Customer Reviews

Jerry Baker's Old-Time Gardening Wisdom: Lessons Learned from Grandma Putt's Kitchen Cupboard, Medicine Cabinet, and Garden Shed! (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Have you ever wondered how gardeners of the past produced such magnificent greenery without the big name chemical companies?

Easy, old-fashioned remedies, many of which you have right in your kitchen. Grandma Putt taught Jerry Baker her wonderful methods, then he wrote this book to share them with all of us.

I have always preferred the natural ways, especially now that I live surrounded by farm land that is being destroyed by chemicals to control pests while killing the good pests and soil too. Why damage mother nature when Jerry Baker tells us how to without environmental consequences?

There is a fabulous section on growing and storing herbs, as well as veggie's ( my favorite as a vegetarian!), and growing a lush thriving lawn. We're talking beautiful Green grass, the kind you want to walk on barefoot!

Reap the rewards of the millions who have watched Baker on TV, on the radio and in his dozens of books. You might want to keep this book with your cookbooks- just grab it, mix up an easy potion and be the envy of all the green thumbers.

This would be an excellent gift for yourself or a fellow gardener.

I liked this book so much, I showed it to my mother and we bought three copies - one for her, one for me, and one for my brother! The book's title says it all - Jerry Baker really does present "Old-Time Gardening Wisdom". Specifically, he goes into many of the tricks and tips he learned from his grandmother.

The book is very well-organized, and is quite comprehensive (amazingly so!). Jerry Baker starts with simple information, such as how to evaluate your soil, where to put your garden and how large to make it, and he goes on to cover a range of topics including companion planting (a process by which plants are paired in beneficial relationships), fertilizers, pest control, and tips for growing herbs, berries, nuts and flowers. He also discusses the use of "electroculture" (a process of using metal objects to electrify the garden during storms and increase the amount of nitrogen in the soil), foraging for edible items in the wild and lawn care.

Really, I can't emphasize enough how useful this book is - it is absolutely one of the best books out there for gardening enthusiasts!

I originally checked this book out at the library. Some of the stories that he relates as a young boy learning from his Grandmother are both humorous and informative. After trying a few of jerry's concoctions I decided it was one of the books that would be handy to have on hand for future reference.

This book, along with the other books was very informative. It answered all my questions before I started my planting. Plus, being able to use products you have at home to take care of a problem, is a definite plus.

I have been looking for this book forever.....At least 12 years ago,when I became my mother's caregiver, the only thing that we
could pass time away together in the summer was gardening. I
watched every PBS show Mr.Baker appeared, wrote down everything
he advised and used it in the garden. Our garden was beautiful and MOM was in her wheel chair giving the instructions while I worked. When the ingredients called for beer, we mixed as called by his recipe, and (smile)drank the rest. Tobacco, fels naptha soap, all of it we tried out, all of it worked, and she and I had wonderful times before she passed.

Thanks Jerry Baker

P.S. The garden is still the best in the neighborhood. I now live in the Bahamas 7 months of the year, so I will be trying out exotic flowers with instructions from the book.

This book contains a lot of information that helps to keep your lawn and garden healthy. Most problems can be solved by using formulas contained in this book rather than comercial products that are expensive and confusing.

I love this gardening book! I looked at many gardening know-how books and this one had all the info I was looking for. It covers everything from how to prepare and test your own soil with old fashioned tricks to planning out your garden based upon whether you wanted to just eat out of your garden or preserve, pickle and can too! Great tips and info on every aspect of gardening. Practical, usable knowledge. I also loved the info on gathering & using wild herbs. You can't go wrong with the book!

This book is full of wisdom "Grandma" never taught you or me. It a good read just for the interesting wisdom and insight to the way it used to be.

I did not dig inside this book yet but here is what you should be aware of:
1-This book was written in 1999, so do not be deceived by the publication date of 2007 which might reflect a print date and does not mean a new edition. Inside the book there is nothing about 2007 but 1999 which is the 1st edition.
2- This book is 367 pages and not 384 pages as advertised.
3-This book does not contain any real pictures. All pictures are comic style drawings (black & white). Unfortunately you are not allowed to search inside the book on Amazon.

I contacted Amazon in order to inform customers but nothing was changed yet. So be aware if you were going to buy this book because of its publication date or its colored pictures because these would be the wrong reasons to buy it for. This book might carry invaluable information but it still was written in 1999 and the same 1st edition is printed on and on. Just wanted to let you know. Thanks Jerry!

I bought this book for my Aunt several years ago and she loved it. In conversations over time, she shared a lot of the good advice she learned from the book with my husband. He started to write it down on Post-its and scraps of paper so that we could remember what to do in our garden. Too many scraps of paper were lost! I decided that I'd better get him a copy of the book. I gave it to him for his birthday this year, and now our garden is getting the benefit of the great homegrown wisdom in Jerry Baker's amazing book. It will take a long time to try all of his recipes, but we're looking forward to reaping the rewards!