Product Description
Based on his experience of a system of permanent slightly-raised beds, author Charles Dowding takes you through a delicious variety of fruit and vegetables: what to choose, when to plant and harvest, and how best to avoid pests and diseases. Organic Gardening includes recipes to inspire you to culinary heights with your fresh-picked produce.
Dowding shares his philosophy, tips, and techniques that have enabled him to run a successful organic garden that has supplied local restaurants and shops for 25 years. Encouraging readers to forget the rules, Dowding suggests gardeners will better understand what is going on in your soil, plants, garden, and climate when you develop your own methods of gardening. Most radically, Dowding illustrates a method for ensuring that you never need to till your soil again, instead relying upon the natural balance that comes with respecting life, spreading good compost, and allowing worms to play a key role in your maintenance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Never better ...
Prompt service - Opened the mail box to find exactly what I had ordered.
Very pleased.

Helpful guide book
Great resource book for home organic veggie gardening.I really liked the logical chapter by chapter approach to main plant groups; it's a quick way to re-find information when needed.Lots of helpful and well explained tips & hints from years of trial & error.Book would be especially valuable to gardeners in the U.K. because it includes advise for specific vegetable varieties that are successful there.

Review on 'Organic Gardening - The Natural No-Dig Way'
I have been an organic gardener and organic farmer since 1971. In my humble opinion, Mr Dowding has written a book that is useful to the beginner and to anyone who has truly been an organophile gardener for any length of time.

It seems in reading both of the author's books that he is oft troubled with slugs in his garden and in some of his reviewers.The no dig approach refers to the garden, not the book.The information that is in his book does require a bit of digging as the style is written to inform a beginner as well as an experienced organic gardener.

The deeper information is there, but you will require a modicum of digging in the book.For those too lazy to mine that information, well... there are slugs and then there are slugs. Mr. Dowding has been a commercial organic farmer and gardener or over 25 years.He knows his stuff and he shares his mistakes so you do not have to repeat them.

And I can testify his methods work not only in England, but everywhere. I farmed in North Florida for six years and it freezes in the winter. I grow much of my own food here in South Florida where it is subtropical. Dowding has written a book that has application and depth anywhere his method is used. I do not know the man, but I have read his books.

He is most successful in his venture because he follows nature's ways. He plants by the moon, and that doesn't mean New Age for any "know it alls" that dismiss before examination. You can share in his success if you read his book, but only if you apply his methods.Those who are seeking some magic wand would best save their money and read seed catalogs rather than do actual organic gardening.Mr. Dowding takes the work out of the experience, but not the exercise.Lazy people too, would best not buy the book and use their money for doctors. For there will need for that from lack of exercise and eating chemically grown foods without life.


Burton Dale, West Palm Beach, Florida

Not impressed
This book was a disappointment.From the description you think you are going to really get some new information and have details on how to gardening organically etc.However, this book turned out to be more shallow and there was nothing much new to learn.I returned the book.Maybe if you are an absolute beginner you might learn something.

Organic Gardening Without Digging
Charles Dowding's Organic Gardening the Natural No-Dig Way is an introduction to organic gardening in general, and the 'no-dig' method in specific. The 'no-dig' method doesn't mean that absolutely no digging will take place: after all, you need to plant things in the soil and sometimes you also need to dig them up again. However, you really won't need to till or turn. Dowding believes in using raised beds composed almost entirely of rich compost, which worms naturally incorporate into the soil beneath.

Since the no-dig method is meant to be part of a larger program of organic gardening (after all, if you use industrial pesticides and the like then you'll just kill off all those worms, microorganisms, beneficial insects, and so on), much of the book details various fruits and vegetables you might plant and how best to organically raise them. It doesn't go into things such as organic pesticides and fertilizers, but instead delves entirely into physical methods of pest control.

A typical entry covers varieties, growing seasons, weeding, thinning, dressing with compost, harvest, diseases, pests, and even a simple recipe for enjoying your vegetable or fruit to the fullest. There's also a very thorough index---complete with a separate recipe index!---to help you along.

Dowding's book will definitely be of the most use in Britain and similar areas. Some of his suggestions are climate-specific, as are many of his discussions regarding varieties, and of course his planting and harvest times will be different than those elsewhere (although at least you'll get most of that information from your own seed packets or plant catalogs). Measurements and amounts are only given in units of cm and so on with no equivalents provided. Terminology differences aren't explained, and there were some cases where I wasn't sure if a bit of confusion over something the author was communicating was due to something that wasn't clear in his wording or a bit of terminology that was being used in a different manner than that to which I'm accustomed.

