I Tested a Very, Very Old Fertilizer Recipe I saw on PBS 

In my experience, Stella is fine for warm season grasses like Bermudagrass or St. Augustine, but cool season grasses prefer an IPA like Two Hearted Ale or Anti-Hero. This is especially true if you're using one of the better cultivars of KGB, like Midnight or Bewitched.

My neighbor who ran a greenhouse and florist shop used a slight variation on your recipe. It was basic fertilizer, mild dish soap, clear ammonia, flea and tic shampoo and 1/2 a can of beer. When I foolishly asked him what you do with the other 1/2 can of beer he said "Why you knucklehead! You drink it!!" I miss his sense of humor and I still remember the recipe.

The yeast in the beer helps with the decomposing of thatch. Blackstrap Molasses is the molasses to use. Its high in Iron, magnesium, and calcium. I've been putting molasses on my garden for years. Those, uh, medical plants love it.

What I love about your content? It's short and right on the spot. Keep doing the job :) Thanks!

RIP Jerry Baker. He will be happy to know that people are still using his formulas and tonics

Jerry Baker used to be the spokesperson for Kmart Garden Centers. I met him at a Grand opening of a Super Kmart in Mansfield Ohio. He was very knowledgeable on using home remedies for your lawn and garden. He has since passed. His home was in Winterhaven Florida.

One thing I really like about your videos is your curiosity. You try all kinds of different things to see what the results are. Your videos give me courage to try some new things.

I did this every 3 weeks during the spring and summer when I owned my home. I had the BEST lawn in town, by FAR !

This guy's videos are the perfect length to always get the point across. I love the way he uses foreshadowing with the time stamps to hold the viewer's attention to the very end. Best lawn channel for the regular guy who just wants to level up his yard.

I’ve made my own liquid fertilizer from the grass clippings, throw them in a 5 gallon bucket with water and let it steep for about a week and strain the clippings and there you go

I sprayed all the dry grass areas of my yard tonight with concentrated dish soap out of an Ortho sprayer Prior to seeing this video. It will help water penetrate hard soils like clay. I also have never met a bug that likes their body or food covered in soap (ex..aphids on roses). I have Jerry Bakers book and watched him many times on PBS. Some say he is a quack...in reality he was a smart man.

I loved Jerry Baker!! I own some of his books and it works!!👍 The recipe you just used is great to spray on trees, foliage as well as the lawn. It will make everything super green and healthy!

I LOVE his methods, I have several books. My favorite is his formula for transplanting plants. It's a miracle for plants so they don't go into shock. I have used his methods for over 30 years.

I don't even have a lawn, I live on the 8th floor of an apartment. This guy some how made this topic interesting

I've been using Jerry's recipes for almost 20 years. He knows his stuff. You waited only two days for results. Give it a solid week and see how it looks. I don't use that formula you used because it makes my grass jump too much-- Don't want extra mowing.

Oh yeah, He was the first Master Gardener I ever learned from. This recipe is good but the one I learned from him substituted cola for molasses. It's the sugar that's important ...There wasn't any plant food in the original recipe because of the ammonia. That stuff is pure nitrogen for the plants! Any more than that would burn them. The dish soap is used to cut through the natural waxy film of the foliage to allow the rest of the cocktail to absorb into the plant more quickly. Another thing you can use as an organic pesticide is tobacco tea made by steeping Beech-Nut chewing tobacco in boiling water... put it in a sprayer bottle and you're good to go. This was also one of his recipes. His book I think was called Tips, Tricks, and Tonics. All my plants absolutely loved his tonics!!!! You can't go wrong with Jerry's Tonics!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤

I use this recipe in between my granular fertilizations. Everything comes from the Dollar store except the beer, and IT WORKS! FYI. I reside in Southeast MI with cool season grass. Give it a try guys!

