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
For every gardener desiring to add apples, pears, cherries, and other tree fruit to their landscape here are hints and solid information from a professional horticulturist and experienced fruit grower. The Backyard Orchardist includes help on selecting the best fruit trees and information about each stage of growth and development, along with tips on harvest and storage of the fruit. Those with limited space will learn about growing dwarf fruit trees in containers.
Appendices include a fruit-growers monthly calendar, a trouble-shooting guide for reviving ailing trees, and a resource list of nurseries selling fruit trees.
Book Description
Here's a fully revised edition of this regional bestseller- considered to be the definitive food gardening manual for the Pacific Northwest. This is the bible of vegetable gardening for anyone turning the soil west of the Cascade Mountains-from Western British Columbia to Northern California. It includes the basics of soil, when best to plant, the art of composting, what varieties grow well here, which seed companies are reliable, information on handling pests, and an extensive section on the cultivation of each vegetable.
Customer Reviews:
Most likely the only vegetable gardening book you'll need........2007-02-03
Most of the previous reviews contained all the information about this book you'll need to make your decision to purchase or not to purchase.
Without a doubt I concider this my best gardening book. And just wanted to get my five stars posted and bow to the author for a great work! Thanks, Steve.
A book that will be referenced over and over again.......2006-04-09
The first time I read this book, I glazed over the section on soils (too involved - I originally thought). The rest of the book was far more interesting since I was more concerned about the best watering techniques, laying out the garden, organic methods, specific instructions for different crops, etc. Since then I've read the soils section at least a half dozen times and am astounded at how simple the formulas are and what a difference it can make. This is a book that will be referenced over and over again.
Recent OSU Master Gardener Graduate.......2006-03-24
I recently completed OSU's Master Gardener course and this title was recommended as supplemental reading. Further enticed by Amazon's low price, I purchased it and found it to be a very comprehensive and informative handbook for our unique maritime climate here in the Northwest. Unfortunately, most books about gardening are written for regions with more cooperative weather than our constant November-March rains and our extended winter periods where we never see the sun. How refreshing to read information that is relevant to where we live, written by someone who has personally compiled data on test gardens and founder of the wonderful Territorial Seed Company (www.territorial-seed.com).
That being said, I will add that while the author's personal asides were occasionally amusing, I found him mostly self-congratulatory and sometimes downright insulting. I also found his extended passages about taking on the 'plant's point of view' and the "magic" of the garden (he suggests that some people are able to make homespun soil amendments work by sheer force of will, much like Dumbo's magic feather) completely irrelevant and frankly quite ridiculous. It was these digressions and others like them throughout the book that has prevented me from giving the book five stars. As has been noted by other reviewers, the author uses a 1000 sq foot garden as his standard, a highly unlikely proposition in a city garden. Obviously the techniques described in the book would be no different if applied to a smaller garden, or could easily be scaled back.
The one essential book for the Northwest vegetable garden........2006-03-23
Steve Solomon, who founded Territorial Seed Company in 1980, is arguably the world's leading authority on non-commercial-scale organic vegetable gardening in the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Solomon has experimented with all of the variables in vegetable gardening, in our mild Maritime climate, and he reports the results with an admirable degree of honesty and integrity. His book - plus the Territorial Seed catalog - is all that's needed to achieve excellent garden results (for the first few years) with the least input of capital and labor.
That said, I've gardened in Seattle for 15 years, and Mr. Solomon's book has two serious flaws:
1. As other reviewers have noted, Mr. Solomon is dismissive of city gardening on a 200 or 400-square-foot plot. The city gardener must sift through many chapters of advice that applies only to homestead gardens of 1/2 acre or more.
2. After a few years the organic gardener will begin to experience mysterious crop failures - seeds that fail to germinate. Mr. Solomon attributes this failure to symphylan infestation - I suspect that soil-borne seed pathogens (Pythium, Rhizoctonia, etc.) may also play a part - but in any case, this book does not offer any viable solution for the CITY gardener. We city gardeners can hardly afford to garden on only half of our too-small plot, leaving the other half fallow for 3 or 4 years, waiting for the soil to return to equilibrium. (The Seattle Tilth trial gardens have suffered this fate, with no solution in sight.)
growing vegetables west of the cascades: the complete guide to natural gardening.......2006-03-13
material in excellent condition and sent promptly.
Book Description
Everything you need to know about selecting, growing, and preparing delicious tomatoes.
Customer Reviews:
GOOD but not a first book........2007-07-27
if you are not a really good gardener, and maybe don't understand the standard lingo, then this good book could disappoint. it helped me diagnose an illness in one of my tomatoe plants, but i disagree with the comments on pruning. but the biggest problem is that it does not have pictures. so, if you are new to gardening, you also should buy the vegetable gardener's bible by edward smith. together, i think a beginner can do well. (if you don't prune, make sure you have LOTS of room. and stake, stake, stake!)
Customer Reviews:
for citrus growers.......2007-01-27
a very useful and short guide for citrus amateurs growers. Very imortant and good information about citrus USDA zones and many citrus varietes carefully described. I think there is a essentail book for amateur citrus growers in temperate zones (atlantic europe coast)
Nice Guide for the Novice.......2007-01-10
The nursery where I bought my citrus tress recommended this book. I think it provides a very comprehensive coverage of growing citrus in AZ. This is a must for your reference library.
