The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't & Why [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Jeff Gillman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2006

Can beer make plants grow? How about buttermilk? Or music — classical or rock? Is it true about planting trees in deep holes? And how about chasing insects with hot sauce and stopping slugs with eggshells? Remedies for all garden woes are there 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, horticulturist 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With graduate degrees in entomology and horticulture, Gillman brings scientific rigor to the topic of commercial, homemade and "traditional" garden remedies. Eschewing the received knowledge of "garden gurus"—albeit admitting that he is one—he exhorts readers to "[s]earch for the why behind everything you do for your plants." His concise review of factors affecting plant growth and development provides the backdrop for chapters that evaluate fertilizers, soil and media amendments, water, biostimulants, pesticides, protectants and other remedies. Within each category, Gillman describes the practice, explains the theory behind it, reveals the truth and describes what all that means to the home gardener. His findings about methods involving such materials as buttermilk, coffee grounds, humic acid, hellebore, silicon and salt are based on scientific literature, which is cited throughout, as well as many original experiments. Never didactic or preachy, Gillman takes pleasure in testing techniques for treating plants and urges readers to "[d]ivide off a section of plants in your garden just for experimenting and have fun with them." Gillman teaches gardeners to think about what they do, know why they're doing it and observe the results, trusting their knowledge and experience over claims made by companies, "experts" or garden folklorists. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Some of these may come as a shock or upset your favorite long-held ideas, but the book is worth it and is a fun read. It gives you lots to talk about with your gardening friends." John Van de Water, Newark Star-Ledger, June 6, 2006

"Some of these may come as a shock or upset your favorite long-held ideas, but the book is worth it and is a fun read. It gives you lots to talk about with your gardening friends."

(Newark Star-Ledger )

"The book is organized in a no-nonsense and user-friendly manner, setting out the theory and practice of each claim as well as the bottom line for the gardener. The results are fascinating. This is a book that many of us will want to consult frequently." Linda McIntyre, American Gardener, September/October 2006

"The book is organized in a no-nonsense and user-friendly manner, setting out the theory and practice of each claim as well as the bottom line for the gardener. The results are fascinating. This is a book that many of us will want to consult frequently."

(American Gardener )

"The author has put various products and practices to the test and explains his findings in a clear and useful format. Rather than give the remedies a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down, he explains that some things work to a certain extent and under specific conditions." Steve Aitken, Fine Gardening Jan/Feb 2007

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881927481
• ISBN-13: 978-0881927481
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

An Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Jeff was raised in South Eastern Pennsylvania, and went to Franklin and Marshall College. He then moved South to Georgia where he received a masters degree in Entomology and a Ph.D. in Horticulture. He currently resides in St. Paul Minnesota. Besides teaching and research activities, Jeff runs a nine acre nursery at UMN.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth About Garden Remedies, April 12, 2006

By 

W. Peters - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't & Why (Paperback)

Finally, the book I've been waiting for! I'm an avid gardner and a curious person. I am always looking for remedies for the various challenges I have in my garden. Whether it's insects, fertilizer problems, slugs and so on, I'm looking for solutions and not just myths with no foundation in reality. In 'The Truth About Garden Remedies', Dr Gillman covers a wide range of problems that can be encountered by me and my fellow gardners. The difference in this book, unlike most of the books I've read on the subject is that the answers are supported by real science and conveyed in a way that is completely readable. What is even more exciting, is that Dr. Gillman isn't a stuffy reseacher that is unwilling to consider alternative remedies, there are plenty of them in this book. I can't wait to mix up one of the garlic recipes to repel those pesky Aphids! Thank you Dr Gillmam.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this before ruining your garden with "Grandma's" garden remedies, March 28, 2007

By 

Garden Goddess (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't & Why (Paperback)

I read this book after reading several others by a so-called master gardener who recommends mixing up various potions in the kitchen. I'm glad I haven't used any of the old-time remedies, because I could have destroyed my garden in numerous ways. Beer, alcohol, ammonia used for house cleaning, and vinegar can all harm plants, although they are recommended for liberal use in the other books.

This book explains what helps and hurts your plants, and why. This will save you lots of trouble, time, and money. Ditch the old superstitions and go with what works!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The skeptic movement comes for your garden, April 29, 2008

By 

Brian Connors (Yarmouth, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why (Paperback)

In an era where anti-intellectualism is on the march, where many people on both the conservative and liberal wings equate education to elitism and oppression, it's become increasingly difficult to stand for rationalist and scientific thinking. Keeping up on the latest in ecological science is almost pointless for a lay person, since the entire public face of the subject is an echo chamber of accusations of conspiracy and cover-up. In the face of all that, organic growing has grown mightily as agricultural science is tarred by association with the corrupt giants of agribusiness such as Monsanto. After all, natural is better than synthetic, right? So all-natural must be better... right?

I was wary when I first saw this book. Sad as it is, "truth" has become a loaded word in the modern press -- too often a book that purports to tell you the "truth" is little more than a fringe polemic, more political than evidence-based in nature, raving about cover-ups and frauds and gushing with prejudice and paranoia. This is not that sort of book. Jeff Gillman, a University of Minnesota professor of horticulture (and therefore a card-carrying member of The Conspiracy) puts forth a simple, well-researched book on gardening techniques in the tradition of skeptical writers such as James Randi, Carl Sagan, and Martin Gardner, with critical examinations of many gardening tips and nostrums both commercial and homemade. They're graded individually (from one to five flowers) based on how they conform to the body of scientific knowledge; extensive journal references are provided to allow the persistent reader to judge the facts for themselves. Among the findings: hydrogels do nothing useful as far as supplying water to plants; soaps, used as pesticides, can actually be dangerous to plants; organic and synthetic fertilizers are about equally useful and suffer from the same problems as synthetics; tobacco insecticides work but are expensive and rather toxic; and praying mantises are a terribly inefficient method for natural insect control, as they don't like to congregate.

Despite the mildly unfortunate title, this is a great book to have for any gardener who needs a guidebook to the body of gardening advice out there. There's a lot of advice out there, good and bad, and this book (and its sequel) are absolutely essential to anyone who needs to figure out whether that Jerry Baker recipe they're reading is any good. (Baker is never mentioned by name, but the ingredients in his concoctions seldom get better than mezza-mezza ratings.) Some investigation of things like biodynamics (basically a mixture of organic gardening and dime-store witchcraft) would be helpful, but he's got another book out too, and I've got that on order.