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
With few exceptions-such as corn and pumpkins-everything edible that's grown in a traditional garden can be raised in a container. And with only one exception-watering-container gardening is a whole lot easier. Beginning with the down-to-earth basics of soil, sun and water, fertilizer, seeds and propagation, The Bountiful Container is an extraordinarily complete, plant-by-plant guide.
Written by two seasoned container gardeners and writers, The Bountiful Container covers Vegetables-not just tomatoes (17 varieties) and peppers (19 varieties), butharicots verts, fava beans, Thumbelina carrots, Chioggia beets, and sugarsnap peas. Herbs, from basil to thyme, and including bay leaves, fennel, and saffron crocus. Edible Flowers, such as begonias, calendula, pansies, violets, and roses. And perhaps most surprising, Fruits, including apples, peaches, Meyer lemons, blueberries, currants, and figs-yes, even in the colder parts of the country. (Another benefit of container gardening: You can bring the less hardy perennials in over the winter.) There are theme gardens (an Italian cook's garden, a Four Seasons garden), lists of sources, and dozens of sidebars on everything from how to be a human honeybee to seeds that are All America Selections.
Customer Reviews:
Well worth the price.......2007-07-18
There's an endless list of titles devoted to container gardening, but it turns out that not many are useful for growing vegetables. I borrowed several from the library, including Bountiful Container, and this is the only one I found useful. It's a valuable reference tool, so I'll be getting my own copy.
I have never gardened before; my parents and grandparents had gardens as I grew up, which convinced me that I don't have the patience to go out and dig a big plot, then spend hours weeding it. In addition, we live in a condo with a small yard, so containers seemed to be the way to go, if only I could figure out how to successfully coax veggies from a container. Still, nobody I knew had really done this, so I found the book invaluable.
A lot of it may be old news to experienced gardeners, but as a beginner, it was extremely helpful to read what conditions each type of plant liked. There are some notes on design, as well as some great suggestions for themed gardens - I particularly liked the idea of attracting hummingbirds with a vibrant red garden. The book is well organized, with several pages devoted to the planting, care, and harvesting of each plant.
I knocked the book down 1 star because I think a few things should really be added. First, some color photos or illustrations. A previous reviewer mentioned that the illustrations are charming but lacking, and I agree. Second, further information about crops that can be planted twice - I know several cool weather plants can be put in for both spring and fall, which the book also mentions. The book walks through the spring planting, but then doesn't discuss the timing of the fall planting. If I have limited space for growing veggies, I really want to plant as much as I can in cycles, and it'd be helpful to have that information! Finally, some sort of chart that groups together plants which like the same conditions would be an extremely helpful addition to this book. You can get by with notes, but a chart would be a great reference tool.
Best Father's Day Gift Ever!.......2007-07-09
My parents are beginning to feel the effects of the years. This spring, my Dad had serious surgery and he and Mom were both depressed that there could be no vegetable garden this year. What luck that I had stumbled onto the Bountiful Container while doing research for a garden class I was asked to teach this spring. I purchased the book and two self watering containers for them for Mothers and Fathers Days this year and they are having a ball with them! Their garden has always been in the back forty, and now, they are in an "intimate relationship" with their tomatoes, peppers, beans and cucumbers. This book is inspiring and hope building. It's the answer for all of us who don't have time, don't have space, don't have money, and simply don't need the overwhelming bounty of an in-ground vegetable garden. If you are such an expert gardener that you can't learn something new from every listing in this book, why didnt' you write this book? This book will ALWAYS be on my book shelf!
McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Edible Flowers.......2007-06-01
Will enjoy planting plants in containers of vegetables to eat.
Save your money; the best book around for beginners........2007-05-09
This is hands down the best book on container gardening out there. With the exception of the edible flowers section (unless you're into that sort of thing), it's full of excellent information, from back to front. If you're new to container gardening like I was, I'd suggest that you start here with this book. It's readable, organized exceptionally and just generally well-written and thorough.
Full of Joy and Information.......2007-04-12
I love this book and I will be pulling it out often this growing season. It's packed with very specific information on how to grow every imaginable edible plant --from flowers through vegetables and fruit trees--in containers. You will learn when to plant, which varities do best in containers, whether to start with seed or transplants, how to combine plants in a container for beauty and/or successive harvesting, what size container to use, how often to fertilize and with what, when to harvest...the list goes on and on. The writing itself is delightful, from the descriptions and planting instructions for theme gardens (Victorian Splendor, Tea Time, Childrens' Garden just to name a few) to the history of many of the plants and unusual recipes using the bounty of your containers (Begonia Sorbet, Strawberries with Scented
Geraniums and Creme Fraiche, Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Fresh Tomato Sauce)! The Bountiful Container is a joy to read and really makes you want to get out into your garden and start planting. It's both a feel good book and a very informative book--IMO a rare combination in a reference book. I can't say enough, I'm so glad I bought this book.
