The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why

The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why By Jeff Gillman

Jeff’s book is an eye-opening, mind-bending, yet eminently understandable discussion of gardening myths, snake-oil remedies, old wives’ (or husbands’) tales, and hocus-pocus. Jeff explains the gardening myths, then, utilizing mini-experiments and research literature, either supports or debunks the fables. Debunking wins out over the course of the book.

This book was created for those of you who don’t buy what self-professed experts are selling just because everyone else does. It’s for those of you who want the best for your garden but are skeptical of unproven claims. And it is especially for those of you who think it’s wise to understand why and how something works before slathering it on the plants that took you so long to grow and that you take so much pride in caring for. For you there is good news. This book offers information on various products and practices that the gurus recommend, and it investigates these claims critically, sometimes with general knowledge, sometimes with scholarly articles, and sometimes with original research specifically designed to get to the truth. This book isn’t intended to tell you how to garden. Rather, it investigates what the compounds on the garden center shelf or those that you make yourself in a home-brewed concoction will do to and for your plants. In the end, after perusing the pages herein, you will be able to distinguish between the garden remedies that work and those that are merely hearsay. What’s more, you will be armed with a knowledge of the underlying principles behind each remedy’s success or failure, allowing you to take a more objective and scientific approach to the advice you hear in the future.

Can beer make plants grow? How about buttermilk? Or music classical or rock? Are you sure about planting trees in deep holes? And how about chasing insects with hot sauce and stopping slugs with eggshells?

Whether in ancient books, on television, or in gardening publications, remedies for all your garden woes are here for the taking: the challenge is to know what will work and what won't. Fearlessly conducting original experiments and harvesting wisdom from the scientific literature, horticulturalist Jeff Gillman assesses new and historic advice and reveals the how and why‚ and sometimes the why not‚ for more than 100 common and uncommon gardening practices. The results will surprise even experienced gardeners.

 "The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why" Book Chapters and Contents:

Chapter 1. Basics

• Elements that affect plant growth and development

Chapter 2. Fertilizers and Other Soil and Media Amendments

• Ammonia, a quick and easy way to misapply fertilizer
• Analyzing the ever-changing fertilizer analysis
• Beer as a fertilizer, Buttermilk and other high-protein people foods
• Chelates ,Coffee grounds , Compost ,Eggshells
• Epsom salts, Gypsum ,Lime
• Liquid, granular, and slow-release fertilizers
• Micronutrient mixes ,Organic fertilizers
• Shampoo and liquid soaps
• Soda, syrup, and other sugary snacksSulfur, iron sulfate, aluminum sulfate, and other soil acidifiers , Vinegar ,Putting it all together

 Chapter 3. Water

• Antitranspirants ,Gravel for drainage ,Hydrogels
• Planting deeply ,Sponges for water retention
• Putting it all together

Chapter 4. Biostimulants

• Humic acids
• Indole-3-butyric acid and naphthalene-3-acetic acid
• Mycorrhizal myths, Seaweed extracts
• Sound for plants ,Vitamin B-1
• Willow diffusate, Putting it all together

 Chapter 5. Insecticides

• Citrus peel ,Dish soap, Forsyth’s composition
• Garlic , Hellebore,Hot peppers for unwanted guests
• Nematodes ,Predators and parasites
• TobaccoPutting it all together

Chapter 6. Fungicides and Other Disease-Control Agents

• Baking soda, Compost tea , Hydrogen peroxide
• Mouthwash , Silicon and horsetail soup
• Vinegar as a fungicide , Putting it all together

 Chapter 7. Herbicides

• Brussels sprouts for bad plants
• Corn gluten meal ,Mulch the magnificent
• Salt ,Vinegar as an herbicide
• Putting it all together

 Chapter 8. Other Pesticides and Protectants

• Bagging fruit ,Beer as a slug killer
• Deer and rodent repellents from your blender
• Deer and rodent repellents from the store
• Eggshells for slug fencing
• Pruning tar and other wound coatings
• Tree wrap ,Water mist for frost protection
• Putting it all together

 Chapter 9. Commercial Pesticides

• How pesticides work
• Choosing a pesticide

Chapter 10. Concoctions to be Avoided

• A crazy old remedy ,A confusion of pH
• Burn, baby, burn , Hitchhikers in the tobacco
• This will do the job (and more)

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