Subject: Jerry Baker's methods

From: [email-masked] (JohnnK)
Date: 29 Mar 1995 20:33:25 -0500

This group has dissed Jerry Baker quite heartily.  Has anyone out there
tried some of his recommendations?

This is what I jotted down as a lawn care recipe from his PBS show:

1 can beer
1 cup liquid dish soap
1 cup ammonia
1 cup lawn food
1/2 cup molasses

Mix the above in a hose end sprayer.  Spray the lawn before noon, once a
month.

I can see reasons for each of the ingredients (except maybe the molasses).
 Has anybody tried anything like this?

John Koch ([email-masked] or [email-masked])

---

From: Neil McLaughlin <[email-masked]>
Date: 1 Apr 1995 07:10:11 GMT

My husband uses Jerry's recipes and we have the best lawn on the block,
(or so I think).
Samantha

---

From: [email-masked] (D416B/Dave Daulton/X4410/D/B)
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 1995 14:31:54 GMT

Much of what Jerry Baker makes sense (e.g. putting weed killer
on the weeds, not on the whole lawn).

But I am really skeptical of some of his "magic potion" gardening
mixtures.  For example, I really doubt that Listerine mouth wash, when
diluted through a garden hose sprayer, would have any affect at all.

I did notice on his TV program that his lawn IS in much better
shape than my own, but I strongly suspect that is because of one
very active ingredient delivered by his rigoruous spraying
schedule--water.

Personally, even if his mixtures work, I am not about to dedicate
all the time in effort he prescribes.  

Dave Daulton

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 30 Mar 95 13:46:28 -0600

>  Has anybody tried anything like this?

Yup, I've seen it used.  THe results vary drastically by the type of 
ingredient used.

I suspect the beer is in the mix for B-vitamins, which are root growth
stimulants.  Most pasteurized or filtered beers (i.e., most North 
American beers) are pretty low in B vitamins.   Cheaper sources:
generic 1-a-day type vitamin tablets or live yeast in sugar water 
(let it ferment a couple of days).

Dish soap:  Pretty good wetting agent, also broad spectrum fungicide
and insecticide.  Different brands of soap will burn different 
plant species.  A comparison of various "insecticidal soaps" done
at UC Davis about 10-15 years ago showed that some species of plants
tolerated one brand better than another.  Liquid Ivory was one of
the best tested, burning fewer species than Safer's Insecticidal Soap.
And a whole lot cheaper.  On the other hand, I've done some testing on
dish soaps myself, and several other brands of soaps burned quite a 
few species.  (Dawn, original formula, was the best of the lot in my
very informal tests).
  My comment:  Why use a broad spectrum insecticide unless you have
  a problem?  All you're going to do is clobber some beneficials,
  cost yourself money, and create some pollution.

Ammonia: (presumably household clean ammonia):  Pretty good source
of nitrogen, and many lawns are N-starved.  However, the odor of
ammonia is a pretty good "pee here" cue to many animal species, 
including cats and dogs.

Lawn food:  What kind?  5-5-5, 10-10-1, 43-1-3, 43-10-10?  All of them
will affect the growth of the lawn differently.  Some are more
concentrated than others.  A soil test or a good eye for deficiency
symptoms will help you choose a fertilization scheme that will do the
most good for your lawn, cost the least, and  create the least chance of
water pollution from uncontrolled runoff.

Molasses:  I suppose this is for trace minerals (there's not a whole
lot, esp. in light molasses) and sugar to prmote the growth of 
microorganisms that help break down thatch.  Plain sugar is cheaper
and easier to dissolve.  Personally, I don't have trouble with
thatch: frequent mowings and proper fertilization solve the problem
before it becomes a problem.

On their own, each one of these is appropriate for certain lawn problems.
In some cases, there are easier or cheaper ways to accomplish the
same task with a lesser risk.  But why treat a lawn for problems
it doesn't have?  That's a little like saying that high blood pressure
is a common problem with Americans, and cancer is a common problem 
with Americans, so instead of people who need treatment for one or
both problems getting it from their doctor, how about we just
put high blood pressure medication and a few types of cancer chemotherapy
in everybody's drinking water?

Good gardening is not a set of recipes to be followed, regardless of
circumstances.  Like a good cook who can improvise a recipe that
turns out well because s/he understands the basics of cooking, a
good gardener understands his/her plants, soil, water, and climate
well enough to create a good garden with minimal work, and minimal
damage to the environment.

Kay Klier  [email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked] (Marylin Kraker)
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 95 07:13:13 EST

> John Koch ([email-masked] or [email-masked])

We used his formulas last summer and had a GREAT-looking lawn, much greener
than the neighbor's with the commercial fertilizers.

Marylin

--
Marylin Kraker, user of the UniBoard System @ c4systm.com
E-Mail: [email-masked]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 C4 Yourself BBS       Voice: (517) 423-3454        Fax/BBS: (517) 423-3667
 C4 Systems, Inc.   6585 Hack Road, RR#1, Clinton, Michigan, USA 49236-9530

---

From: [email-masked] (Trainbug)
Date: 14 Apr 1995 07:04:55 -0400

The ammonia and soap combo really works for a green lawn.  The trade-off
is the grass may not  root as well becasue of the high nitrogen.  Baker's 
chemicals, I think, are what people can relate to using household
products.

This year I am following Jack Eden out of the Washington/Baltimore area. 
His ideas work well too.  I combine Baker and Eden for a really nice
program

Scott Boucher/Zone 6