Book Description
Everything you need to know about growing your favorite herbs using safe, natural, all-organic methods!Practical tips and advice on all aspects of successful herb growing.A wealth of great ideas and helpful how-to on using herbs in cooking, crafts, cosmetics, health care, insect repellents, and more.Illustrated herb directory featuring all the most popular herbs-- from aloe to yarrow-- each with complete information on growing, care, harvesting, and uses.
Customer Reviews:
Concise, but useful.......2007-06-09
This is a relatively small book at about 150 pages, but it manages to pack in a lot of information very concisely. It's beautifully illustrated with color photographs and drawings.
The first 2/3 of the book includes general herb gardening background and use of herbs tips: how to choose plants, pick the location, general design principles, planting instructions (including some nice tips on extending the growing season), propagation, harvesting, drying, pests and diseases, etc.
It also includes suggestions for common culinary uses, such as salads, herbal vinegars, flavored oils, teas, jellies, honeys, and breads. These are not an extensive set of recipes, but more like master recipes with some suggestions for how you can mix them up with variations.
The book also includes suggestions and recipes for health and beauty products (again, not an extensive collection). This section includes potpourri, sachets, bouquets, dried arrangements and insect repellents.
The last 1/3 of the book has individual pages on about 50 different herbs. These individual pages tell you a description, how to grow, harvesting instructions, suggested uses, tips, cultivars, and also includes a quick key on the level of care required (using a 4 glove rating system), if it attracts beneficial insects, whether or not it is ornamental, whether or not it can be grown in a container, how much yield you can expect to get and how easy it is to grow.
The back of the book contains a few pages of resources for laboratories, vendors, herb associations and other books or literary resources.
There are lots of charts and sidebars and overall I found this book to be very useful and easy to access. It doesn't have the level of information needed to make this anything other than a quick reference book though.
in love with herbs.......2007-01-25
I adore this book! Wow! It has all the things I wanted!
- it's organic
- it very thorougly covers many herbs in different formats, so you know everything from what bugs they attract or repel, how tall they grow, and what zone they can be grown in
- common uses for them: I discovered many herbs I thought were inedible plants that are indeed herbs
- easy to use tables
I wasn't too hip on all the cosmetic and craft uses - I'd rather eat them, but they're short and may come in handy. I know the rest of the book sure will!
I LOVE THIS BOOK.......2006-08-23
This is a great book for a beginning herb gardener. The first half of the book is a general overview of gardening techniques, designs, and uses for herbs. The second half gives specific information on growing and using many herbs. This has been extraordinarily helpful to me as background and reference for me.
However, it is pretty basic and only covers the most commonly used herbs, so I'm not sure that advanced herb gardeners would get much out of this.
"Must Have" for aspiring herb growers.......2006-07-24
Great resource book. Covers all of the basics in clear, simple instructions.
A complete herbal reference book!.......2006-06-26
I really like this book. It is very easy to follow and has a little bit of everything you need to know packed into the book. I bought it for the outside herb garden design, but I changed my mind. I am trying a kitchen garden, growing the herbs inside in containers. If you are new to herb gardening, this is the perfect book. And in my opinion, it is the only book you will need. I want to use the fragrant herbs for sachet crafts and dry some herbs for cooking. These will be terrific gifts for my DIL because she buys and uses a lot of herbs for cooking and will never have the time to grown them. You will never put this book away. There are so many possibilities of what to do with herbs.
Book Description
Most gardeners know how rewarding it is to harvest ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes or pungent herbs straight from the garden. But those pleasures can be multiplied a hundredfold by creating a garden that is not only productive, but also a beautiful, well-integrated part of the home landscape. In this handsome volume, Jennifer Bartley shows how the traditional features of the classic kitchen garden, or potager, can be adapted to contemporary American needs and conditions. The book is informed by her conviction that the nurturing, preparing, and eating of fresh, home-grown vegetables contributes enormously both to our ties with the natural world and our ties to each other. Copiously illustrated with photographs and with the author's delightful watercolors, Designing the New Kitchen Garden offers the perfect blend of inspiration and practical guidance.
Customer Reviews:
Gardener's inspiration.......2007-03-28
This book is filled with beautiful pictures and explanations that inspire and educate. Ms. Bartley has her own garden and I felt that I benefited from her own experience. After reading this book, I was ready to place a potager's garden in my own back yard.
Really, a smallish coffee table book.......2007-03-17
The sub-title for this book might be "A landscape designer dabbles prettily in vegetables" The book is beautifully produced, although I found the strong raking light in some of the photographs actually obscured the plants.
The chapter of historical background is almost worth the price of admission itself (if you're interested in history and the history of gardening) Although somewhat preciously phrased, the author does remind us of the connection of spirit, body, and garden, something we may forget when we in the middle of a vicious battle with cabbage loopers.