I still use his recipes, they actually work

Many years ago, I told a guy I worked with about one of Baker’s Lawn Tonics that I had tried. He was amused, curious, and skeptical. But he took the recipe to his brother who is a biochemist. The brother told him that it was brilliant and to use it on his lawn! I have used it ever since. In the Spring, add half a cup of Epsom salt to the recipe in this video. To avoid too much evaporation, apply this tonic in the evening, especially in hot weather. Then you won’t need to water it in. By the way, this will really help you lawn through a heat wave: do it every 3 weeks.

Baker didn't use plant food in his recipes in his book. I made this his fertilizer in 1996 and it only had beer,sprite, dish liquid, amonia. I grew tomatoes and roses ,gave to tomatoes to half the n-hood. Thd reason I used his recipe was to stay more on organic level.

Props to putting out a vid for cheap and easy DIY fertilizers. The results are snapping!

Omg, I even bought Jerry's books and video back in the day. I still have them!

This is awesome! I remember seeing these old school home recipes - pretty sweet seeing it in action and the quick green-up!

You're supposed to drink the remaining beer while you hope for the best. 😂

I have all of Jerry Baker’s books. He suggests using Lemon scented ammonia and dish-soap. The lemon will keep all flying insects away….Mosquitoes as well. Just spray everything…plants, yard, house, furniture…before let’s say a cookout. You’ll actually see all the flying bugs leave as you are spraying. And you’ll have a very green lawn as well. Jerry Baker..America’s Master Gardener! Cheers

FINALLY some use for Bud Light!

I've been using his tonics for years and have seen great results. For the lawn and my flowers and gardens. I've never used the lawn food in my tonics.

…… I’ve been using these solutions for YEARS! Great stuff!

I used to watch Jerry too. He had all kinds of crazy household stuff he would throw on his lawn and plants - today though, for sure, the label lawyers here on RU-vid would slay him if he made content. Also, Super Thrive is legit - it's what everyone uses here in Summer.

A great video. I will say the most important thing here to spray you lawn with is dish soap. After you fertilize your lawn, spray dish soap on it and then water it in. Farmers use soap after they plant crop seeds. It breaks the surface tension.....

I watched Jerry Baker on PBS all the time. I also bought his books. I followed his directions including wearing golf shoes whenever I mowed or fertilized. I had the best looking fescue lawn, rose garden and perennial beds in my neighborhood, hands down. My trees also thrived. His stuff works!

I remember watching pbs gardening shows with my dad when I was little

I used that recipe once, minus super thrive, a few years back. It did green up my lawn fast and my flowers kept blooming all the way into November. All the neighbors couldn't believe it.

Wow just wow. Molasses has been boiled down and it is really concentrated mineral boost. The sugars just feed the bacteria. This isn't to fertilize your plants, it feeds your soil. Your soil in turn takes care of all the needs of your plants. Spreading alfalfa pellets across your lawn befor a rain will help boost your soil as well. Hardwood pellets for grilling will feed for a long time. They are good to spread on your lawn.

I have used Jerry’s tonics for decades. I always use Epsom Salt, quick and longer green up, the cheapest laundry, non bleach detergent I can find, also helps to keep moles away. (They don’t like soap flavored soil) And of course fertilizer. The grass stripes up so nice! His thatch buster works too! A lot of people think his stuff was just snake oil, but it all works.

Caught Jerry Baker's show on PBS, decades ago. Being a curious chemical engineer, I gave it a try. Ended up using his concoctions for years, when I lived in the high-end 'burbs. It works, had the best lawn on the street, if not village. Kept a very sharp lawn mower blade and never took off more the a quarter of the length of grass, maintaining its height between 3 and 4 inches. Has Jerry said, it will help to retard weed growth. One day, I observed my neighbor outside giving his expensive lawn care service 'what for.' He was pointing at his lawn, then at my lawn, then back at the poor lawn care representative, over and over. I couldn't hear the animated conversation. But, it was obvious what was being said. The lawnservice never did make the neighbor's lawn look as good as mine.

It would be interesting running this experiment three different ways: 1. Water only (control), 2. Normal Fertilizer, and 3. Jerry Baker's concoction. You'll have to run them on separate patches of the lawn, but all three should be the same grass and have the same exposure (sun versus shade over the day).

