"Val" wrote in message
...

"McGerm" wrote in message
...
I have been catching up on my garden reading here in Zone 6. One of
the things I picked up at the library was a DVD on tree and shrub
care. Among the things it said to do was to use a 'clean-up tonic'
once every two weeks to discourage insects and diseases. The DVD made
it sound like a very good thing to do.

Clean-Up Tonic
1 Cup lemon-scented liquid dish soap
1 Cup of antiseptic mouthwash
1 Cup of chewing tobacco tea

The tobacco concerns me, specifically tobacco mosaic virus. Will this
treatment spread the virus? According to sources online TMV infects
and kills tomatoes/peppers/eggplant/ cubits, annual flowers, orchids,
and hundreds of other ornamentals.

Jim

Sounds like you got hold of some Jerry Baker schlock. Our PBS stations
stopped carrying his programs years ago as well as his Sunday radio
programs. More than a few organic gardening groups suggested he be strung
up by the thumbs. The NW Flower and Garden show hasn't had him for a
speaker in years because of the flack they got from "real" garden
educators and the Master Gardeners Association about his misinformation
and use of the unearned title "Master Gardener". I was riveted in the
doorway (early 90s as I recall) when passing by one his seminars (everyone
loves a good train wreck) when a gentleman stood and introduced himself as
a professor and head of the U of W Horticultural Dept and went into a
"what the hell are you thinking" demanding for a basis of his unfounded
and potentially harmful formulas. Ol' Jerry was red in the face and
sputtering when he just walked off the stage without replying......so
ended a very short seminar. Never saw him again on the roster of speakers.

Here's an article you might find interesting. Rather enlightening about
his qualifications and expertise.
http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/Whats/jbaker.htm


Val


Interesting! Thanks.

To the OP: Go to www.powells.com and find a used copy of "Crockett's
Victory Garden", by James Underwood Crockett. Do everything he does.....

***********EXCEPT**********

......that you should ignore all his advice about the endless use of sprays &
powders. He went way overboard. Maybe that's what killed him. Ignore all of
it until you've managed to locate your public library and brought home some
books (made of paper).