All in all I'd have to say that within Britain and similar areas (in terms of climate, use of measurements and terminology, availability of varieties, etc.) this book rates a 4.5 or a 5. In the US it's still highly useful for those wanting to explore the no-dig method and organic gardening at home, but it's moderately less useful---call my rating for us a 4. ... Read more

Product Description
This work shows how to cultivate everything from fruit and vegetables to flowers, trees, shrubs and lawns organically. It explains the principles of organic gardening, with practical sections on how to enhance the texture and fertility of soil. The book discusses natural methods of pest and weed control, with special emphasis on attracting a balance of vegetation and helpful predators. It explains all of the basic gardening techniques such as digging, pruning and propagation in easy-to-follow steps and it also includes chapters on greenhouse and container gardening and herbs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Fabulous Primer for the Beginning Organic Grower
I was interested in growing as many vegetables as possible in our small plot.Mr. Hamilton's book told me how this could be done (through a three year crop rotation and double digging).The book also told me how to take better care of my ornamentals, set up a compost bin to feed my soil, take care of nasty insects organically, prune fruit trees & so much more.I consider this book to be my 'Garden Bible'.I read it often & always find new things that I have missed or not had the chance to apply.Filled with pictures and diagrams, this book is a must have for gardeners who don't know where to begin.Read it during the winter months & plan your dream garden.

Oregon oranges?
Who would have thought that I could grow oranges in Oregon?"that will never work!" , "your'e crazy".This was about as encouraging as it got.

Mr. Hamilton, thanks to you, I will be eating oranges this winter from my orange tree.The book is insightfull, and a wonderfull resource for the average gardener wanting to try something new with their plants.In addition to my oranges, I now have a wonderfull herb garden complete with purple basil, rosemary, and chives.All of which I can now identify with certain confidence thanks to the excellent photographs and visual resources.My tomato plants are providing enough fruit for all of my jealous neighbors, and the only hint I can give them is to buy the book, (seems obvious to me).

Thank you for the resource, I know I will apreciate even more this January when I am eating fresh oranges in Oregon!

Sincerely, Michael Bolz ... Read more

Product Description
An essential reference guide to natural gardening, showing how to apply organic principles to all aspects of garden planning, design and maintenance and illustrated with over 800 color photographs ... Read more

Product Description
Let the editors from Rodale Organic Gardening-- the world's leading authority on organic techniques-- show you how to prevent pest problems in the first place, identify and fight bad bugs, and keep out four-footed foes for productive and beautiful gardens without chemicals.

1 Go organic!
2 Essential supplies
3 Preventing problems
4 Good bugs
5 Bad bugs
6 Four-footed foes
7 Pesky birds
8 Pest imposters
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excelent little book
It is hard to find a smaller book that is stocked full of helpful information on garden problems. With picture examples. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Pretty but not helpful
I am a novice gardener. I bought this book as a companion to McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers hoping that it would have pictures of vegetable container gardens in it; or even just pictures of mature vegetable plants, so that I could plan my vegetable containers appropriately. It does not. The pictures are of the fruit and vegetables alone, not the actual plants or mature container gardens. While this is lovely book to be sure, it isn't very helpful--either pictorially or informatively. If you are looking for a great, informative book on vegetable container gardening, Bountiful Container Gardens is the one to get. Unfortunately, it does not have any pictures in it. If you are like me, and want to see what the plants and the container gardens will look like when they are mature to help you plan your container gardens, I suggest getting Easy Container Combos: Vegetables & Flowers (Pamela Crawford's Contianer Gardening) [Paperback] as a companion book to Bountiful Container Gardens. It is inexpensive, has pictures of what the containers will look like mature, and even includes blooper photos of what not to do. It isn't fancy, and is no where near as beautiful as this book, but it is much more helpful.

Nice introduction to Container Gardening
Container gardening is a great way to get your feet wet.This book has lots of enticing photos which provide a pleasing introduction to growing edible food in pots.Chapters contain gardening information and recipes to give you ideas for what to do with your harvest. Makes a nice companion book to more technical books like The Bountiful container.

Pretty Pictures
The photographs were gorgeous, but as far as planting information it was pretty useless. I highly recommend McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers. I bought them at the same time and haven't looked at Kitchen Harvest since.