I had a yellow lawn one year. I didn't want to water a bunch to save money on my water bill here in California. I bought some Milorganite organic fertilizer from home Depot and let me tell you. It stink but I've never seen a greener lawn using little water.

That guy is why I have a green thumb. Everything he said to do works. Credit PBS too. This is the public good that comes from stuff like that.

I've been doing it with Beer,Amonia and dish soap only. For years. Works amazing on my Zoysia.

He had a tonic for keeping insects away, it had mouthwash in it and a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head. Every one oh his recipes were good when I used them!

I have used this formula a lot to "wake up" plants in the spring. The soap kind of repels bugs too. When I saw the show instead of molasses he said to use cola, at least in the show I saw. Instead of ammonia for plants I just used with Miracle Grow. If having heavy bug problems throw in a little lawn or garden bug killer. Just tried on my lawn last week with ammonia. Now have patches of green trying to grow back in a browned out area. I also remember it does not last all that long so every two weeks or so you can apply again until you see the results you want. Funny I saw this video just after applying myself. Our devises are listening ladies and gentlemen...

I established clover a couple of years ago and big difference now. Some home made compost in the fall and the lawn looks great. Every year there's less weeds now. Where our dog pees is the best grass now.

Man, that is a blast from the past, i have not used it since the '90 s.

This was awesome!! You should totally find more recipes to test out!

Great video!!! I use to use his tonics as well and they do work. While I use other products now, I still use the dish soap for things needing a surfactant

I brought my lawn back using his tips.

Yup - I used Jerry's methods and it does work - don't forget the Chewing Tobacco Juice and Lemon Dish Soap.

My dad used to watch Jerry Baker years ago, he put beer in everything it seemed. LOL We never tried that stuff but looks like it has some basis in actual lawn chemistry.

I've tried his barn yard tea. I spray it in everything. That stuff works.

I have used this ever since I saw the same TV Special years ago. It works like a champ! One thing is about the beer, it's a de-Thacher. The yeast in the bear breaks down dead matter much quicker. The molasses is the sugar.

Such great delivery, George. Awesome job!

I remember Jerry on WTTW when I was a teenager. Bob Ross of lawn care is totally accurate. Good channel, great to see a local guy working his craft on RU-vid!

Have been waiting for someone in the community to make a video on this. I read his book and did his tonics back in 2005 . I had the greenest lawn on the block :)

I use to use his recipes years ago. My plants loved them.

All ingredients are helpful to the lawn. Thanks.

Thanks George - always wondered if that SuperThrive was for real!

Thank you for doing this video! (I made the suggestion to you, a while back). I use several of Jerry's recipes. Cheap dollar store bubble bath (which contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) makes a great surfactant. I've also just started using fresh human pee (in a hose end sprayer), as it contains a good amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. I stopped using commercial products ... they are expensive and I'm cheap! I just use the 1.5oz setting on my Ortho Dial-N-Spray.

Dry nice presentation. You know your stuff and did a great job!

I’ve used this mixture, but with cola instead of molasses, and 4oz of micro green for the “ lawn food” element.

I use liquid iron. it greens the grass up and doesn't need constant watering like those "weed and feed" products do.

Great video! I would have liked to see the results maybe a week later instead of just 2 days though.

His lawn tonic works. I have tried it. Jerry was my first lawn guides guru for my lawn.

This is the recipe my mom used for her front yard in Jacksonville. It worked.

I definitely dig the fact you did something different then the normal lawn care video!!! On my way to watch some Jerry videos.

Dish soap "used" to have phosphate in it (back when soap worked good) and that alone could fertilize a lawn, Your missing a major ingredient that was in Jerry Baker's juice.

Hi George, I remember Gerry Baker offering all his home made remedies to fix your lawn, one was to get a 2-liter bottle of 7-Up and rig it up to your garden hose, and the sugar/water mix would do your lawn some good.

Been using his recipes since 1990… they do work.