But the excursions into real gardens felt to me like a fantasy. If these gardens are meant to be inspiring, they failed with me. Every page I turned reminded me that these gardens are big, and clearly cost a lot of money to build and maintain. I never had a clear sense of the good eating that should be coming out of these gardens. And of course, nothing ever seems to go wrong in these gardens; there is no sense of how the gardeners have learned and evolved their gardens over time.
For a book ostensibly about "American" potager gardening, most of the country was omitted. Including midwest, southern, and western garden would have been a big help.
The design chapter starts off on the wrong foot by discussing a potager garden that was never built. Even worse, it was never built in a large urban space with which few of us will ever have to contend, so I fail to see the point. The second garden design discussed, designed for a small restaurant, also has not been built. The third garden is the author's own, now giving me the uncomfortable feeling that the entire book is a vanity project.
When the winter weather keeps you indoors, this will not a bad book to page through; just don't let it be the only book on your shelf about potager gardening.
Semi-formal vegetable garden?.......2006-08-17
The concept of edible landscaping is given a boost toward a practical and beautiful kitchen garden in this book. The history behind kitchen gardens ("potagers", that is gardens designed around culinary use rather than solely appearance) is interesting and lively, and the sections on a few modern garden case studies is useful.
The book stumbles a bit in assuming you already know elements of design, and doesn't discuss the practical considerations of some of them. The examples of "shade mapping" could use a little explanation alongside the drawings; I found them confusing. And there's very little discussion of what to plant when -- presumably you'll decide these on your own with various seed catalogs spread around you, if you can find catalogs that detail things such as plant height and habit, colors and seasons. I haven't found many vegetable seed catalogs that spend time on these sorts of topics, and I was hoping this book would provide some illumination.
Still, there are plenty of suggestions and examples for making your vegetable garden a place of beauty as well as a producer of foods and herbs for your kitchen. My personal leanings are toward the concept that a vegetable garden is beautiful if you can see the significant amount of food you'll be eating from it and so regular plots of densely packed plants are just fine; but I'm sure my spouse will enjoy the more formal look the veggies and herbs will take on in next year's garden as a result of this book.
Do you want a vegetable garden that people -- non-gardening people -- would actually want to walk through? Are you capable of designing a beautiful layout but need a nudge in the right directions? Then this is a good book for you. I'd have prefered more meat in it, so to speak, particularly for the $35 I spent on it.
A great read on vegetable garden design. Buy It........2006-08-05
`Designing the New Kitchen Garden, An American Potager Handbook' by professional garden design consultant, Jennifer R. Bartley is a very serious book, absolutely perfect for the zone 6 snowbound gardener to buy in December, when nothing is growing, and it's even too cold to start hardscaping projects.
What I mean here is that not only does the book give very serious guidance on how to build a potager garden, it gives oodles of historical perspective on how the potager garden design evolved from pre-Christian times, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, with it's flowering in the monastary and royal gardens of France.
One thing to point out early in this review is that the book covers practically nothing about things culinary, in spite of the fact that various methods for categorizing this book put it cheek and jowl with books on culinary subjects, which is how I happened to run across it. But as long as I'm on the subject, its important to note that a good reference on gardening techniques must almost by definition have lots of interesting text and pictures for the armchair. While you can always cook, you cannot always garden, and in temperate climes, there will always be many months of down time. This book is the perfect antidote. In fact, as good as this book is, it is almost completely composed of material for thinking and planning and not about digging, laying stone, or planting. The `Designing' of the title must be taken very seriously. There are no recipes here for laying a gravel walk or laying out a herringbone brick path. Go to your Home Depot manuals and hardscaping texts for theses skills. On the other hand, there is a great collection of ideas one may not have normally thought of, should you have the proper venue to lay out the kind of garden discussed in this book.
I must say that the `potager' of the subtitle is the French word for `kitchen garden', which is how this book landed alongside texts on herbs and vegetables. But, the fact that this notion is originally French has as much or more to do with the subject as the `vegetable' part of the notion. The book does not really discuss your garden variety `victory garden'. It really takes on the design of formal gardens which are build to be grand orniments to the spirit as well as resources for the body.
All in all, this book is a kind of knot joining many different strands of ideas, including design for pleasant sights, design for culinary application, design for historical interest, and design for a refuge for the soul. To these ends, it covers a fair number of rather esoteric techniques such as esplanade and pergola design.
Just like the fact that it does not cover a lot of culinary material, it also does not cover a lot of horticultural material. There are no references in the index, for example, on `mulch', `weeding', or `pruning'. It does, however, cover `Christian Symbols', `Roman garden', and `Holy Roman Empire'.
It also gives a list of gardens one can visit, and I'm surprised that neither Longwood Gardens nor the Winthertur Museum are listed. There is a bibliography which I believe should include Amanda Hesser's `The Gardener and the Cook'. Aside from these miniscule nits, this is a great book for sparking wonder and ideas for the gardener.
