4/20/2026
Master Gardener Jerry Baker born in 1931 inspired me. Not to be a gardener since that was something I already wanted to be, but to make gardening and plants more fun. The more you enjoy a hobby the more time you’ll spend with it. You have to put the time in to get the results that you want.
When his first book in 1971 came out “Plants are Like People” I remember it. I was only 6 years old but I was still aware of the book. When Jerry Baker’s second book came out in 1973 “Talk to your Plants” this was the pinnacle of his career. Talking to your plants became a big fade along with other things like Pet Rocks.
Does talking to your plants help the plants? I don’t know but I think talking to your plants helps you be a better gardener. As a gardener you are a caretaker of plants. If you ask the plant what it needs to be happy it forces you to focus on what the plant actually desires to achieve its maximum growth potential as well as its maximum yield.
Jerry Baker was extremely popular in the mid 70s. He had his own TV show which was syndicated in another part of the country. I was living in San Francisco but when the show went into reruns somehow I was able to see them. I believe they were on PBS. But they might have even been on KRON 4 NBC local. Channel 4 hosted other gardening shows such as Henry’s Garden.
What really surprised me about Jerry Baker was his first career was as a police officer in Detroit. When he was wounded (apparently shot in the head) he decided to change his course and become a master gardener. He is a master gardener but he is not connected to the other program now that call themselves “Master Gardeners” with capital letters. In the 70s there was no such thing as a “Master Gardener”. Master Gardeners are begrudging Jerry Baker his right to call himself America’s Master Gardener. I see the branding Jerry Baker as a Master Gardener similar to the way Richard Simmons was “The Weight Saint”.
The most important take away about Jerry Baker is it wasn’t the homemade concoctions that he created using Coca-Cola and other household products as plant tonics. It was the care and the consideration that he spent with his plants. He did not forbid the use of chemical weed control but his organic philosophy was to remove all the weeds before they had gone to seed.
I’ve gotten fantastic results using this technique. It just takes years but eventually you will get rid your weeds. Once you have removed all the dormant weed seeds from your soil, all you have to worry about is new weed seeds coming in from the wind or from animals but it’s going to be so much less that you’ll feel like you’ve completely conquered the weeds. It will only take a small effort to remove weeds once your soil is filled with organic matter making it healthy and soft.
You can still buy products from Jerry Baker’s Company including DVD’s which I purchased for nostalgia reasons.
Macy Makes Magic 