Book Description
Do you know what the best feature is in All New Square Foot Gardening?
Sure, there are ten new features in this all-new, updated book. Sure, it's even simpler than it was before. Of course, you don't have to worry about fertilizer or poor soil ever again because you'll be growing above the ground.
But, the best feature is that anyone, anywhere can enjoy a Square Foot garden. Children, adults with limited mobility, even complete novices can achieve spectacular results.
But, let's get back to the ten improvements. You're going to love them.
1)
New
Location - Move your garden closer to your house by eliminating single-row gardening. Square Foot Garden needs just twenty percent of the space of a traditional garden.
2)
New
Direction - Locate your garden on top of existing soil. Forget about pH soil tests, double-digging (who enjoys that?), or the never-ending soil improvements.
3)
New
Soil - The new "Mel's Mix" is the perfect growing mix. Why, we even give you the recipe. Best of all, you can even buy the different types of compost needed.
4)
New
Depth - You only need to prepare a SFG box to a depth of 6 inches! It's true--the majority of plants develop just fine when grown at this depth.
5)
No Fertilizer - The all new SFG does not need any fertilizer-ever! If you start with the perfect soil mix, then you don't need to add fertilizer.
6)
New Boxes - The new method uses bottomless boxes placed aboveground. We show you how to build your own (with step-by-step photos).
7)
New Aisles - The ideal gardening aisle width is about three to four feet. That makes it even easier to kneel, work, and harvest.
8)
New Grids - Prominent and permanent grids added to your SFG box help you visualize the planting squares and know how to space for maximum harvest.
9)
New Seed Saving Idea - The old-fashioned way advocates planting many seeds and then thinning the extras (that means pulling them up). The new method means planting a pinch- literally two or three seeds--per planting hole.
10)
Tabletop Gardens - The new boxes are so much smaller and lighter (only 6 inches of soil, remember?), you can add a plywood bottom to make them portable.
Of course, that's not all. We've also included simple, easy-to-follow instructions using lots of photos and illustrations. You're going to love it!
Customer Reviews:
Practical and Easy Gardening.......2007-10-10
I have been interested in gardening for years and have even attempted it a time or two. The results were never pretty. This book has helped me turn over a new leaf! I feel like I can garden without having to constantly experiment with the details - what soil mixture should I use, where can I find room, how much should I plant, etc. I followed his directions in making and gridding my box, the soil mixture, planting ,etc. I love the easiness of it all and how crisp and clean it looks! I am excited about my garden and have even intrigued my dad( who is an avid gardener) with this method! We are both experimenting together!
Helpful book.......2007-09-14
This a good book, but the author's ego is the size of the Atlantic Ocean. If you can get past his bragging and self-promotion, the book has some good ideas and helpful information. I like this book (the author can be inspiring and has obviously given a lot of thought to his ideas), but I like Gaia's Garden and Food Not Lawns better.
One idea the author doesn't mention is the use of free wood chips as a ground cover. Here in Portland, you can call most arborists and they will deliver free ground trees. It's better for the arborists than paying to dispose of the ground trees at a recycling center and they will schedule the delivery when they're in your area to minimize their delivery distance. You can minimize weeds by laying down a thick layer of newspapers or cardboard, and then covering them with wood chips.
Gardening with a bad back.......2007-09-09
I had back surgery 5 years ago and had to give up gardening. Last Spring a friend gave me a copy of Square Foot Gardening. I had someone build me a 4x8 foot garden on legs 4 feet tall and planted a vegetable garden that was so successful that we joked that it was going to take over the world! I have since had another built. It is so exciting to me to be able to grow things again! I would recommend that you have one built for a friend or parent who is unable to keep up with a regular garden. It is a wonderful feeling to eat what you have grown.
Diane Woodward
North Carolina
Great Book!.......2007-09-07
I love this book and can't wait to try out his methods of gardening. Pictures are very pretty. Instructions easy to understand.
Never too late (for SFG).......2007-09-05
This is a innovative, creative, common sense approach to engaging in the wonderwful world of gardening in a straightforward and easily managed way. Thanks Mel. (p.s. these words are from the person to whom I gifted this book)
Average customer rating:
- Completely Satisfied
- Enjoyable, with Reservations
- Can I please live with the Kingsolver Family?