Good Book!
This book is just what I was looking for.It has good tips for organic edible container gardening.The pictures are great and I am inspired to try lots of new things in containers this summer.I'm short on ground space, but I can fill some containers up! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

A comprehensive and accessible guide to organize gardening
The Gaia Book Of Organic Gardening by Charlie Ryrie (with the assistance of Cindy Engel) focuses upon composts, pests, weeds, and soil as it offers a comprehensive and accessible guide to organize gardening. Complete with a profusion of checklists and planners, The Gaia Book Of Organic Gardening covers everything from crop rotation to making "green manure", from enhancing biodiversity to using botanical pesticides. Do-it-yourself gardeners and commercially minded farming operations will learn how to build a healthy garden through identifying soil types and properly nurturing them, which weeds are useful and controlling unwanted varieties, encouraging "good" predators such as ladybirds and over flies, while repelling destructive pests in the garden. Offering the most up-to-date concepts and practices for time management, seasonal planting, harvesting, and more, The Gaia Book Of Organic Gardening is ideal for the non-specialist general reader wanting to establish an organic garden, and has a great deal to offer even the more experienced and practicing organic gardener.

A comprehensive and accessible guide to organize gardening
The Gaia Book Of Organic Gardening by Charlie Ryrie (with the assistance of Cindy Engel) focuses upon composts, pests, weeds, and soil as it offers a comprehensive and accessible guide to organize gardening. Complete with a profusion of checklists and planners, The Gaia Book Of Organic Gardening covers everything from crop rotation to making "green manure", from enhancing biodiversity to using botanical pesticides. Do-it-yourself gardeners and commercially minded farming operations will learn how to build a healthy garden through identifying soil types and properly nurturing them, which weeds are useful and controlling unwanted varieties, encouraging "good" predators such as ladybirds and over flies, while repelling destructive pests in the garden. Offering the most up-to-date concepts and practices for time management, seasonal planting, harvesting, and more, The Gaia Book Of Organic Gardening is ideal for the non-specialist general reader wanting to establish an organic garden, and has a great deal to offer even the more experienced and practicing organic gardener.

Good basic guide
These days more and more gardeners are becoming aware of the dangers of using pesticides and chemical fertilizers in their gardens. This generously illustrated book is a good, well-rounded guide on getting started with the basics. First of all, soil, the basic foundation of any good garden is covered - how to identify your soil type, how to improve it, digging, using mulch, adding ammendments, using green manures and improving drainage. A chapter on compost covers everything you need to know - what can be composted (some of the things listed may surprise you!), how to compost, building a bin, differences between hot and cold composts and making worm bins. A chapter titled "Time and Space" covers the actual planting of the garden - saving seeds, planting seeds, crop rotation, perennial vegetables, growing in beds or containers, fertilizing, harvesting and storage. The final sections of the book deal with weeds and controlling pests. Charts, diagrams, checklists are included. Very easy to follow and good basic information on going organic! ... Read more

Product Description
The invaluable resource for home food gardeners!

Ed Smith's W-O-R-D system has helped countless gardeners grow an abundance of vegetables and herbs. And those tomatoes and zucchini and basil and cucumbers have nourished countless families, neighbors, and friends with delicious, fresh produce. The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is essential reading for locavores in every corner of North America!

EVERYTHING YOU LOVED about the first edition of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is still here: friendly, accessible language; full-color photography; comprehensive vegetable specific information in the A-to-Z section; ahead-of-its-time commitment to organic methods; and much more.

Now, Ed Smith is back with a 10th Anniversary Edition for the next generation of vegetable gardeners. New to this edition is coverage of 15 additional vegetables, including an expanded section on salad greens and more European and Asian vegetables. Readers will also find growing information on more fruits and herbs, new cultivar photographs in many vegetable entries, and a much-requested section on extending the season into the winter months. No matter how cold the climate, growers can bring herbs indoors and keep hardy greens alive in cold frames or hoop houses.

The impulse to grow vegetables is even stronger in 2009 than it was in 2000, when Storey published The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. The financial and environmental costs of fossil fuels raise urgent questions: How far should we be shipping food? What are the health costs of petroleum-based pesticides and herbicides? Do we have to rely on megafarms that use gasoline-powered machinery to grow and harvest crops? With every difficult question, more people think, "Maybe I should grow a few vegetables of my own." This book will continue to answer all their vegetable gardening questions.

Before choosing what to grow, go through the last third of the book, whereEd takes a look at the individual growing, harvesting, and best varietiesof 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 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (131)

THE BEST EVER!
Worth it's weight in gold. Two years of following Ed's ways has payed off the $6,000 or more now that I have dropped in my home gardening without a clue in the beginning. Now I don't stumble on how to get enough for my family out of my investment but who to give the excess to. If you don't have a lot of land this is the way to go for organic gardeners. Also if this is your passion some other good books are (Seed to Seed) by Suzanne Ashworth. (Root cellaring - Natural cold storage of fruits & vegetables) by Mike & Nancy Bubel.

