Jerry Baker's Terrific Tomatoes, Sensational Spuds, and Mouth-Watering Melons: 1,274 Super Secrets for Growing Prize-Winning Vegetables

by Jerry Baker

Secrets to growing big, juicy, prize-winning vegetables using common household products such as beer, dish soap, and cola are revealed in this book of gardening tricks, tips, and tonics. Beginning and experienced gardeners alike will learn easy but effective techniques for growing, protecting, storing, and saving vegetables, from asparagus and beets to rutabaga and zucchini. Topics include planning a plot; weeding, feeding, and watering; keeping plague and pests at bay; and harvesting and storage. The guide also reveals secrets for fighting fungus with molasses, wiping out weeds with a tonic of gin and vinegar, spreading wood ashes to grow a glorious garden, using herbs to protect against cabbage moths and carrot flies, and starting veggies in containers with coffee grounds.

Genres: Gardening

378 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[James]

I really enjoyed this gardening book. It was practical, had interesting tidbits and stories, and some recipes. Explaining how he learned a lot from his grandma was insightful. The illustrations were nice. I learned a lot from the homemade formulas for fertilizer, and disease and pest control. I'll probably be using some of these in order to avoid the many chemicals in the bags of storebought pesticide.

[Chriss]

This is a great book for people of all levels of experience with vegetable gardening. I really love the graphical way that information is presented; it really makes it easy to read and quickly find that one piece of data you wanted. Lots of great tips and home-made recipes for fertilizer, bug spray, compost starter, etc.

My second favorite thing about this book is that there's a chapter for each plant; cucumbers, beans, broccoli, potatoes, etc. I also like all of organic ways to keep pests out and recharge the soil, from plants that deter or decoy bad bugs to using lemon j-ello mix to help seedlings along.

[Courtney]

Love the recipes. But don't know if dish soap of beer really break up the soil. Going to try a test plant or two next year.

[Linda]

Love this book.......taught me alot,have branched out from just tomatoes.Looking to buy it and find some of his other books