- Thinking about your food
- Powerful Read
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Barbara Kingsolver ,
Camille Kingsolver , and
Steven L. Hopp
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Memoirs
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Rural Life
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| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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Organic
| Techniques
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| Home & Garden
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| Kingsolver, Barbara
| ( K )
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| Kingsolver, Barbara
| ( K )
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ASIN: 0060852550
Release Date: 2007-05-01 |
Book Description
Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.
"As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.
"Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel. . . ."
Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.
"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."
Customer Reviews:
Completely Satisfied.......2007-10-12
My book arrived promptly and was in perfect condition. I would buy from this seller again.
Enjoyable, with Reservations.......2007-10-10
I was attracted to this book as a kindred spirit (of sorts) to the author. I have been growing much of my own food (plant-based, anyway) as I could for many years. I prefer to eat seasonal foods, and buy locally produced items whenever available.
So I was a little disappointed when I first began reading, as much of the first chapter or two is taken up by the author's berating us all for our ignorance and our eating habits, as well as a lot of good, but unfortunately not new to me, information on our food supply.
Thankfully though, I hung in there, and found it to be an enjoyable read overall. I was looking forward to hear someone else's experiences in the garden and the kitchen, and that I did get.
I found myself skipping some parts, the description of the poultry slaughtering for example.
The book also includes sidebars written by her husband, which were mainly summaries of reports one may have already read elsewhere; and essays written by her daughter, Camille. I didn't find these entries of interest, and so skipped them as well.
If you enjoy reading about food and or gardening, or you have been having second thoughts about your grocery habits lately, then I recommend this book.
Can I please live with the Kingsolver Family?.......2007-10-09
Barbara Kingsolver is my hero. Her life on the farm sounds perfect, and I want her to open a B&B so I can experience her cooking, gardening, and philosophy of life. And while I don't have enough land or expertise to sustain myself and my family -- I do appreciate the information in this book and have used what I can to eat more local foods. The recipes, links, and resources make the book worthwhile. But the book is also an entertaining read. I read it slowly to savor the deep commitment that Barbara and her family put into even the most simple eating pleasures. Thank you for this book, Barbara. It is a treasure. Eleanor Taylor, co-author of Feeding the Kids: The Flexbile, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family. Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family (Fork and Spoon Field Guides)
Thinking about your food.......2007-10-05
Ms Kingsolver writes smoothly and with passion about organic farming. Sidebars from her college age daughter cover practical personal concerns, complete with recipes to enjoy the seasonal bounty of the land; while ones from her husband give the political overview of how farming policies affect us all on a world level. All in my book group enjoyed the book as a whole. It was obviously edited tightly to be easy and fast to read while still introducing ideas that would be unusual to most people in North America. As one with a extensive backyard fruit and vegetable garden in California, I would have enjoyed more detailed planning information on how she decided what and how much to plant, why she did not try to raise more and different animals for food, (e.g., rabbits, sheep, or even guinea pigs)and what she could have done with a greenhouse and solar or wind power.
Powerful Read.......2007-10-04
I think this is an important book about our society, economy and values. While it can be a bit preachy at times, Barbara's humor is wonderfully dry. I highly recommend.
Amazon.com
Burpee has created a truly encyclopedic, but non-intimidating, guide to organic vegetable gardening that can be used and appreciated by anyone, whether or not they've ever stuck a seed in the ground. All the essential information is here--how to condition the soil, how and where to plant, sprouting schedules, what kind of yield to expect from each plant variety, and harvesting tips--in beautiful, bountiful, illustrated detail; the book's largest section, "Plant Portraits," contains explanations of the many cultivars of each vegetable and herb. If you're a novice vegetable gardener or new to organic gardening and can only afford one gardening guide, this may be your best value.
Book Description
A Backyard-Gardener's Guide to Growing a Bountiful, Great-Tasting Harvest
The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener features:
- A full-color encyclopedia of over 100 vegetables and herbs with detailed, expert advice on growing them successfully from planting to harvest
- Planting and growing techniques that keep maintenance to a minimum
- Entries on how to grow unusual edibles, such as refreshing mesclun for salads, colorful edible flowers, spicy mustards, and more
- Descriptions and photos of a host of succulent vegetables, both hybrids and heirlooms, from common to exotic
- Complete information on improving even the poorest garden soil using safe, organic techniques, plus practical advice on making compost
- Recommendations on garden tools you need-and those you don't
- Information on controlling pests and diseases organically, without resorting to poisonous sprays
- Spectacular full-color photographs of vegetables and herbs, food gardens, and edible landscapes, plus 30 black-and-white line drawings
Book Description
If you love the joys of eating home-garden vegetables but always thought those joys had to stop at the end of summer, this book is for you. Eliot Coleman introduces the surprising fact that most of the United States has more winter sunshine than the south of France. He shows how North American gardeners can successfully use that sun to raise a wide variety of traditional winter vegetables in backyard cold frames and plastic covered tunnel greenhouses without supplementary heat. Coleman expands upon his own experiences with new ideas learned on a winter-vegetable pilgrimage across the ocean to the acknowledged kingdom of vegetable cuisine, the southern part of France, which lies on the 44th parallel, the same latitude as his farm in Maine.