Great for All
Whether you have gardened for 35 years (like I have) or are just a beginner (like my daughter), this book is the best book I have found for all the information you need on vegetable gardening.From starting seeds to planting to harvesting and storage, it is an exceptionally user friendly book, complete with colored photos.And every veggie has a Sow & Grow box with the essentials:how deep to plant, soil temp for germination, pH for the soil, spacing, watering, light, companion planting, best varieties, even how many seeds per ounce.I have given this as a gift and highly recommend it.

Excellent book even for veteran gardeners!!!!
Great book with lots of information.I've been gardening for over twenty years and learned quite a few things that changed my mind about my gardening techniques.I would recommend it to any gardener, escpecially those who have always done the same way they were taught years ago.

Helpful and inspirational vegtable book
It is hard to picture anyone being disappointed with this book.It is a very broad resource for vegatable gardening. I learned a lot about the pests that attack vegetables and how to deal with them. This book is super informative. It's great to see that organic methods are front and center. The plant by plant coverage is perfect. Definitly recomended.

Great gardening book
very informative for the new gardener or the more experienced, each veggie is explained on its own, very good book for the new gardener ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

good compact reference
this book is fairly complete, for a small paperback. i use it as my reference for mulching, planting, pests, etc. it has profiles of the common vegetables listing:soil, location(sun, drainage, etc), fertilizer, soil type, depth of planting, width apart in rows, width of rows, how much seed, planting instructions, watering, date of planting, succession planting, types, harvesting, storage, yield, and notes. also covers, starting seeds, composting, insecticide alternatives, and general organic info. certainly not a 1 book library, but the simple comprehensive info n the veggies is valuable to me. ... Read more

Product Description
Anyone who’s ever devoured a yellow pear cherry tomato off the vine knows the delights a garden can produce. David Hirsch, long-time member of the Moosewood Collective a group of 18 people who own and operate Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, and produce an ever-growing collection of award-winning cookbooks shares his experience and expertise in this completely revised and updated guide to compounding the pleasures of growing and cooking. In simple, straightforward text, he gives instructions for growing, harvesting, and cooking with more than 75 vegetables and herbs. A chapter of 80 recipes transforms the bounty of the garden into the pleasures of the table. Complete with mail-order and Internet source guides, bibliography, and USDA zone map, THE MOOSEWOOD RESTAURANT KITCHEN GARDEN is a comprehensive guide to culinary gardening. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

another great Moosewood cookbook
I got this for my daughter who is gardening for the first time.It's a great book.

Moosewood Kitchen Garden
I bought this as a gift for a friend who loves the Moosewood cookbooks.This was a big hit.Very helpful while planning her garden.

A cookbook far beyond the norm
It's called "a gardening book for cooks and a cookbook for gardeners." David Hirsch has updated and revised this different and terrific cookbook. The subtitle ("Creative Gardening for the Adventurous Cook"), encapsulates quite nicely why this is a cookbook far beyond the norm. Written specifically to help in growing vegetables so that we can cook with them, each flower, herb or vegetable is accompanied by tips for its best use in the kitchen.

Published originally in 1992, the 2004 update includes more information, resources and recipes. The text is simple yet thorough, and is chock-full of tips, ideas, illustrations and charming anecdotes. In simple, straightforward text, Hirsch gives instructions for growing, harvesting, and cooking with over 75 vegetables and herbs.

The cookbook is accessible for beginners, while being complex and satisfying enough for more experienced gardeners. Chapters are devoted to gardening techniques, crop rotation, seed starting, and natural ways to defend against insects. Another chapter covers various kinds of gardens, from hillside, to walled patio, to container gardening, while the 70+ recipes will showcase the fruits of your labor and help transform them to the the pleasures of the table.

The recipes are delicious and comprehensive, from soups, dips and salads to appetizers and main dishes. Hirsch also includes information on cooking times and techniques, as well as the effective use of herbs (with advice for planting, compatibility and cooking). It is hard to pick favorites, but the Vegetable "Pasta", Summer Rolls, and Portuguese Kale Soup are among my favorites so far.

The recipes are not all vegan (although of course they are vegetarian), but vegan options can be substituted (soy cheese for non-soy, etc). A must have cookbook for gardeners and cooks alike.--By Lisa Steele

If you love the Moosewood cookbooks, you'll love this book.
This is an easy-to-use and easy to read book with helpful tips on not only selecting and growing, but cooking with your veggies, edible flowers and herbs.There is also a great list of mail-order sources with descriptions of supplies. I especially liked the design section for its simple and straightforward approach to considerations and approaches towards my garden layout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Collection of tid-bits and proven advice from over 50 years
This collection of tid-bits and proven advice from over 50 years of Organic Gardening magazine has bushels of know-how crammed into an easy to read format.If you love the magazine, you'll love the book.Theinstructions for being an organic gardener are put forth here in plainEnglish so that anyone can grow a great garden without the use ofchemicals!

