Got booted from a gardening group for calling out a bad soil tip

There's this lady on a local gardening forum who keeps telling newbies to put gravel at the bottom of pots for drainage... I finally spoke up and said that's a myth that actually hurts plants by raising the water table. I linked to a study from a university extension office and everything. The mod messaged me saying I was 'spreading negativity' and banned me for 30 days. Has anyone else run into groups that just protect bad advice because the person giving it is popular?

2 comments

2 Comments

blake3021mo ago

Joined a woodworking group where a guy kept saying to use construction screws for furniture. I quietly PM'd the newbies instead of fighting him publicly, pointing them to actual pocket hole screws and shear strength guides. Eventually people stopped listening to him when their tables fell apart, and the mods actually thanked me for handling it diplomatically.

milar461mo ago

Did you see that one gardening myth busting site that proved the gravel thing actually raises the water table like you said? I read a similar article from some university extension office and it made total sense. It's wild how someone can be popular and still push bad info that hurts people's plants. I've noticed it happens a lot in groups where mods care more about keeping the peace than the truth. It's like they'd rather protect a popular member's feelings than let a beginner learn something real. Honestly, groups like that end up losing the people who actually know what they're talking about, and then it's just the loud wrong ones left. Ngl, your screen name checks out since you tried to help and got punished for it.