This story of sunshine, weather patterns, old limitations and expectations, and new realities is delightfully innovative in the best gardening tradition. Four-Season Harvest will have you feasting on fresh produce from your garden all through the winter.
Customer Reviews:
Does this book even need another 5-star review?.......2007-10-06
Even if you don't want to garden year round (if you do this is the only book you need), it's a fascinating and fact-filled read. He tells how to garden more efficiently, how to compost and rejuvenate soil with crop rotation and "green manure" and which direction to plant rows for optimal time in the sun. There are formulas throughout such as how high a retaining wall to build to protect plants from cold (the wall heats up during the day and radiates warmth back during the night), or how many degrees to slant a bed to maximize sun and minimize cold wind damage. He tells how to plan succession planting to have vegetables year round, rather than one humungous crop all at once. His tone is congenial, never talking down or above his target audience. It's fascinating--if you buy you won't be sorry!
ORGANIC HOME GARDENER.......2007-08-04
This book is loaded with dynamite information. I have enjoyed reading it and will certainly make use of the info therein in the future!
Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long.......2007-07-15
Eliot Coleman has combined how-to text with drawings that inform and inspire. Highly recommended reading!
Helpful info.......2007-06-28
I am very excited about becoming self-sufficient in feeding my family of six. This book has extremely helpful ideas that are very cost effective. Highly recommend this book.
The bible of 4-season gardening.......2007-04-18
There is nothing like the satisfaction of talking to another seasoned gardener and having them say "isn't it too early for snap-peas?" and responding "nope, mine are doing great". This book gave me the confidence and knowledge to plant a month and a half earlier than I have ever planted before, without protection for the plants even!
It lays out in simple terms variety selection, location, timing and all the information you need to be harvesting vegetables literally all year round all the way down to zone 3!!
Amazon.com
Wouldn't it be lovely to have a patch of corn, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and beans just steps from your kitchen door? Would you like to learn how to control your zucchini plant? Ed Smith, an experienced vegetable gardener from Vermont, has put together this amazingly comprehensive and commonsensical manual, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. Basically, Ed and his family have been growing a wide variety of vegetables for years and he's figured out what works. This book, filled with step-by-step info and color photos, breaks it all down for you.
Ed's system is based on W-O-R-D: Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, Deep soil. With deep, raised beds, vegetable roots have more room to grow and expand. In traditional narrow-row beds, over half the soil is compacted into walkways while a garden with wide, deep, raised beds, plants get to use most of the soil. In Ed's plan, growing space gets about three-quarters of the garden plot and only about a quarter is used for the walkway. Ed teaches you how to create raised beds both in a larger garden or in separate planked beds. One of the most important--and most often overlooked--aspects of successful vegetable gardening is crop rotation. Leaving a crop in the same place for years can deplete nutrients in that area and makes the crop more likely to be attacked by insects. Rotate at least every two years and your vegetables will be healthier and bug-free. There's also a good section on insect and blight control.
Before choosing what to grow, go through the last third of the book, where Ed takes a look at the individual growing, harvesting, and best varieties of a large number of both common and more exotic vegetables and herbs. Whether you are a putterer or a serious gardener, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is an excellent resource to have handy. --Dana Van Nest
Book Description
Discover the last W.O.R.D. in vegetable gardening with Ed Smith's amazing gardening system. By integrating four principles -- Wide beds, Organic methods, Raised beds, and Deep beds -- Smith reinvents vegetable gardening, making it possible for everyone to have the best, most successful garden ever. By following this complete system you cultivate deep, powerful soil that nourishes plants and discourages pests and disease. The result is fewer weeds, healthier plants, and lots of great-tasting vegetables. Plus, you'll enjoy gardening as you never have before. The Vegetable Gardener's Bible -- the last W.O.R.D. in vegetable gardening.