Practical easy to understand organic gardening advice.
This book has a wealth of tid-bits. Many brief articles with advice and instruction in a practical, easy to understand format. ... Read more

Product Description
Now you can create the garden of your dreams, no matter how limited your growing space is. Pat Lanza's proven lasagna gardening method produces amazing results in pots and small plots. Even in beds just 4 inches wide, you can grow bountiful, beautiful gardens with no digging, no weeding-- no kidding!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

lasagna gardening for small spaces
The book arrived two days after I placed my order and I must be the second person who opened it.My book is in better condition than a lot of new books and I could not be more pleased with the way my order was handled.I would definitely order again from this dealer.

Lasagna Gardening For Small Spaces
Wonderful book. Simple useful ideas for small gardens. If you're going "green" this book is for you. After taking this book out of the library and putting many post-it notes on the pages, I decided I had to have it!!

No Problems - Excellent
The book arrived in a timely manor and was in great condition. No problems, I would buy again!

...
This book has received a lot of mixed reviews, so I just wanted to say: I liked it.

It's true that it's not perfect. I find that few gardening books are universally ideal. This one is oriented towards sunny locations, and it has the flaw that many small-space gardening books have--the small-space seems to get bigger and bigger until it seems like we're talking about a fair-sized garden. Also, there are tons of personal details, really to excess. And one hears a great deal about the writer's current garden/shop/restaurant, much more than is interesting. Another reviewer suggested that perhaps it'd be more interesting if there were pictures of this place, and I agree, that might be a good idea.

Nevertheless, there were some great tips in here. Lanza takes the approach that you can be very ambitious even if you have a small garden, and that suits me very well. So she points out, for example, that climbing plants and vines are a great way to use every bit of space for spectacular effect. She also has lots of little suggestions; I found especially useful the idea of storing tools etc in tupperware/sweater boxes, tucked away. Also, her description of layering compost etc in the containers was useful to me.

It's true that little in this book is original, but then, originality is not usually the strength of gardening books. Somebody somewhere almost always knows the same techniques. It's a matter of presenting things in such a way that they are helpful to the reader.

I guess I would recommend trying to get this book from the library first--as I would with most gardening books. It has some great qualities, but it's not perfect, and it's worth making sure that it's useful to you personally before buying it.

The book I've been searching for . . .
Finally, a gardening book that doesn't assume you have acres of land and a barn full of expensive equipment--or that you have the money to go out and buy them.

For three years I've been limited to a small balcony, after having lived my life with a large garden. Instead of going through gardening withdrawals, I decided to fill some containers with soil and see what I could grow. I've learned a lot through trial and error, but I've also been on the lookout for a good gardening book that could give me some encouragement and some fresh ideas. "Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces" is that book.

I found Patricia Lanza's book to be extremely practical and down-to-earth. Even if you don't use her "lasagna" method to create your garden, you can still benefit from her advice about maximizing any small space you have to work with. The basic idea is if you don't have room to grow out, then grow up! And she's not just talking about flowers. She shows how easy it is to grow satisfying crops of just about any vegetable or fruit in tiny plots of land and containers. And she shows how to do it without spending any money. This book is peppered with ideas about how to use things we might consider to be trash as decorative containers, plant supports, and garden tools.

I was especially impressed with the section on pests and disease. Not only does she explain organic remedies for pest and disease problems, she spends time describing simple, natural ways to prevent pests and diseases from even becoming a problem, including a list of plants that attract beneficial insects (so you don't have to spend money to buy eggs or larvae from a catalog).

Perhaps what I am most grateful for in this book is its fearlessness. If the only space you have is a few containers on a balcony, Patricia Lanza doesn't tell you to buy some nice impatiens from the nursery--she tells you to grow an apple tree! If you've been discouraged by the typical container gardening book--you know, the kind that tells you to go out and buy a ridiculously expensive decorative pot and fill it with flashy annuals from the nursery--then give this book a try. Hopefully it will give you the courage to grow a satisfying garden--flowers, vegetables, and even fruits--with whatever space you have to work with, even just a few pots on a balcony, like I have. ... Read more

Product Description
A witty, whimsical gardening primer for anyone who wants to tend their patch of earth with a truly green thumb.

A garden can either bring you bliss or drive you insane, but organic landscape gardener Ellen Sandbeck has spent a lifetime discovering creative, effective techniques for growing and tending a garden with ease—while being kind to the earth itself. Eat More Dirt is her delightful compendium of homespun tips and tricks for designing, planting, nurturing, and beautifying your land without the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides.