Average customer rating:
- HMMMMMM
- Great info on herbs
- An Indispensable Guide for Homebrewers of All Levels of Experience
- Inspirational Book
- A good book on herb growing and malting
|
The Homebrewer's Garden: How to Easily Grow, Prepare, and Use Your Own Hops, Malts, Brewing Herbs
Joe Fisher , and
Dennis Fisher
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Beer
| Drinks & Beverages
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
| By Climate
| By Plant
| English Gardens
| Essays
| Flowers
| Fruit
| Garden Design
| Garden Furnishings
| General
| Greenhouses
| Herbs
| House Plants
| Japanese Gardens
| Landscape
| Lawns
| Organic
| Ornamental Plants
| Outdoor & Recreational Areas
| Reference
| Regional
| Shade
| Shrubs
| Soil
| Techniques
| Trees
| Vegetables
| Weed & Pest Control
| Wild Plants
Similar Items:
-
Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation
-
Brew Ware: How to Find, Adapt & Build Homebrewing Equipment
-
Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass
-
Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles
-
The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fruit and Herb Variations
ASIN: 1580170102 |
Book Description
Grow Your Own...Brew Your Own! If you have a backyard, or even a sun-facing porch, you can greatly enhance the flavor, aroma, and uniqueness of your homebrew by growing your own hops, brewing herbs, and malt grains. Easy instructions will help you put the "home" into your homebrew from setting up your first hop trellis, to malting grain at home, to brewing recipes specially formulated for homegrown ingredients. When you grow your own organic ingredients, you can be sure they are the freshest and purest available. "The Homebrewer's Garden is a natural marriage of two great hobbies..." (Craig Bystrynski, Editor of Brew Your Own magazine)
Customer Reviews:
HMMMMMM.......2007-05-13
I thought this book would give me resources to purchasing seeds to grow. It just tells you how to grow them. If you are a gardener you dont need this book.
Great info on herbs.......2007-04-19
The first section on growing hops is decent, but it's nothing you can't find online.
But the section on herbs is great. Not only does it give a list of brewing herbs but, more importantly, how much to use and how. I've researched gruits and know what types of herbs were used, but I never knew how much to add.
There's also a section on grain. While I'd like to grow some grain, I'm not keen on malting. I may stick with unmalted wheat as that seems the easiest. Rye and Oats would have been nice, but they strongly advise against malting those items.
Overall, a good book- mainly if you have the land and time to grow your own ingredients. With the large amounts and quantities I brew, it doesn't make sense for me to go this route. Especially when I can get grain delivered for about 30 cents a pound.
An Indispensable Guide for Homebrewers of All Levels of Experience.......2006-05-23
The Homebrewer's Garden is an expertly written guide which will teach you how to take your homebrewing to a whole new level. Whether you are a newcomer to the hobby or a seasoned veteran brewer, Homebrewer's Garden will be a book that you'll go back to again and again. The book repeats little if any information found in a homebrewing primer, so advance knowledge of the brewing process and terminology will be helpful. However, little (if any) experience is needed in actual brewing to take advantage of this book.
The book is broken up into four main sections. The first teaches you everything you need to know about how to grow your own hops, the differences between the varieties, and how to use them. Included in this section are instructions that will take you from planting your first hops plants to drying and storing your hops with your home-built oast, or hops dryer.
The second section is a comprehensive list of herbs that can be used in brewing. This section includes information on which varieties to use, how to grow them, which parts of the plant to use, when to add them, how much to use, and expected resulting flavors and aromas. Also includes a section on herbs that are poisonous or should otherwise not be used.
The third section covers growing, harvesting, malting, and using your own grains. There's far more than just barley covered in this section! Also covered are amaranth, corn, oat, quinoa, rye, sorghum, spelt, and wheat. Each grain has a breakdown of different varieties and how to grow and use them.
The fourth section is the obligatory recipes section. Many traditional herbal beers are here, as well as some more innovative beverages that I'd never heard of--Gotlandsdrika, anyone? Where applicable, both extract and all-grain recipes are listed.
Even if you never expect to grow your own hops, grains, or herbs, The Homebrewer's Garden will make you a better brewer. Also recommended is the book Clone Brews, which feature recipes adapted from popular beers of different styles from around the world.
Inspirational Book.......2004-09-15
I hadn't tried making home made beer or wine in years - this book rekindled the interest (plus emigrating from the UK to the US, where the beers, to put it nicely, are fairly bland -although local micro breweries are helping to address this).
I am also a very keen herb gardener, and learnt alot from the plant descriptions that have some great suggestions for additives. I planted some hop runners, but my back yard is too small for a decent crop.
The cautions in the book are important - it is best not to take a chance with some plants. I have some old recipes that will result in the production of wood alcohol, if followed to the letter (e.g. potato - fermented for wine, distilled into Poteen and some ciders will make you understand the term blind drunk. OK, they aren't the herbs in the book, but the old ways aren't always the best). That said, I'm all in favor of experimentation - nettle is a great additive.
