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

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.

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!

Gillman breaks down every known and some I never heard of remedies to help fight against those nasty bugs that attack our gardens and how to grow a more productive or colorful one. From fertilizers to soda pop and many more urban myths and legends are revealed with a very useful rating system that your neighbor or uncle Joe couldn't offer with their sure fire remedy they swear works on their gardens. A must read for all of those who love to garden.

All the home remedies and suggestions that some of us have used for years if not generations. He's got space, time, interest, students looking for projects to check out stuff where we can only say things like "the year I added a bit of epsom salts to the tomatoes they did fine, but everybody else's tomatoes were fine that year too." I was crushed to find that after all these years I didn't need to add a lot of crushed rock to the bottom of my pots. After all my parents did that! (really? well no--I'd wondered a few times if a LOT of rock just took up space in the pot) So I like the book a lot.

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.