From peat moss to irksome pests and predators, Sandbeck explores the lively world of compost heaps (which can be used to naturally “vaccinate” your garden against disease), growing good soil, choosing plants well-adapted to your climate, weed warfare, planting protocols, and eco-friendly ways to quench your garden’s thirst. Whether you tend an acre or just a window box, Eat More Dirt is an essential guide to keeping your garden thriving, the natural way.
• Build up topsoil without toxic fertilizers or noisy machinery•Compost, the other black gold
•Eradicate weeds with sunflower seeds•Protect berries from birds with a sugar-water spray
•Gentle pruning techniques• Banish beetles with wheat bran • Drive off furry pests with cayenne pepper
• When life hands you a seep, dig a pond—transforming garden irritants into garden pearls
• Pre- and post-gardening stretches • Dancing with tools • The Zen of puttering • ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Beginner loves it.
by Chapter 3 I had some real info to get me started on my very first garden. Good detailed info on starting compost and tilling up my yard to start and organic garden. But, I will be avoiding tilling, and using more of her methods to create great soil. Love her thoughts on the hygiene hypothesis and how she related it to soil.

Fun and Easy Read
Informative tips and stories that will keep you glued to the book. The author's sense of humor and wit make this book a highly entertaining read. The stories do not ramble along and are interesting without becoming a bore. I can't say enough nice things about this book.

Wonderful Book.
Eat More Dirt is a great read: funny and informative. I read it cover to cover on a flight and then started reading it over again. It is full of great tips for organic gardening that are easy to implement. It helped me realise that my garden doesn't need to be "flawless" to be beautifuland that I need to design it around the work that I enjoy and have time for so that it is a pleasure, not a rod for my own back. Thank you Ellen Sandbeck. Keep writing. I am going to order your last book right now!

Helpful Resource for the Wannabe Green Gardener
This book is an enjoyable journey--and tribute--toward a better world.Written by Sandbeck after the 9/11 tragedy, she wrote this book with the purpose of creating a safer environment, beginning in our own backyard.At times, this book is whimsical; at times, it is philosophical.But the theme of greener living resounds throughout.A very thoughtful and thought-provoking read for those of us that want to be more eco-minded.

a fun and interesting read filled with useful & practical tips
in addition to her practical organic knowledge, ellen sandbeck writes with whimsy & a knowledge of history - taking the reader on amusing & informative tangents while passing on some simple techniques to make gardening more productive & more enjoyable. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (30)

Great Book
Great book, great price.I purchased this as a gift.The person I bought it for loves it.She would recommend it to any gardener.

Giant book of Garden Solutions
I may never have to use another synthetic fertilizer or insecticide.Easy solutions that really work.

great book
This book is well worth buying. It has many tricks of a gardener that you would not imagine.
Organic gardening at its finest, I love it!

Best Garden Helper I Have Used
I bought this book since I love to grow my own plants for my yard. In the past I have lost good plants after taking all the time grow them to pests, diseases and fungus. This book is simple to use and has an index to help find what you are looking for. All the formula's are from products used in your home to make the remedies. I don't use tobacco or beer, but did buy it to use in some of the mixtures. The mixtures work and the book is well worth the price.

GREAT book!
Another GREAT book from Jerry Baker --- the man's a treasure.Why not use homemade solutions & give the chemicals a rest?It's good for us, our pets AND the environment --- and costs less too.We're true JB followers!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Taking the guesswork out of planting, growing, and maintaining popular fruit and nut crops, an organic gardening guide provides a colorful encyclopedia section that features fifty-six out-of-the-ordinary, edible items. Simultaneous. ... Read more

Product Description
Become the best bird host in your neighborhood. Let The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible be your guide to the foods and feeders, plants and projects that will guarantee you a yard that's absolutely brimming with birds!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Backyard Bird Feeders Bible
What a great book. I have started feeding birds and this book gave me so much more knowledge on the subject. I highly recommend it.

One of the BEST bird books on the market.
My better half and I being bird lovers for years have bought dozens of books on this subject. Out of all the bird books we have bought this one is by far one the best we have ever bought. Very descriptive, to the point, and covering a wide range of bird subject issues. Cannot speak highly enough about this book and should be owned by every avid bird watcher. A real wonderful and great book, very knowledgable, a must have.

Great for beginners
I have recently become interested in attracting birds to my urban backyard.This book is so useful.It provides a wealth of information on birds, but there is also a huge amount of information about additional urban wildlife.This has inspired me to plant a hedge in my backyard to provide a safe habitat for the wildlife.Well written and very funny.Highly recommend.

birds
good ideas, good bird house plans and good seed mixes.want to bird watch from your front porch---get book

The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible
Anyone enjoying nature needs this book.I use it routinely to refresh my memory on
what types of food to use to attract more birds to our feeders.We have also attracted a family of mule deer to dine on apples nightly.My husband and I are like keepers of the zoo keys.We have dogs, cats, birds and fish, and they all live harmoniously with us.The dogs and cats sleep together, lick each other's faces and "tolerate" us in THEIR home.I think I would like to come back as one of my animals.The bed seems to always be full--although we don't sleep as well as we should.