Great pictures, but could have been better.......2004-07-18
The book is attractive and does contain a lot of information about different citrus varieties. My main criticism is that the Planting and Care section could have been much more substantial. Specifically, since the descriptions of various citrus ailments (poor nutrition, inappropriate watering, infection with pests) are not accompanied by photos of the symptoms, it makes it harder for the reader to figure out what these problems might actually look like. The black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings of pests are somewhat informative, but they're very limited compared to what might be conveyed by a photo.
Also, a few diagrams to help illustrate "good pruning" would have been great.
I'm not suggesting that this book should have been a definitive technical treatise on citrus, but I think it would have been more useful if more attention had been paid to what goes wrong when you're trying to grow citrus.
subtropical fruit for third world country's information.......2001-12-20
This book has informatiom for the professional as well as the village farmer in Africa , its teachings are simple and clear for all those interested in the subject to follow , the illustrations and instructions are simple even for those with a basic knowledge of subtropical fruit growing. Africa is not covered in the distribution map never the less the fruits are for example the mango tree is synonymous with Africa , it gives food, and shelter from the elements and fuel what more can you want from a tree. Every African school would benefit from a book like this , and i know one that will.
Great citrus guide with wonderful pix/info.......2001-10-10
I have read several other books on citrus cultivation, but this book is by far the best i've run across. It has excellent photographs of the hundreds of citrus fruits, both on the tree and of the inside of the fruit itself. It has some great citrus recipes, but it mainly focuses on the cultivation and care of each variety. This book tells the grower what he/she can exactly expect to see, and how to best care for your tree. If there is ANYTHING this book lacks, it is more info on out-of-zone citrus gardening. For example, i live in NC and i have phenomenal success with all my trees in containers (i winter them in a "cheap" plastic greenhouse). That is my only criticism of this book---otherwise, all cultivar info is detailed and well illustrated!!!!
Book Description
The comprehensive guide to do-it-yourself organic gardening, starting from the basics. This groundbreaking book explains the latest scientific knowledge on how to find, choose and grow the best plants without any synthetic chemicals.
Customer Reviews:
Not as good as Rodale's version.......2006-12-22
This book just doesn't cut it when compared to other similar text like Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
There is nothing particularly wrong with the book. It has the requisite parts such as a discussion of organic gardening, the reasons for it, and why you should use it. It also has a fairly good chapter on various vegetables and how to grow them. It's just not my first choice for a reference book. I was highly disappointed with having picked this book first and then finding the Rodale book later.
Save a couple bucks and go with the Rodale book instead.
Great Comprehensive Text.......2006-06-30
Organic Gardening for the 21st Century is a must-have book for the organic gardener. It's well-written, enjoyable to read, very interesting, and full of realistic "how to" tips. Mr. Fedor explains different perspectives and he says why certain things are important, rather than just telling readers what to do. I like to understand why, so I can consider all the options and consequences. He does a great job of describing pests and how to deal with them. It would have helped me immensely to see photos of each pest by the description. There's enough technical information to make it specific (i.e. plant names), but not so much that it's like reading a Latin textbook. The photos and illustrations are terrific. It's just a beautiful AND useful book. Not only did I read it cover to cover, but I continue to use it as a reference book. It's well worth the purchase price!
A Pleasure To Read.......2004-11-16
I enjoy books that talk to me. John Fedor writes this book in the first person using his grandparents and then his own gardening experiences. He communicates in a style that makes you feel as if you are right there beside him in his gardens. I was hooked immediately. The book is a treasure chest of practical information (as a Reader's Digest book always is) without the overload of information that can cause you to give up your garden before you have begun. He assures you with wit and wonderful drawings that you can accomplish an organic garden in even the most humble of spaces with the most humble of budgets. The photographs are worthy of being published in a DK book. They are always practical though and relate to Fedor's text. They are realistic of what you can and can't expect. I call it practical eye candy. For those gardeners who already have a basic knowledge of gardening...this book won't disappoint you. There is a wealth of intermediate level information that will help you too. Enjoy!
A very complete guide.......2003-03-21
This Reader's Digest published book covers a lot of material (from compost to saving seed, from pest control to crop rotation, from companion planting to heritage varieties, from herbs to even landscaping and tools) in only 288 pages, yet manages to answer most common gardening questions. There is even a directory in the back of the book covering vegetables, fruits & herbs that commonly grow in the U.S. and Canada, giving varieties & growing instructions. The photos in the book are beautiful and inspiring for the aspiring gardener.
I've looked at quite a few gardening books, yet this guide is the one I keep going back to.
Book Description
Learn to grow your own produce, free of chemicals and pesticides. Complete with 135 vegetables and 75 herbs, this guide includes tips for growing many varieties of tubers, corn, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, melons, berries, and much more. Helpful advice on harvesting vegetables and herbs is also included.
Book Description
For anyone who owns land - whether it be five or fifty acres - this is an indispensable guide to small-scale organic farming, with advice on everything from building and stocking a pond to planting an orchard or making cheese. Grow It presents a philosophy and life-style in tune with today's concern for the environment.
Customer Reviews:
This book is excellent for the small homesteader........1999-04-20
I find this book to be an invaluable source of reference. Each area (animal, insect or vegtable) is covered in a short, easy, humerous style. It even covers the basics of beekeeping! The gardening section and the poultry sections are especially good. I would recommend this book for use as a quick reference or as a source for those starting out a small farm to decide which type garden or creatures are the best for their farm.
Books:
- 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
- Designing with Succulents
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General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
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