Excellent interesting book.
A good book on herb growing and malting.......2003-06-28
A good book with lots of information and some history. Some very interesting recipes and information on how to grow and use herbs and spices and malt and roast your own grain. Unfortunately this book unnecessarily errs on the side of caution regarding some of the more potent and historically used brewing herbs that make great additions to a brewers herbal repertoire. This book also unfortunately has few recipes without the addition of hops which can make for an even more unique brewing experience. If your looking to grow and use herbs and hops, and to malt and use unusual grains this book can definitely point you in the right direction.
Book Description
Did you know that if you can't smell a strawberry, it won't have any taste? That lemon thyme is as effective a mosquito repellent as DEET? That corn with kernels in the straightest lines will taste the best? Do you know which vegetables should never go in the refrigerator? And which freeze beautifully? All of these questions-and many more-are answered in this indispensable guide to vegetables and fruits, whether you shop for them in a farmers' market, buy them in a supermarket, or grow them in your own kitchen garden.
Organized alphabetically from artichoke to zucchini, the main section of the book provides detailed information on how to grow, harvest, select, and store each type of produce, accompanied by magnificent full-page photographs made especially for this book. Also featured are sections on kitchen garden basics, hardware, and the cycle of life (which covers such topics as starting seeds, nurturing, and harvesting). A wonderful combination of beauty and practical advice, this glorious book is essential for anyone who buys produce or owns a kitchen garden. AUTHOR BIO: Mike McGrath, former editor-in-chief of Organic Gardening magazine, has his own program, "You Bet Your Garden," on National Public Radio. He lives in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Gordon Smith's photographs can be found in museums and private collections throughout the world.
Customer Reviews:
My new favorite veggie picture book.......2005-08-30
There is a place in my home for a coffee table book about gardening. It's on the coffee table, where it can be admired and browsed by family and visitors, or maybe just by me when I am in the mood to look at gorgeous pictures of garden produce and dream about next year's crop.
This book is obviously geared to the rank novice gardener (And where, I ask you, does it claim otherwise?). I am unlikely to use Kitchen Garden A to Z as a reference because I am an intermediate level home gardener who has managed to grow every category of vegetable and herb mentioned in this book. If I were a beginner, however, I would find this book to be indispensable for my starting information and pure inspiration to get going. It would be easy to find whatever I was looking for with the oversized page titles laid out A to Z, on the side edge, graphic-stylish. I would also be awed at the lovely diversity of tomatoes, melons, squash, etc. which I almost never see in my grocery store. The pictures are impeccable and artistically shot, and they feature several varieties and stages of growth for each crop being examined on the spread. The information is short and useful, but doesn't go into much detail; for instance, in the Pumpkin spread under "harvest" it simply says to leave the handle on, cut when the fruit is mature and let cure in the sun for a week. Nothing about thumbnail testing the shell first or whether it should cure on the ground or somewhere else, and if it can be left on the vine for awhile or not. Oh well, most people will do okay with this so I suppose one shouldn't get too picky about short text.
I am grateful that in the first section (which takes up nearly half the book) there is more explanation about how to garden generally and an emphasis on how to do it organically. A first-timer would have been thoroughly primed on how to lay out their garden depending on available sun and how much they could realistically handle. It also shows superb examples of beautiful and clever vegetable gardens above and beyond typical row-style. Beginners will be able to start out right after reading this book and they will have every chance of productive and satisfying crops.
But I still like it mainly for the pictures:).
-Andrea, aka Merribelle
A mouth-watering sight for any Veggie.......2004-11-28
This book gets the end spot in my kitchen cookbook shelf, just to show off the great cover photograph. For a veggie like me, it's a taste of heaven. I love the photographs, not just because the vegetables are all so wonderfully ripe and luscious looking, but because Smith has shot them in such an inventive way. I wish I could visit his produce market! The text is a bit lite, but that's not what I bought the book for. This is a coffee table book that will hold its own with any collection of dazzling images.
Kitchen Garden A to Z.......2004-11-15
As a home gardener and artist, I am delighted and inspired by Kitchen Garden A to Z, which is filled with easy to access "how-to" information and beautiful illustrations. Having heard Mike McGrath on public radio, I find his down-to-earth enthusiasm and knowledge about organic gardening as welcoming as ever. He's written a great reference book that's clear, practical and to-the-point. He doesn't read like an encyclopedia or a scientific journal, but rather, he sounds like the gardener next door who's been there, done that, and wants you to succeed. The wisdom of his experience shows. Of course, the vegetables in the beautiful photographs are a feast for the eyes - something to see now, and (hopefully) grow later.
I think there is certainly something in the book for gardeners of every age and skill level. My sister, who has a lot of vegetable-loving animals in her yard, found an answer to her prayers in the section on container gardening. The information on how to prevent "damping off" and leggy seedlings has given me the courage to start planting from seed again. And when I showed the book to my 87-year old mother, who knows her way around the kitchen, she wanted a copy of the "Storage Basics at a Glance" summery page for her very own.