This is a fabulous book with alot to learn. ... Read more

Product Description
In the modern suburban landscape, beautiful, green lawns are perhaps the most ubiquitous feature of all. It’s difficult to imagine a friendly neighborhood without broad, clean stretches of neatly shorn grass. More and more in recent years, those lawns are evolving into organic systems as homeowners — concerned about the long-term effects of chemicals on their children, their pets, and the environment — turn to natural methods to keep their yards healthy and inviting, and, yes, still green and lush, too.

Paul Tukey, a self-confessed mowing addict, answers the growing demand for organic grass with a comprehensive volume of natural lawncare information. Step by step, he takes readers through the many elements that work together to form a healthy, organic lawn. Well-treated soil, fed properly with compost and natural fertilizers, is the foundation of every great lawn. Plant it with a grass cultivar matched properly to the climate and sunlight, nourish the soil and grass with the proper amount of water, and maintain the height with a good mower equipped with a sharp blade. A beautiful, naturally maintained lawn can be as simple as that.

An organic, healthy lawn is the best defense against weeds and pests, but when unwanted visitors creep in, Tukey is ready with Weed and Thug ID Guides and advice on dispatching them naturally or learning to live with the benign offenders. Tukey also provides helpful advice for lawnkeepers making the transition from a synthetic to an organic lawn system. It’s all here — everything today’s homeowner needs to keep his lawn off drugs, and make it an inviting living and play area for the whole family. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Good Primer for Responsible Lawn Care
Sometimes the truth hurts--such as when the author discusses chemical products commonly used on lawns. OUCH! This book explains the basics, and is a good start for anyone wanting to make the change to an organic lawn. The downside for many of us ishealthy soils heralds the return of earthworms and their predators--moles. Oh Well. If you observe worms in your environment your soils are improving. The author briefly discusses compost teas, which are probably the best thing you can do for your lawn. Also check out EM products, but unfortunatly there is not much practical info on Effective Microorganisms in book form.Compost Tea Making: For Organic Healthier Vegetables, Flowers, Orchards, Vineyards, Lawns (Volume 1)

Best Lawn book out there!!!!!!
This book writes about all types of grass and where they will grow the best.In addition, it gives the reader info about common problems that effect lawns and organic solutions.I wish more lawn books were this easy to read.There are plenty of diagrams and illustrations of providing proper lawn care.So, if you want a green lawn without the harmful chemicals give this book a try.

Inspiring book, but not a how-to for amateur gardeners
This is a full-color, glossy-paged book filled with scores of illustrative drawings and photos. It has a table of contents and an index, so it is easy to search for specific topics. The writing is clear and easy to understand, and the material covered is very educational regarding everything in general someone completely ignorant about the in's and out's of having an organic yard might want to know. It describes how and why chemicals hurt the health of your lawn, your pets and your family. It explains the science of healthy soil, provides information on various types of grass, and offers suggestions on how best to nourish and maintain a lawn undamaged by bugs and weeds without using chemicals. It also suggests methods of landscaping that avoid using grass and are very low maintenance. However, here is the kicker for those of us who are part of a homeowners association which requires particular types of grass, shrubs and trees and specific approaches to landscaping--the only way we can implement the vast majority of the suggestions included in this book would be to convince our homeowners association to change its rules. Unfortunately for me, the odds are very low that I would succeed at that endeavor.

Another issue I personally have with the book is that it serves me poorly as a rank beginner at gardening. The sum total of my gardening skills consists of being an excellent weeder--I thought I knew how to water, but this book says it's a far bigger production than I ever imagined, and my confidence in that area is now officially shot! In my almost complete ignorance of the practical details of lawn care, I found this book utterly intimidating, other than the part of the book dedicated to selling the audience on how great it is to go organic. I was already convinced of that before I picked up the book. It was the main reason I was interested in reading it. What I was hoping for were simple steps anyone could take (even me!) to go green. Unfortunately, I came away from reading this book feeling as if I would need to be a soil scientist with a strong back, tons of time, and lots of expensive equipment to ever succeed at an organic lawn going from the starting point of a lawn whose grass is such a mess that 1/3 of it had to be resodded. The book educated me just enough about organic lawn possibilities, though, that I felt I really wanted one badly. So my next step was to try and find an organic lawn-care service in my geographic area that could implement whatever might be possible of the book's suggestions within the rules of my homeowners association. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any such business anywhere near me which was willing to take on my lawn.

