As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was fortunate to get some gardening/cooking related items for Christmas.
Among these great items were 3 new gardening tools. Well, gardening books that to me will become useful gardening tools! The short titles are: Backyard Battle Plan
This is a great garden book assortment because it is so diverse. I really like all three of them, but two are not normal books that I would usually pick. The one that is more like me is, and this is the long version of the title, - How To Grow Organic Vegetables, Fruit, Herbs and Flowers: The complete guide to cultivating a productive and beautiful garden the natural way, with 800 step-by-step photographs
This book by Christine & Michael Lavelle is full of information on all aspects of gardening, similar to other encyclopedia of gardening type books. What makes it so much better though, is the fact that it stresses gardening organically. Where other books I have may suggest a chemical pesticide or fertilizer, Grow Organic shows organic control methods like the use of beneficial insects and row covers. The part I'll probably use the most is it's really good reference section on plant problems, showing how to recognize dozens of plant pests, diseases and disorders.
Speaking of problems in the garden, another of my new books is The Backyard Battle Plan : The Ultimate Guide to Controlling Wildlife Damage in Your Garden
This is an interesting but depressing book about all the animals in North America that sometimes think our gardening efforts are meant to benefit them! Rutledge takes each animal and breaks down how to recognize damage as coming from that particular animal. He then gives scientific information about that animal and its habits, and ends with what controls are available. For many animals, he even lists control methods that he calls "silly old wives' tales". Hey, I use some of those and I don't think they're silly!
I can see why I got this book for Christmas. It's because I so often complain about my troubles with insects, racoons, groundhogs, deer, squirrels, birds, mice and even my own cat! I also worry about foxes, wolves, opossums, rabbits, skunks, rats, chipmunks, moles and neighborhood dogs and cats! Based on all of that, the most uplifting thing about reading this book for me is realizing that I DON'T HAVE Alligators, Bears, Beavers, Bison, Cougars, Panthers, Porcupines or Moose to worry about like others do! All of the animals I just listed are covered in this book. If you have problems with any of them, maybe this book is for you!
Okay, now I'm a bit unsettled. Moving from an aspect of gardening that is many times out of our control to one where we have absolute control - indoor gardening. My third books is by Susan M. Brackney, called
The Insatiable Gardeners Guide: How to Grow Anything & Everything Indoors, Year Round
The other two books are references that you can read portions of. This book I am reading cover to cover. Brackney touches on all aspects of indoor gardening in a conversational, easy to read style. It reminds me somewhat of the way the original "dummies" books were written. She makes it fun to read by mixing her personal experiences with basic how-to information (like a good blog does). Much of the book covers hydroponics which I know nothing about. My indoor gardening experience under lights is just starting seedlings that will finish their growth outside.
This book explains how to grow vegetables completely inside your house, from seed to harvest! This is a very interesting idea to me. She makes me want to learn more about aeroponics and hydroponics, and about all the equipment needed to pull this off. I'm thinking maybe a way to get started on a small scale would be with an AeroGarden but who knows, maybe in a couple years I will be blogging about my basement full of HID lighting and hydroponic tables thanks to this book!
So now I have three more books to help keep the winter blues away and get me ready for a great growing season to come. Actually, reading these books has put me a little behind on my garden planning. Soon I will be able to share with you all that I plan to grow and the maps that I've been making, and in only a month it will be time to start the early tomatoes! Until then, I'm content to get my gardening from good books!
Keep Growing!
Marc
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