To be completely honest, JERRY BAKER's book gave me the introduction to "Organic Lawncare". The results where absolutely wonderful, but required ALOT of work...

Great video young man! My question is “what was the setting on the hose end sprayer you used for this?”

Yes. Jerry Baker. I knew I’d use this my future self.

I used Jerry's formula for years. My lawn was gorgeous. I love using natural and avoid man made chemicals.

In case it isn’t obvious to everyone, do the molasses first so that everything else helps clean out the measuring cup. Less cleanup. Edit: or maybe second so it has something to dissolve in. Maybe add the beer to the measuring cup and dissolve in the molasses before adding them together into the dispersal container.

I used that PBS recipe too and the molasses attracted tons of ants to my lawn. Tons of ant hills making my lawn bumpy and still trying to get rid of them 3 years later. If you're gonna do this, skip molasses.

Man I remember seeing this guy on pbs or something years ago with these home made lawn fertilizer recipe's. Cool to see you do one. I think he had one that also had tobacco juice in it.

Super thrive deserves a video in its own right ! Its first application was in Vietnam to attempt to repair the damage the years of chemical warfare had done to the plant life ! It is not a standard plant food depending on who you talk to ( the original recipe was gods gifts or the current recipe is a scam ) I lean towards somewhere in the middle where it is still a viable product but its amazing properties have been diluted out !

Everyone is talking about "the beer has yeast". You guys realize that beer is pasteurized and does **not** have any live yeast?

Jerry Baker always said one bottle of the hose and spray solution is enough to cover 3000 ft.²

I used to watch Jerry on PBS, have the recipe book and successfully used the tonic.

I've been using Jerry's tonics for years. I use clear corn syrup instead of molasses and lemon dish soap instead of regular for my garden. I remember him saying add a can of Coke instead of beer for the lawn as the sugars etc., in the Coke helps break down thatch. I use beer for my veg garden.

The beer has yeast. All those ingredients are eco friendly.

I put four cans of beer in, my lawn came up half cut.

Your all purpose general plant food is called super thrive, concentrate, that alone will green up the grass, I use it for house plants and orchids etc. That is a key ingredient to your solution.

Tried this today. I used a full can of beer since all I had was light beer. Used a cup of my wife's Miracle Grow liquid mix for the fertilizer. See what happens in a few days.

That lawn looked like it needed water most of all.

I was trying to mix this up, but my beer kept disappearing every time I'd go to mix it in

I have been doing this for over twenty five years ... On a side note : the yeast in the beer breaks down the thatch in the lawn , subtract the molasses and add a can of any cola soda ( cheaper ) , dish soap with a “ lemon scent “ will distract any insects in your yard ...

If been using Jerry green up tonic for about 3 years it works .I use more on garden then do yard .smaller area don't have to use as much.then I'll spray in brown area of yard to .good to see a video saying it works other always yes it doesn't.

Great video George. It does appear to work :-)

That's not a fertilizer recipe. We call it "Drunk Composting".

A slightly different version of this is called "Thunderstorm In A Bottle". My friend's Mother swore by the concoction, and applied it often. She always had a beautiful lawn and flower beds.

I got one of his books years ago. I probably wouldn’t have been able to eat so good if it weren’t for him

This was great because it was before all the new liquid fertilizers also its very natural and not synthetic.

I love Jerry's recipes! I think you would have seen better results if you had watered the lawn.

The sidewalk behind th4 lawn changed colour also, so I wonder if it's not just a darker day

Got a sub with this one. Old knowledge is priceless! I have an old readers digest from the 1980s - How to do Just About Anything. This reminded me of that book. 👍

I could see the benefits, if somebody doesn't want to use harsh chemicals on their lawn.

Years ago I used this as a bi-weekly spoon feed during the summer months. It worked for me.

Stop playing, You are a scientist dude!! Excellent presentation boss. Mad kudos & thanks!!!

I used to work at a carwash. We would run the grey water through the lawn sprinkler at the end of the day. Greenest lawn I ever saw.