For a person in my position, then, buying and reading this book is like owning a lavishly illustrated travel book filled with exotic locales I have no means to ever visit.

Did not send defective product
I did not get the book as the seller informed me that the book they had was not in the condition they advertised.I rejected their offer.

Great for people new to lawns or to organic care
When we bought a house, we had to decide: lawn service or DIY? We opted for the latter (partially because my husband likes his Honda mower so much :) ), but we hadn't the first idea how to go about taking care of our lawn. We just knew we didn't want to spray it with chemicals all the time, what with all the dogs, cats and kids in the neighborhood.

Though this book is chock full of good information, the author doesn't assume any previous experience with lawn care, which I really appreciate. He takes you step-by-step along the process, whether you're starting from scratch or gradually transitioning to organic, and gives easy to understand instructions about how to test the soil (an essential first step), what kind of grass to plant, and what time of year to do all the recommended maintenance.

I enjoyed it enough that I just sat down to read. He's got lots of little side-bars and quick stories throughout, which actually helps me focus better. Others mentioned that there aren't a lot of specific "My lawn has this problem, what do I do?" answers, and that's probably true. His answer is generally going to be, okay, find out why that is. If you have moss, is your lawn too acidic? That's helpful but not quick. However, a trip to your local home store can answer a lot of those specific questions. (The Home Depot near us is filled with friendly, helpful employees, so I hope you find the same.) ... Read more

Product Description

Small is beautiful, less is more; a salad a day--but not the supermarket way.This compendium of practical methods for growing a wide variety of salads throughout the year will inspire you to grow your own, whether on a windowsill or a garden.Here is all the information you need for productive, healthy and tasty salads.Learn the subtleties of salad seasons and virtues of different leaves throughout the year.And when your table is groaning with the abundance of your harvests, there are delicious and imaginative recipes from Susie, Charles' wife, exploiting the fantastic flavors, color and vitality of home-grown salad leaves.

Customer Reviews (3)

Exciting, inspiring!
This book has a look that encourages spending time in its pages...I look forward to doing just that!

Review on 'Salad Leaves for All Seasons' - Charles Dowding
Review on 'Salad Leaves for All Seasons' - Charles Dowding

For those who purchased, perused, and put into practice Dowling's earlier book, 'Organic Gardening - The No Dig Natural Method', there is nowmore good news. Hisbook, 'Salad Leaves for All Seasons', is as valuable to an organic gardener as the first. This year's 2009 growing season has proven it's worth, and the knowhow Dowdinggives youworks without a lot of expense and back breaking labor.

We have watched the price of green groceries go up as world wide economic conditionsgo down. Some of us have to eat a green salad every day (and all of us should) for good health.'Salad Leaves for All Seasons' tells youhow to grow your own in plain English. In a very cost effective manner, this book freesyou from a grocery cooler shelf looking at price prohibitive items laden with more and more poisons as time goes by.You do not have to endure price or poisons when you find out how easy it is to grow your own. Dowding has been an organic grower for over 25 years and lets you draw from his well of practical knowledge.

I've grown tired of buying books that promise much, but do not deliver. 'Salad Leaves for All Seasons' is exactly what the title says it is. It does not leave you wondering why you spent your hard earned cash to purchase it.The book is an investment, not an expenditure, and should provide a return on the investment.The information in it is useful and worth keeping, enough said.

Burton Dale

Salad Excellence
Directions for growing and recipes are easy to follow. Divided into growing times with recipes in each section. I will bring to market to help patrons get ideas for eating. I will also use to try new lettuce types. Not just lettuce which is really nice. ... Read more

Product Description
A gardener's guide to creating a beautiful lawn with easy-care plants describes fifteen lawn grasses, thirty-nine ornamental grasses, and ninety-two ground covers in encyclopedic sections with color photographs and offers advice on providing areas for perennials, shrubs, and trees. Simultaneous. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Exact Type of Gardening Book I Needed!
I was so pleased to find this book.I am a beginning gardener, and I wanted to find out about all kinds of landscaping ideas and plants.This book has beautiful color photos of different ornamental grasses andgroundcovers, one area I am interested in.It also includes a detaileddescription of each, and important information about climate, growingguidelines, height, and spread.Armed with the information in this book, Ican now visit my local garden center knowing exactly what I want for myyard.

This book is especially attractive to me because of the way inwhich the material is presented.It is easy to browse and appealing to theeye. I found myself sitting for hours looking through the book to determinewhat types of grasses and groundcovers appealed to me the most.I have notfound any other garden books which present their material in such auser-friendly manner.I recommend this book to anyone who is interested instarting or enhancing their garden and landscape. ... Read more