The book has been wonderful gift. You may discover, as I have, that Kitchen Garden A to Z works beautifully both on the coffee table and the back porch.
Maybe a nice photo book for a beginning gardner.......2004-11-14
An oversized volume that is well organized and has beautiful pictures; unfortunately, what it has for visual impact it sorely lacks in useful detail. The primary purpose for my purchasing the book were harvesting and storage options of vegatables. However for each plant covered, at best a sentence or two is offered. Best example of where it failed me - for carrots it offers 2 choices; refrigeration or long term storage buried in sand. No comment on canning, freezing, drying, etc -- and who in suburbia is going to have a box o' sand?
Other topics, garden design, tools, mulching are all treated on the same "high level" aspect. Its like reading a collection of highlights to chapters that somehow never made it to the printers.
While it might be useful for someone whose never worked in a garden before, or perhaps a child who is interested in learning about gardening, on the whole its little more than a well organized collection of interesting tidbits of knowledge. Its not worth the $45.00 cover charge in either case.
Book Description
Our own gardens, regardless of size, should provide a welcome sanctuary for relaxation from the pressures of the outside world. When carefully planned, the garden can even make a positive contribution to a healthier and happier life. Healing Gardens beautifully demonstrates how alternative therapies such as meditation, aromatherapy, feng shui and color therapy can be put into practice in the home garden for mazimum results. The helpfull narrative explores personal needs for revitalization and offers solutions to a range of health problems, including asthma, hay fever and stress. Comprehensive plant lists are provided for each of the suggested therapies, with expert advice on selection of species, growing and healing uses. Lavish color photographs and artwork illustrate the principles of garden design, planting and ornaments. Whether you have a country garden or a city terrace - or even a window box - this book shows in exquisite detail how you can maximize the hea! ling potential of your garden environment.
Customer Reviews:
This book blossoms!!.......2001-10-11
I received this book as a gift. I am a healer and frankly, I didn't think I would learn a thing. But the photographs were so appealing that I started flipping through it. To this day, (I've been reading it over and over for about a year now) I learn something or garner an idea that absolutely inspires me. I have now transformed my entire yard with the influence of this book. At least four groups of people stop on a daily basis and are so attracted to my yard that they are drawn to stop and tell me. I am extremely impressed with Ms. Rawlings ability to include so much factual information about so many subjects and to align her knowledge of the subjects with gardening in general. I think the book is brilliant, well-researched and obviously comes from the heart of a garden lover.
BEAUTIFUL PICTURES.......2000-07-04
The book contains beautiful pictures and lots of great information on plants for the experienced gardener. I think that to many subjects were covered in one book. Each of the areas adressed in the book could have been an entire book in itself. This book assumes that the reader has a workable knowledge of plants. Not a book for a beginner. Not worth the price that I paid.
Average customer rating:
- Informative and Humorous
- Helped alot
- Jerry Baker's Old Time Gardening Wisdom
- Keep your garden healthy
- Fun to Read, Great Resource, Reap the Rewards
|
Jerry Baker's Old-Time Gardening Wisdom: Lessons Learned from Grandma Putt's Kitchen Cupboard, Medicine Cabinet, and Garden Shed! (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)
Jerry Baker
Manufacturer: American Master Products, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Jerry Baker
| Expert Advice
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Techniques
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Propagation & Cultivation
| Techniques
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Jerry Baker's Giant Book of Garden Solutions: 1,954 Natural Remedies to Handle Your Toughest Garden Problems (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)
-
Jerry Baker's Bug Off!: 2,193 Super Secrets for Battling Bad Bugs, Outfoxing Crafty Critters, Evicting Voracious Varmints and Much More! (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)
-
The Impatient Gardener
-
Jerry Baker's Great Green Book of Garden Secrets: Handy Hints, Timely Tonics, and Super Solutions to Turn Your Yard into a Green Garden Paradise! (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)
-
Jerry Baker's Perfect Perennials!: Hundreds of Fantastic Flower Secrets for Your Garden (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)
ASIN: 0922433356 |
Book Description
Many, many years ago, Jerry went to live with his Grandma Putt, who had an amazing amount of knowledge and folklore about old-time, natural gardening. Although he resisted at first, Jerry was soon drawn into her magical world, where plants were treated like people and given kindness, courtesy, and respect. They, in turn,provided her with beauty, bounty, and an abundance ofnatural remedies. Grandma Putt shared her knowledge witheveryone, and soon, Jerry was on his way toward a new relationship with nature.In this book, Jerry shares the gardening secrets and old-time wisdom he first learned from his Grandma Putt. In addition, he`s added hundreds of tips, tricks, and tonics that he`s picked up along the way, including chapters on: Victorious Vegetable Gardening; The All-American Lawn; Eating...Weeds?; The Spice of Life - Herbs; Puttin` By and Storin` Away.
