Laura Dean Bennett
Staff Writer
The spring equinox has come and gone and, according to the calendar, it’s spring.
But there’s a skiff of snow on the porch as I write this and still a slew of juncos pecking around under the bird feeders.
And, not that I’m superstitious (well, not very superstitious), but juncos aren’t called snow birds for nothing. They’ve long been considered harbingers of snow.
According to the old wives’ tale and my own mother, until the juncos leave, there’s still a chance of snow.
It’s about this time of year, when we’re champing at the bit to start planting, that old wives’ tales about growing things “spring” to mind.
The old folks who settled in the colonies, and eventually, the Appalachian Mountains, brought many old wives’ tales from “the old country.”
Some of the superstitions were the same as they’d been for generations before they came to the new world, and some evolved to meet their new circumstances.
They believed it was bad luck to plant before the leaves of the oak tree are the size of a mouse’s ear.
Potatoes needed to be planted on Good Friday, and it was said that anything planted on the first day of spring would live.
That advice is probably scientifically sound in most locales, but up here in the Hill Country, we know it’s not safe to plant a garden until the first week of June because of the chance of a late frost or freeze.
So maybe at least some of these old wives’ tales are situational.
Here in Pocahontas County, the old adage, “a long hot summer means a long cold winter” was certainly prophetic last year.
Last summer was unusually hot and dry and this past winter was the coldest we’ve seen in a long time.
If you’re planting according to superstitions, peas should be sewn while daffodils are in flower, melons seeds when iris bloom and cucumber and squash seeds when lilacs are blooming.
Plant peas when the first leaves appear on the lilac bush, beans and squash when the lilac blooms and green beans during apple blossom time.
To avoid a failed crop, beets, spinach and carrots are to be planted when dandelions dot the landscape and cabbage when the dogwood blooms.
Following the old beliefs, we’re to plant corn either when the apple blossoms fall or when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear.
I guess one just has to hope both occur at the same time.
Many farmers who plant by the signs swear by the old adage about planting above ground plants during a waxing moon and below ground plants during a waning moon.
And it’s still widely considered bad luck to plant anything on the 31st day of any month.
Whether or not there’s any scientific evidence to support the old wives’ tales, it’s interesting how many of us still quote them to each other.
Here are some old “truisms” I’ve heard over the years and some which are new to me.
Wise old-time gardeners knew not to take their scarecrows for granted, as their crops might suffer the consequences.
To ensure a successful crop, scarecrows were always given a name.
They were never to be put out until after Easter and had to be removed and burned before midnight on Halloween or woe may come to the household.
Take care to dress your scarecrow in style and, as you’re asking it to keep a vigilant watch over your crops, top off the outfit with a fetching straw hat to shade its eyes from the sun.
Never let anything worn by a scarecrow be worn by a human or bad luck may come to that person.
Gardeners and farmers have always kept a “weather eye out,” knowing how much the success of their crops depends on the weather.
So, naturally, there are plenty of old wives’ tales about forecasting weather.
For instance, “if all the cows in the pasture are lying down, rain will soon come” and “when dogs eat grass, a storm is on the way.”
There are so many to remember, it’s hard to keep them all straight, which may be why so many were made to rhyme.
“When leaves show their undersides, surely rain betides.”
“Spiders weaving before noon, fair weather is coming soon.”
“When crickets are chirping loud, they’ll nary be a cloud.”
“A ring around the moon means rain coming soon.”
“Dew on the grass, no rain shall pass.”
“Rain before seven, fine by eleven.”
Of course, there are lots of old wives’ tales about how to care for plants.
To make roses thrive and encourage prolific blooming, put animal fat in the soil around their roots.
A piece of iron buried next to a rose bush will give the roses a sweeter scent.
Nails stuck in the ground near hydrangea roots will make their blooms blue.
A superstition still common around these parts says that a gift plant will die if you thank the person who gave it to you.
And it’s said that a plant will grow better if it thinks you stole it.
That’s why when some people give you a plant, they set it down and turn away – so you can “steal” it when they’re not looking.
For centuries our European ancestors and the American colonists took seriously the old belief that beekeepers had to talk to their bees.
And many modern beekeepers still adhere to this old wives’ tale.
Apparently, bees – as if they don’t have enough to keep them occupied – need to be kept informed about the goings-on of their human hosts.
It’s been said that to keep their bees happy and producing the sweetest honey, a beekeeper should talk to them every evening.
Occasions like a wedding or the birth of a baby are of particular interest to the bees.
Certainly, when there’s a death in the family, the bees need to be told as soon as possible.
It was widely believed that if the bees weren’t notified of a death, they, too, would die. Or they would leave the hive in search of a new home.
The old people also believed that grass would not grow in a place where human blood has been spilled, that after planting a hill of beans you’d need to press the soil with your foot for good luck and that planting peppers when angry would make them grow too hot to eat.
And the old wives’ tales about ensuring a successful harvest keep on coming.
Make sure of success by digging garden rows in straight lines – running north to south, not east to west.
While working in a garden or field, if two people’s hoes clink together, they will work together in the same spot next year.
When planting seeds, always plant three in a hill – two for the devil and one for the gardener.
Some folks still say that you can keep moles away from a garden by placing Juicy Fruit gum or human hair in it.
Don’t carry a hoe into the house – that would be flying in the face of the old belief that to do so would bring very bad luck to the household.
There are some old wives’ tales that are founded on science.
“Nothing grows under a walnut tree” is one such, as it refers to the fact the walnut trees produce juglone, a chemical which is toxic to many other trees, shrubs and plants.
The old adage about not planting vegetables the same spot two years in a row may have come from the fact that rotating crops does encourage healthy soil.
Planting marigolds around vegetables to deter pests is more than an old wives’ tale. The old wives didn’t know it, but marigolds have now been found to contain compounds which repel nematodes, aphids and whiteflies.
This one’s not a scientific fact, but, at one time, some people believed that flowers which bloomed out of season were evil.
And there were also dark superstitions about parsley, but first the most pleasant one: the ability to grow parsley from seed was seen as the sign of an honest person.
That honest person surely would have known that, to avoid misfortune, growing parsley required planting its seeds in threes – two for the devil and one for the table.
Since the Middle Ages, some folks have believed the only way to transplant parsley without risking a death in the family is to transplant it on Good Friday.
Yikes! Maybe it would be wiser to just leave the parsley where it is.
For me, one of the thrills of spring is witnessing the arrival of the robins.
When they turned up in my yard last week, I remembered the old saying: “a wish made on the first robin of spring will be granted.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if that were true?
Just in case, I made a very nice wish on the first robin I saw.
I can’t tell you what I wished for because – as with all wishing superstitions – if I do, it won’t come true. I’m really in the market for some good luck, so I’m not taking any chances.
I’ll also be watching out for a white butterfly because there’s a “good luck” superstition about that, too.
It says that if the first spring butterfly one sees is white, there’ll be good luck all year.
Not that we’re superstitious, but let’s keep our fingers crossed.