Customer Reviews:
excellent.......2007-07-30
this book will be especially useful for the beginner. i've gardened for a long time, but rarely taken advice. but after reading this one, i will.
Really good book! Money well spent!.......2007-07-21
I will not regret I bought this book. Other people already said all the good things about this book. All I can add is that Mr. Smith uses photos of his own vegetable garden in his book. It really makes a book different and adds a personality to it. You can really see how he does it.
I also really like the structure of the book and vegetable description.
Awesome!.......2007-07-08
I got this as a gift for my husband who loves to garden. He LOVES this book. He already has gotten so many ideas for next year's garden. He thinks the W-O-R-D system is a great idea.
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible.......2007-06-19
I was very disappointed in this book, its like he took all the info from 20 other books and compiled it, as all he talks about is what every other book has already stated.
Great Organization.......2007-06-04
This book not only has good information, but it is organized in a way that makes it much more convenient than many books. Each vegetable has it's own page in alphabetical order, and each has a block of the most important details such as: plant spacing, growing temperatures, seed longevity, etc... All the most important stuff is laid out in an easy to access format. I have only 2 gardening books, the handbook of gardening from the american horticultural society, and this one. I grow a lot of vegetables and find myself referencing this one more often. It would help if they released another book of this style for fruit.
Amazon.com
This gardening classic was first published in 1975, and now a second generation of gardeners who prefer pest-resistant planning to chemicals will find a place for it on the shelves. Not only does it tell what to plant with what, but also how to use herbal sprays to control insects, what wild plants to encourage in the garden, how to grow fruit and nut trees, how to start small plots or window-box gardens, and much more. It's one of the most practical books around for any gardener of edibles, no matter how serious or casual.
Book Description
This classic has now taught generations of gardeners how to use the natural benefits of plants to protect and support each other. Here is a reader's complete reference to which plants nourish the soil, which keep away bugs and pests, and which plants just don't get along. Here is a complete guide to using companion planting to grow a better garden. 555,000 copies in print.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Have for the Gardner's Library.......2007-07-19
Great book. Very informative. I highly recommend anyone who likes to garden, or even those who just want to landscape their yards.
Katy loves "Carrots love Tomatoes ".......2007-06-14
Really A good Guide... I work hard in my garden.. so I want the best results
this book helps me to do this!
Notthing special.......2007-06-09
I was disappointed that this book offered no scientific evidence for companion planting, and offered little more information than you could easily find for free on the internet. I read this book, took a few notes and then sold it immediately. Not one for the shelf.
useful reference book.......2007-05-23
I was hoping for a book that would be an interesting read. This one is more like reference book. It is comprehensive, but kind of like reading a dictionary. I would recommend it because it has useful knowledge, but if you want a gardening book that you can read and relax with, this one probably won't do it.
... and veggie gardeners just love companion planting!.......2007-05-23
True, there are many edible plants and herbs that Louise Riotte does not mention in her wonderful 'Carrots love tomatoes', and true again, her hot and humid part of the world is not the same as the cool, flat countryside
of Holland's extreme North (where I live). So, she doesn't write about witlof (white chicory roots) or our wonderful brands of kale, but what she DOES write about it absolutely amazing. In my view companion planting is one of the basic principles - and such a sympathetic one! - to create a healthy garden. And what better haven, to enjoy everyday, by yourself and with others? Good on you, Louise!
Alma
[...].
Book Description
A classic in the field of sustainable gardening, HOW TO GROW MORE VEGETABLES shows how to produce a beautiful organic garden with minimal watering and care, whether it's just a few tomatoes in a tiny backyard or enough food to feed a family of four on less than half an acre. Updated with the latest biointensive tips and techniques, this is an essential reference for gardeners of all skill levels seeking to grow some or all of their own food.
Customer Reviews:
A good book with surplus pages.......2007-08-16
This is a definitive guide to the Bio- Intensive method of growing vegetables. It is well written, and you can see that a lot of time and effort are behind the concepts presented here.
Two things bother me; There`s an almost 100- page bibliography included in the book!? Couldn`t it have been put up on a website or something, instead of just making the book (look) bigger and thicker? The second issue is that I find it always a bit irritating when a lot of equipment or systems get mentioned in a book, but to get their specifics or plans you must buy another book. Maybe the plans for the U- bar or for the mini- greenhouse could have fitted on those bibliography pages?
Anyways, the four stars is for the part where the actual system gets described.
