Garden Tonic Recipes
GB: Aeration Tonic
To make it, mix: 1 cup of liquid dish soap with 1 cup of beer. Combine the
ingredients in a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer, filling the balance of the
sprayer jar with warm water. Apply it liberally to the point of run-off.
GB: All Season Clean-Up Tonic:
1 cup of Plant Shampoo,
1 cup of Chewing Tobacco Tea, and
1 cup of antiseptic mouthwash in your 20 gallon hose-end sprayer, filling the
jar with warm water.
GB: All Season "Green-Up" Tonic:
- 1 can of beer,
- 1 cup of ammonia,
- 1/2 cup of liquid dish soap,
- 1/2 cup of Liquid Lawn Food, and
- 1/2 cup of molasses or corn syrup.
Mix all of the ingredients in a large bucket, then pour into a 20 gallon
hose-end sprayer to spray your plants.
GB: Clipping Dissolving Tonic
on it twice a year:
- 1 can of beer,
- 1 can of regular cola,
- 1 cup of ammonia,
- and 1 cup of liquid dish soap
in your 20 gallon hose-end sprayer.
GB: Drought Buster Tonic:
- 1 can of beer,
- 1 cup of Liquid Lawn Food,
- 1 cup of Thatch Buster, and
- 1 cup of Plant Shampoo.
Mix all of the ingredients in a large bucket, then pour into your 20 gallon
hose-end sprayer and saturate your "thirsty" lawn.
GB: Evergreen/Shrub Wake-Up Tonic.
This elixir perks up shrubs and evergreens the same way a cup of coffee perks
you up in the morning. Feed it to your greenery every three weeks, early in
the morning, throughout the growing season.
1 can of beer,
1 cup of Plant Shampoo,
1 cup of Liquid Lawn Food,
1/2 cup of molasses, and
2 tbsp. of Fish Fertilizer+.
Mix all of the ingredients together in my 20 Gallon Fertilizer Sprayer, and apply
liberally to your shrubs and evergreens.
GB: Fall Garden Tonic:
- 1 can of beer,
- 1 can of non-diet cola, and
- 1 cup of ammonia.
Mix all of the ingredients in a large bucket, then pour into a 20 gallon
hose-end sprayer, and thoroughly apply until the ground is saturated.
GB: Garden Cure-All Tonic (not grass)
At the first sign of insects or disease, mix up a batch this Tonic to set things right.
4 cloves of garlic,
1 small onion,
1 small Jalapeno pepper,
1 tsp. of Murphy’s Oil Soap,
1 tsp. of vegetable oil, and
Warm water.
Pulverize the garlic, onion, and pepper in a blender, and let them steep in a
quart of warm water for 2 hours. Strain the mixture and further dilute the
liquid with three parts of warm water. Add the Murphy’s Oil Soap and vegetable
oil. Using my Weed Sprayer, mist-spray your plants with this elixir several
times a week.
GB: Grass Clipping Dissolving Tonic
to help the clippings decompose quickly. Mix:
1 can of beer,
1 can of regular cola (not diet),
1 cup of ammonia, and
1 cup of liquid dish soap in a bucket and pour them into your 20 gallon hose-end
sprayer.
Apply to the point of run-off.
GB: Lawn Pest Control Tonic:
- 1 cup of Murphy’s Oil Soap, and
- 1 cup of chewing tobacco tea.
Mix the ingredients together in a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer, and apply to the
point of runoff once a month during the growing season.
To make the tea, take three fingers’ worth of chewing tobacco from the package,
place it in the toe of a nylon stocking, and place the stocking in a gallon of
boiling water. Let the tobacco steep until the water is dark brown.
GB: Terrific Turf Builder Tonic:
1 cup of baby shampoo,
1 cup of ammonia,
1 cup of regular cola (not diet), and
4 tbsp. of instant tea.
Combine all of these in your 20 gallon hose-end sprayer and apply to the point of run-off. This will help your lawn wake up and breathe, while giving it something to munch on until you start your regular feeding program.
GB: Thatch Control Tonic.
Mix
1 can of regular cola (not diet),
1/2 cup of liquid dish soap, and
1/4 cup of ammonia
in a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer, and apply to your lawn once a month to the point of run-off.
GB: Weed Killer Prep Tonic:
- 1 cup of liquid dish soap,
- 1 cup of ammonia, and
- 4 tbsp. of instant tea granules.
Mix all of these ingredients in your 20 gallon hose-end sprayer, filling the balance of the sprayer jar with warm water. Then spray the turf to the point of run-off.
