically just echo chambers for people who refuse to learn anything new.

gavincampbell1mo ago

I get what you're saying but I think there's a little more nuance here. Some of those old gardening tricks actually DO work if you understand the science behind them, even if grandma didn't explain it right. Epsom salt for example, it can help if your soil is actually deficient in magnesium, which isn't THAT rare in certain areas. The problem isn't the advice itself as much as people applying it to every single plant without testing their soil first. And on coffee grounds, I've had nothing but good results with them in my compost pile, they break down fine and worms actually love the organic matter once it's composted properly, not just dumped on top of the ground raw. So I'd push back a little on the idea that "respected members" are always wrong, sometimes they've just been doing something long enough to know how to do it right.