It's not easy, but it's brilliant and could save the world.......2007-05-22
I am impressed at how many people misunderstand the purpose of this book. It's not just a gardening book. It lays out a comprehensive guide to growing the most food you can on the least amount of land in the most sustainable way -- meaning the way that is, on an ongoing basis into perpetuity, most healthy both for your family, your land, and the wider world. All those things are connected, and maintaining the connection is part of what the book and authors are all about.
The title means what it says, and they tell you exactly how to do it, basing their recommendations on the work of the organization that publishes the book, Ecology Action. They have been growing experimental gardens and conducting detailed research over the past 35 years. In succeeding editions of "How to Grow More Vegetables" they summarize their continuing research for those interested in personally benefiting from their methods and discoveries.
Some may object to the excruciatingly detailed charts and plans. Some of us find them a godsend. Regardless of what we think of them, they are the outgrowth of years of research and are intended to help, not just backyard gardeners in the US, but people in Kenya, India, Russia, Mexico, and other places around the world, whose lives and livelihoods, not to mention the health of their environment, may depend on maximizing their yields while minimizing their purchased inputs and water usage.
The central fact underlying this method is this: the only way to achieve the highest sustainable yields is to build and feed your soil, and the only way to build your soil without taking away fertility from someone else's soil (through purchased inputs such as compost, fertilizer, etc.) is to make and use your own compost. This book explains why, and shows you how. It works.
Though we are still shielded from it in the US, the world is facing a potentially devastating loss of agricultural fertility due to a combination of squandered topsoil (lost through both development and abuse by chemicals and poor tillage practices), water shortages, and soaring prices and reduced availability of fossil fuels (which power the farm equipment, get it to market, and form the basis of most chemical fertilizers). Years ago, Ecology Action set out to discover in a rational and scientific way, just how much land and labor it would take to grow the amount of food, properly balanced for calories and nutrition, required by one person for one year. Could a family of four truly feed itself from a 1200 square foot garden if it had to, or wanted to? How much work and water would it take? How much fertilizer would they have to buy? Could they grow their own fertilizer? What tools would they need? What about fiber for clothing? Building materials? Animal feed?
The "How to Grow More Vegetables" books answer those questions, and much, much more. As the years go by, (and with each succeeding food contamination scandal) more of us, even in the US, are realizing just how important those questions are. You may not need or want all the information in this book. But it is all there, and nowhere else that I am aware of, for those who do want it.
This book could save the world, if only the world would pay attention. But it will also show you how to grow fabulous, tasty vegetables with less water, less work, less weeding, less money.
Are you into numbers?.......2007-05-12
I like John Jeavons and his book is very useful. However, I'm not into calculating and figuring every square inch in the garden with tables/charts. I enjoy growing for the freedom of spirit it provides. This book although very useful, feels very constrictive. Not to mention EVERY page has at least 5 mentions of "Grow Biointensive". I felt like a was reading a long drawn out advertisement. Enough John, say it in the intro and then leave us alone to enjoy the book. If we weren't interested in your method we wouldn't be reading your book.
This is a great book.......2007-05-04
I had an earlier edition of this book that I used as an introduction to high intensity gardening. I love the book because gives technical information on such things as soil pH, soil preparation, plant spacing, and crop yields. It probably is not a book for people that do not enjoy the technical aspects of gardening; those wanting only a quick fix approach. I have ordered the 7th edition.
California Vegetarians .......2007-03-05
I have gardened organically for over 30 years, and always love to read good gardening books hoping to learn more. Unfortunately this book is so very focused on being totally vegetarian that they do not even recommend animal manures to be used in compost. I feel that they have totally ignored the natural cycles of birth - death - decomposition - and rebirth. A quote that says it all is, "Everything that eats is in turn eaten". That includes plants that feed on the remains of other plants, insects, or algae and bacteria. The author overlooks the fact that there are no total vegetarians in nature. Even grazers, gorillas, and great whales ingest insects or micro-fauna along with their grass, leaves, and plankton.
Book Description
Discover the secrets of a naturally pest-proof vegetable garden with Great Garden Companions. Let master gardener Sally Jean Cunningham show you how to keep pests and diseases at bay with her unique companion-gardening system. By planting special combinations of vegetables, flowers, and herbs, you can minimize pest and disease problems and create a high-yielding, beautiful garden!
