April 1st, 2009 · No Comments

Here are some of the most popular organic gardening titles from Amazon.com:

The Informed Gardener — Linda Chalker-Scott

In this introduction to sustainable landscaping practices, Linda Chalker-Scott addresses the most common myths and misconceptions that plague home gardeners and horticultural professionals. Chalker-Scott offers invaluable advice to gardeners gardeners who have wondered:

• Are native plants the best choice for sustainable landscaping?
• Should you avoid disturbing the root ball when planting?
• Are organic products better or safer than synthetic ones?
• What is the best way to control weeds-fabric or mulch?
• Does giving vitamins to plants stimulate growth?
• Are compost teas effective in controlling diseases?
• When is the best time to water in hot weather?
• If you pay more, do you get a higher-quality plant?
• How can you differentiate good advice from bad advice?

The answers may surprise you. In her more than twenty years as a university researcher and educator in the field of plant physiology, Linda Chalker-Scott has discovered a number of so-called truths that originated in traditional agriculture and that have been applied to urban horticulture, in many cases damaging both plant and environmental health. The Informed Gardener is based on basic and applied research from university faculty and landscape professionals, originally published in peer-reviewed journals.

Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically — Karan Davis Cutler

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

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 — Barbara W. Ellis

From Library Journal: An excellent handbook with entries for common fruits, flowering plants, vegetables, and trees. Each listing has information on disease and pest problems and tips on how to solve them without chemicals. Especially useful sections feature photos of garden insects and diseases. (LJ 6/1/92)

The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food — Tanya L. K. Denckla

Here is the only single-volume reference that supplies all the information necessary to plant a successful organic food garden. Before it was a book, THE FACT-HUNGRY ORGANIC GARDENER was organic gardener Tanya L. K. Denckla’s private database, the distillation of years of hands-on, real-life, dirt-under-the- fingernails experience in growing her own vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts. Interest in organic gardening is increasing, and The Fact-Hungry Organic Gardener is the one book that answers all the questions that sprout up among novice, intermediate, and even experienced gardeners.

Plants are arranged in an A-to-Z format that makes it easy to pinpoint the information you need. Each entry provides specific information on planting, watering and fertilizing, when to harvest, how to store the produce – even which plants profit by getting a headstart in a greenhouse.

And fully half of the book is dedicated to organic remedies that can prevent or combat plant diseases and garden pests. Hundreds of common diseases and pests are arranged alphabetically, and each entry explains which plants are likely to be affected and how to recognize the problem, and then offers a variety of well-tested natural remedies.

This is an easy-to-read, authoritative, accessible resource that lets you find answers to questions quickly so you can spend less time skimming gardening books and more time enjoying your garden.

Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener — Fern Marshall Bradley

Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening has been the go-to resource for gardeners for more than 50 years—and the best tool novices can buy to start applying organic methods to their fruit and vegetable crops, herbs, trees and shrubs, perennials, annuals, and lawns. This thoroughly revised and updated version highlights new organic pest controls, new fertilizer products, improved gardening techniques, the latest organic soil practices, and new trends in garden design. In this indispensable work readers will find:

• Comprehensive coverage for the entire garden and landscape along with related entries such as Community Gardening, Edible Landscaping, Horticultural Therapy, Stonescaping, and more
• The most in-depth information from the trusted Rodale Organic Gardening brand
• A completely new section on earth-friendly techniques for gardening in a changing climate, covering wise water management, creating backyard habitats, managing invasive plants and insects, reducing energy use and recycling, and understanding biotechnology
• Entries all written by American gardeners for American gardeners, with answers for all the challenges presented by various conditions, from the humid Deep South and the mild maritime coasts to the cold far North and the dry Southwest

Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening has everything anyone needs to create gorgeous, non-toxic gardens in any part of the country.

Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening — Maria Rodale

Whether an experienced gardener is looking to go organic or a beginner wants to create a healthy, eco-friendly garden, the Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening contains the tips and techniques needed to produce beautiful flowers, top-quality herbs, and appetizing, wholesome fruits and vegetables. Explore the latest methods for cultivation without chemicals, discover the benefits of composting, and learn how to maintain an organic garden year-round.

Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long — Eliot Coleman

From Publishers Weekly: From first sentence to last, Coleman’s book is a delight–an earnest guide written with an impish sense of humor. It will refresh anyone who wants to get the most from a vegetable garden yet doesn’t want to devote too much time and energy to the process. Apparently Coleman thoroughly enjoys every phase of gardening–from planting crops to weeding. Who else has ever suggested, only half in jest, dancing with a hoe? Or keeping a pair of ducks for pest patrol? This is that kind of book.

The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses — Eliot Coleman

Choosing locally grown organic food is a sustainable living trend that’s taken hold throughout North America. Celebrated farming expert Eliot Coleman helped start this movement with The New Organic Grower published 20 years ago. He continues to lead the way, pushing the limits of the harvest season while working his world-renowned organic farm in Harborside, Maine.

Now, with his long-awaited new book, The Winter Harvest Handbook, anyone can have access to his hard-won experience. Gardeners and farmers can use the innovative, highly successful methods Coleman describes in this comprehensive handbook to raise crops throughout the coldest of winters.Building on the techniques that hundreds of thousands of farmers and gardeners adopted from The New Organic Grower and Four-Season Harvest, this new book focuses on growing produce of unparalleled freshness and quality in customized unheated or, in some cases, minimally heated, movable plastic greenhouses.Coleman offers clear, concise details on greenhouse construction and maintenance, planting schedules, crop management, harvesting practices, and even marketing methods in this complete, meticulous, and illustrated guide. Readers have access to all the techniques that have proven to produce higher-quality crops on Coleman’s own farm.His painstaking research and experimentation with more than 30 different crops will be valuable to small farmers, homesteaders, and experienced home gardeners who seek to expand their production seasons.A passionate advocate for the revival of small-scale sustainable farming, Coleman provides a practical model for supplying fresh, locally grown produce during the winter season, even in climates where conventional wisdom says it “just can’t be done.”

See all ORGANIC GARDENING titles at Amazon.com