Customer Reviews:
Informative and Humorous.......2007-06-02
I originally checked this book out at the library. Some of the stories that he relates as a young boy learning from his Grandmother are both humorous and informative. After trying a few of jerry's concoctions I decided it was one of the books that would be handy to have on hand for future reference.
Helped alot.......2007-05-08
This book, along with the other books was very informative. It answered all my questions before I started my planting. Plus, being able to use products you have at home to take care of a problem, is a definite plus.
Jerry Baker's Old Time Gardening Wisdom.......2006-08-07
I have been looking for this book forever.....At least 12 years ago,when I became my mother's caregiver, the only thing that we
could pass time away together in the summer was gardening. I
watched every PBS show Mr.Baker appeared, wrote down everything
he advised and used it in the garden. Our garden was beautiful and MOM was in her wheel chair giving the instructions while I worked. When the ingredients called for beer, we mixed as called by his recipe, and (smile)drank the rest. Tobacco, fels naptha soap, all of it we tried out, all of it worked, and she and I had wonderful times before she passed.
Thanks Jerry Baker
P.S. The garden is still the best in the neighborhood. I now live in the Bahamas 7 months of the year, so I will be trying out exotic flowers with instructions from the book.
Keep your garden healthy.......2005-07-24
This book contains a lot of information that helps to keep your lawn and garden healthy. Most problems can be solved by using formulas contained in this book rather than comercial products that are expensive and confusing.
Fun to Read, Great Resource, Reap the Rewards.......2002-03-01
Have you ever wondered how gardeners of the past produced such magnificent greenery without the big name chemical companies?
Easy, old-fashioned remedies, many of which you have right in your kitchen. Grandma Putt taught Jerry Baker her wonderful methods, then he wrote this book to share them with all of us.
I have always preferred the natural ways, especially now that I live surrounded by farm land that is being destroyed by chemicals to control pests while killing the good pests and soil too. Why damage mother nature when Jerry Baker tells us how to without environmental consequences?
There is a fabulous section on growing and storing herbs, as well as veggie's ( my favorite as a vegetarian!), and growing a lush thriving lawn. We're talking beautiful Green grass, the kind you want to walk on barefoot!
Reap the rewards of the millions who have watched Baker on TV, on the radio and in his dozens of books. You might want to keep this book with your cookbooks- just grab it, mix up an easy potion and be the envy of all the green thumbers.
This would be an excellent gift for yourself or a fellow gardener.
Book Description
The first glorious full-color life-style book about gardening, decorating, and cooking with herbs.
More than 450 full-color illustrations and 25 black-and-white illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
THE BEST! TEN STARS!.......2000-07-22
I absolutely adore herbs. Rosemary, thyme, and lavender are my favorites, but all the others are delectable as well. Emilie Tolley and Chris Mead are the best partnership in the gardening world. Emilie really knows the cultivation of these wonderful growing things, and I adore Chris for his breathtaking photography. Together they created a volume for herb gardeners that is instructive, inspiring, and incredible. A remarkable team, this talented duo illustrate how to create an herb garden that will add to your personal happiness. They introduce us to forty herbs that will saturate your senses but will not try your patience. Follow their lead and you may end up doing what I do, reaching into your rosemary or thyme and succumbing to the most exquisite natural smells in existence. Our gardening friends show us everything we need to do to prepare the soil, care for the herbs we select, design a simple or detailed herb landscape, and grow our herbs indoors. They know we need inspiration, so Emelie and Chris provide us with some of the most gorgeous herb gardens in the world. They take us to England's Cotswolds to a reigning authority, Rosemary Verey. Her gardens are profuse and lush. Mrs. Verey's home, like many gardeners is evolutionary; she has an abundant cottage garden, a kitchen garden, and an exquisite knot garden, always maximizing the use of herbs in her landscape. The path to the kitchen garden, or potager, is laden with stones that lies between two inviting rows of lavender. There is a large section devoted to herb gardeners around the world each with their own designs and interpretations of showing off herbs in all their romantic and aromatic splendor. There is more! Turning the pages, we find methods for drying and preserving, creating beautiful crafts such as wreaths,sachets, potpourri, topiary, miniatures, decorating for holidays, and, oh my goodness, the most tempting recipes! My, oh, my! I'm diving right back into my Herbs book!
Inspiring.......2000-05-21
This is the most inspiring and beautiful herb book I have ever read. This is the book that got me "into"herbs and the herbal lifestyle. It truly changed my life. The pictures are beautiful, and the content is intriguing. Beginning with basic information on growing 40 common herbs, it takes you through beautiful gardens in the U.S. and Europe, Shows gorgeous herbal crafts, and has great herbal recipes. Really a great introduction to the wonders of herbs, but the experienced herbalist would love it too. A definitive herb book!