Customer Reviews:
Love this book.......2007-10-01
Love, love, love this book. I garden nowhere near the same amount, but I am in zone 6 too -- so the advice is spot on for me.
Great reference - great gift.......2007-07-05
I really appreciated the extensive research the author did for each section - she separates the folklore from the things that have been tested and documented, but presents both. I also like the suggestions and options she gives...if you want to follow a pre-designed plan you may, or you can pull together your own combinations that appeal to you or that work better for your situation. I have read my own copy cover to cover many times and have given this book as a gift to several like minded people. The two aspects of her system that really appeal to me are the reduction in weeding and the principle of "no sprays"...I really disklike the idea of putting poison on my food!
This is the book you want.......2007-06-27
Perfect. I've looked at a number of books on companion gardening and this is the one I'd recommend. Friendly, easy to read with nice illustrations and photographs. This is a book written by a woman who loves gardening for people who love gardening.
Great book for the organic home gardener!.......2007-06-06
I read this book from cover to cover. The author's style of writing is conversational and very easy to read. I bought a couple of other organic gardening books but I liked this one the best. Her love of nature and plants really comes across. I understand now how the balance in nature takes care of pests with some planning from us. She shares a lot of really good, easy-to-do tips on how to garden organically. I've implemented many of her ideas in my own garden and can see them working already. Most of all, this book has made me aware of how important the insects and bugs in my garden really are. I recommend this book to anyone who really wants to garden organically.
How does common sense get published?.......2007-05-24
Great Garden Companions may be a suitable book for some, but I found it very disappointing. The book is aimed toward a very general audience--one without an organic gardening, scientific or ecological background--and is consequently dumbed down, brief and incomplete. The title is misleading, and really just seems like an excuse for the author to talk about her own garden (and which plants she likes to put together, seemingly on a whim). It should be marketed as a gardening journal or introduction to organic gardening for kids, if anything.
Hardly any useful information about companion planting is found in this book--what little exists is there without any sort of explanation or reference. Even common information about well-researched companion plants is missing. The book is, instead, about which plants look nice planted together, have been grown together for centuries, or allow you to conveniently pick crops. The author provides detailed information about which plants she likes to group together in her own garden, including planting maps, but never explains why. It is a book littered with old wives' tales and inaccurate and unresearched information, with just a little bit of useful information that is generalized and brief. And then a bunch of other stuff that has nothing to do with companion planting, which may actually prove useful if you've never read a decent gardening book before.
The book itself is rather poorly written and targeted toward the lowest common denominator of gardeners, but the photographs are nice and the author's practical, organic and naturalistic approach are right on. The book stresses ecological balance within the garden, but doesn't include much information outside of the realm of common sense and common knowledge, and I expect more out of a book.
Book Description
More mushrooms, less pollution! Yes, you heard right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment. Microscopic cells called "mycelium"—the fruit of which are mushrooms —recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What fungi expert Paul Stamets has discovered is that mycelium also breaks down hydrocarbons —the base structure in many pollutants. So, for instance, when soil contaminated with diesel oil is inoculated with strains of oyster mushroom mycelia, the soil loses its toxicity in just eight weeks. In MYCELIUM RUNNING, Stamets discusses this revolutionary trend in mushroom cultivation and provides tips for choosing the appropriate species of fungi for various environmental purposes.
Customer Reviews:
Mushrooms saving the world?.......2007-10-10
The title suggests that mushrooms can solve the world's problems, and that sounds a little hard to believe. But fact is that the authors put so much knowledge about the growing habits of mushrooms in this book that it can indeed be used to solve problems. For example, the authors mention recovery of burnt areas as well as the absorption of spilled oil.
The book on the whole is impressive and full of knowledge, as wel as beautifully illustrated. Anyone considering to grow mushrooms should read it; and practitioners of permaculture are certainly advised to get this book.
we can save the world.......2007-09-11
This book is so fascinating, if u even have the slightest interest in mushrooms, or any type of fungi then this is the book to get. Paul stamets answers any question anyone would ever have about fungi, and who would have thought that mushrooms, play such an important role in mother nature. You will be stunned by the information in this book. So if u want a good read with lots of facts and lots of very interesting information then this is the book for you.
Should be Required Reading.......2007-07-16
This book is incredible. If more people read this book, there could be an ecological revolution.
The reader will not go a page in this book without a "What?? No Way!!" kind of moment. I found myself laughing simply at how amazingly effective and important mushrooms can be.
Mushrooms can help save the world. "Mycelium Running" should be a high school textbook.
Mushrooms can be interesting........2007-03-24
I took my last science course about 40 years ago and had forgotten how interesting science can be. This book is not light reading and some people will probably not get past the first few pages but I really enjoyed it. I found tons of new information on mushrooms in spite of the fact that I studied mushrooms in college (until my father decided science was not for girls and convinced me to go to Law School. Yep, those were the good old days.) You will enjoy it as long as you take into account that it is a scientific book, perfect for geeks.
Mushrooms as spirit teachers.......2007-01-10
Stamets is THE authority on the power of mushrooms and all the amazing things they can do. From cleaning up toxic oil spills to providing nourishment Stamets clearly writes with passion. I love it and have shared the book with many others, many of whom were blown away!
Book Description
The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering.
Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. But, except for labor, these inputs depend on the price of oil. Prior to the 1970s, North American home food growing used more land with less labor, with wider plant spacing, with less or no irrigation, and all done with sharp hand tools. But these sustainable systems have been largely forgotten. Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food.
Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world except the tropics and hot deserts, this book shows that any family with access to 3-5,000 sq. ft. of garden land can halve their food costs using a growing system requiring just the odd bucketful of household waste water, perhaps two hundred dollars worth of hand tools, and about the same amount spent on supplies - working an average of two hours a day during the growing season.
Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series
Customer Reviews:
Gardening When it Counts.......2007-09-24
This book is an exciting addition to books on vegetable growing- so much so, that many
others become unnecessary. The author covers in detail everything about the art- from seed buying,
his own complete organic fertilizer recipe, preparing the soil, simple tools, planting and watering etc
His long experience and total integrity and commitment shine through and make it a must for those
wanting to seriously feed themselves.
Mostly good - with attitude.......2007-09-14
This book was highly recommended to me and I bought it hoping to learn some techniques to help in growing food plants and vegetables for our home use. Since the author lives in a very distinct growing area, if I lived in a maritime New Zealand area it would probably be a perfect book. Many of his techniques would only work in his specific climate and for a full time gardener, which I am not. Sigh. The section on growing and storing each individual type of food is excellent if you can adapt it to your own climate. I was not too happy with the preachy, arrogant, "Everyone else is an idiot and only I know how to do it right" attitude which extends the lenght of the book by quite a bit. Overlooking that, there are a few helpful tidbits but there are other books that I think are more helpful.
best garden guide i've found.......2007-08-15
after looking through a lot of gardening books, i can confidently say that this book provides the best basis of knowledge for starting a garden. My garden is in only its first year, but with the info in this book, I'm already making money selling organic produce through two different coops.
Great for first time gardeners.......2007-05-10
I will be starting my first garden this summer and this was the first book on gardening I read. It makes for a great introduction. Solomon goes into detail about how plants grow and what they need from the gardener. He has a good formula for Organic Fertilizer. He has a good list of what tools you need and what to look for when buying them. He has a great section is the back of the book that goes vegetable by vegetable and explains how to grow and harvest them. He also has a great bibliography in the back that points you to a lot of additional reading.[...]
Great hands-on resource.......2007-03-25
I have a whole shelf of vegetable gardening books, but I turn to this one again and again. Solomon gives clear information on tools, making garden beds, mixing up your own fertilizer (this alone is worth the price of the book), selecting seeds, storing them (another great section), and growing individual crops.
I especially appreciate his perspective as an ex-seedsman, as well as his discussion on different types of brassicas (cabbage, kale, broccoli, and the like) and onions. I had no idea what the difference between long-day and short-day onions were until I read this book. While I garden intensively, I find his discussion on the differences between the intensive method (John Jeavons, Square Foot Gardening, and the like), and the row method.
This book is worth reading and rereading.
Books:
- All New Square Foot Gardening
- All New Square Foot Gardening
- Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, The (4th Edition) (MyCompLab Series)
- American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques
- Apple Pro Training Series: Advanced Color Correction and Effects in Final Cut Pro 5 (Apple Pro Training)
- Ball Pest & Disease Manual: Disease, Insect, and Mite Control on Flower and Foliage Crops
- Be the Coolest Dad on the Block: All of the Tricks, Games, Puzzles and Jokes You Need to Impress Your Kids (and keep them entertained for years to come!)
- Bonsai Life Histories: The Lives of over 50 Bonsai Trees in Photos and Words
- Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
- Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically
Books Index
Books Home
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