The best herbal arts resources book.......1998-08-22
If you are new to herbs, this is THE book to really turn you on to this vast subject.If you are experienced, the book is an invaluable resource. If you just like great books with incredible photography, you will be proud to diplay this book on your coffee table. Buy it and enjoy!
The best herb book! Covers all aspects1.......1997-10-15
Great ideas, the best recipes, and the decorating is exceptional. I planned my whole holiday party with this book! From start to finish the photos and the text give you all you will ever need to know about herbs and how to display and use them in cooking and decorating. I was honestly surprised that the content was so good. I own quite a few books on herbs and this is the only one I would recommed to someone just starting out or an advanced grower. I have tried so many of their ideas that I feel like I am their test kitchen! Read it and I think you will agree that this book is the best!
Customer Reviews:
For The Person Who Wants to Cook with Herbs.......2004-09-21
There are many books available to spend time on all the varying uses for herbs (gardens, medicine, etc.) and nothing wrong with that. But for those of us who are into herbs for the sole purpose of the culinary zest they so wonderfully provide, this is significant resource in a small, well done fashion.
Color photos, herb by herb info, as well as recipes and aids with sources, insect and disease problems, this is valuable aid to us herb growers for the table.
From planning to preparing to planting to cultivating to problem cures to harvesting to recipe utilization, this is solid 105 pages of herb wisdom.
Lots of pretty photos.............2004-09-04
What's not to like about Rosalind Creasy's garden books? Creasy is an advocate of eating your garden. For years, I went back and forth - Do I grow flowers? Do I grow vegetables? Creasy says you can grow both and she shows you how. Her books are not filled with pages and pages of tedious text on preparing soil, planting, watering weeding harvesting. Instead, she includes several photos of her hired hands doing all that tiresome stuff while she takes pages of photos of plants (a small "encyclopedia") and receipes (a small cook book).
I was inspired by Creasy to try peppers in pots this past summer, and the Goddess must have smiled because all the plants behaved well and furnished a bumper crop of hot peppers for my pepper-loving Senegal parrot. So, for the first time ever - inspired by Creasy - I tried lavender in a clay pot and it worked well. Usually, my lavender plants mold from underneath because although the summers in the Washington DC area are usually hot, they are not dry like those in Provence where lavender excells. Clay pots are a good idea because the lavender plant sits above the ground away from the damp and any moisture falling from a watering can or the sky wicks away quickly. I have grown other herbs in pots - parsley, scented geraniums, basil, but never tried lavender until this year. I also grew several kinds of mint plants in both clay pots and the kind with a water well underneath, which is the only way to grow them as they are so invasive.
I love Creasy's EDIBLE HERB GARDEN because in my estimation a picture is worth a thousand words, and as an experienced gardener, I don't need a lot of instruction. Creasy includes plenty of pictures that are useful to me because they give me design ideas. I can look at a garden photo, recognize plants and judge how much work is involved in realizing the scene depicted. Creasy doesn't really advise you concerning the amount of work involved to maintain a scene. She also grown herbs in a California climate.
I've used other sources to help me learn how to grow herbs (Rodale in particular), and I've used Creasy's book to discover new and beautiful ideas for displaying culinary herbs in the perennial garden, as bedding plants or in pots.
Creasy offers nifty vinegar, oil, and tea recipes using culinary herbs as well as items such as barbecued veggies on Rosemary skewers. Collect her series, but be warned, you will need a good "how to" book or your own personal gardener to achieve her results.
The Edible Herb Garden.......1999-12-04
As a beginner to herb gardening, this book is exactly what I needed to get me started, and motivated! It is a valuable reference book as it provides the essentials to a successful garden in a format that is consistent and easy to read. It includes a complete encyclopedia of culinary herbs with beautifully detailed photos that are good enough to eat! The photos make it easy for the beginner to learn the names of herbs and to easily identify all varieties. This book also contains sections on Planting and Maintenance, and Pest and Disease Control. It's an all-in-one tool. I highly recommend the entire Edible Garden series.
Books:
- Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically
- Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically
- Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies
- Coffee: Growing, Processing, Sustainable Production: A Guidebook for Growers, Processors, Traders, and Researchers
- Colonials: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Updating Classic America)
- Color Atlas of Turfgrass Diseases
- Construction Scheduling: Principles and Practices
- Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes: Designing Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Cities
- Creating and Planting Garden Troughs
- Creating Your Own Japanese Garden
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Policy Studies for Educational Leaders: An Introduction, Second Edition
- Guilt-Free Motherhood: Parenting with Godly Wisdom
- What Ever Happened to Orson Welles
- Beyond HR: The New Science of Human Capital
- Developing Management Skills
- Hereditary Hearing Loss and Its Syndromes
- History: Fiction or Science
- Wiley CPA Examination Review 2002, Accounting and Reporting: Taxation, Managerial, Governmental, and
- Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age
- Shakespeare's Trollop
The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions
Vegetable Gardening: From Planting to Picking - The Complete Guide to Creating a Bountiful Garden
Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden
Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More
