Reviews (4)

Nice ideas if you own a park
Although the landscapes in this book are beautiful, most of the properties shown were massive, complete with beautiful natural views surrounding them. It was fun to look at the pictures, but realistically, most people aren't dealing with the situations shown here. One terrace garden was shown, but it was small and unremarkable.All the properties shown are on the east coast, so the plant choices are not particularly useful for folks who live west of the Mississippi. It's an interesting way to spend a few minutes looking at the pictures, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone to use in planning a garden.

for those whohate to mow
This method has become my new gardening bible. It has an up to date, environmentally friendly, low maintenance approach. This book will not appeal to those who like large expanses of cut grass. The focus is onreducing or eliminating cut grass and massing plants. This style createsimportant habitats for birds and insects that we destroy with large lawnsand weed killers and fertilizers. And the effect is very beautiful!

My top choice!
I borrowed a dozen books on naturalistic planting from a friend of mine that is REALLY into gardening.All of the books had beautiful photographs and some were interesting to read but only "Gardening WithNature" told me how to design a natural garden for my house.I'm soimpressed I'm going to fork over my own money to buy it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Garden Design    2. Gardening    3. Gardening / Horticulture    4. Gardening/Plants    5. Landscape    6. Natural gardens    7. Natural landscaping    8. Organic    9. United States   

Reviews (1)

Easy and Informative
Good primer for a beginning organic gardener.You can read it cover to cover or skip around to find information on your specific organic gardening needs.The book takes a pragmatic look at the challenges of organic gardening while keeping the "first, do no harm" philosophy in tact. The technical information and references are comprehensive without being overwhelming. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Organic    5. Organic Gardening    6. Techniques    7. Gardening / General   

Reviews (1)

orgaic chemistry
i need the book cntain every thing about organic chemistey and broplem and its solvent ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening / Horticulture    2. Gardening/Plants    3. Organic Gardening    4. Organiculture    5. Techniques   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Agriculture - Agronomy    2. Gardening    3. Gardening / Horticulture    4. Gardening/Plants    5. Organic    6. Vegetables    7. Fruit & vegetables    8. Gardening / Organic    9. ORGANIC GARDENING    10. VEGETABLE GARDENING   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Agricultural Economics    2. Agriculture - Agronomy    3. Agriculture - General    4. Field Crop Management    5. Organic farming    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Star Observation    8. Technology    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. Gardening / Organic   

Reviews (11)

Love it and use it
I've been an organic gardener for years and this book is one of my "Bibles".You cannot maintain an organic garden or landscape without knowing the beneficial bugs from the harmful ones.My husband and I really enjoy being able to identify what's in our landscape and seeing them in action.The world around us is a remarkable, complex place and sometimes you have to look at bugs to have it really hit home.This is a great book, along with all of Howard Garrett's others.

Great Bug Reference Book!
It is important to know what bugs are beneficial and which are harmful. This book does just that! Not only does this book include many great photos, it also provides wonderful recommendations on how to manage the ones that are pests.
Worthless Reference Book
My wife and I agree this book is worthless as a reference book, but it does have some pretty pictures.Great as a coffee table book, but you will never use it as a reference book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Agriculture - General    2. Beneficial insects    3. Biological control    4. Garden pests    5. Gardening / Horticulture    6. Insect pests    7. Insects & Spiders    8. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    9. Organic    10. Pest Control    11. Science    12. Science/Mathematics    13. Techniques    14. Technology & Industrial Arts    15. Texas    16. Nature / Insects & Spiders   

Reviews (3)

Close, but not close enough
The book was informative, however it lacked a certain sophistication which left many questions unanswered. Not enough time dedicated to flowers.

Revive an almost lost heritage!Save Your Non-Hybrid Seeds
Saving seeds is a time-honored tradition.This book tells you all you need to know about how to raise, harvest, and store seeds for the easiest-to-grow and most popular vegetables and ornamental plants.Answershundreds of frequently asked gardening questions.

few flowers, not enough information
there was very little information on flower seeds, nor much in depthinformation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Flowers    2. Gardening    3. Gardening / Horticulture    4. Gardening/Plants    5. General    6. Plants - General    7. Seeds    8. Storage    9. Vegetable gardening    10. Vegetables    11. Gardening / General    12. Organic gardening   

Reviews (15)

Ordered by accidentally but....
I asked my wife to get me for xmass Jeff Cox's book "From Vines to Wines". Accidentally she put also "The Grape grower" to the basket. Well I am not sorry. The book is full of usefull information about the process of growing grapes. I like the authors attitude towards local grapes. Some of them are grown also here in Hungary, but they are forbiden here, because they are not from the Vitis Vinifera. People do grow them, but there is not too much information about them. Thanx for the great info !!!

The Bible of Viticulture
The secret to success in any growing venture is to know the facts, and plant and maintain your garden accordingly.Lon Rombough, who has been growing grapes in Oregon for over 36 years, provides extremely thorough information on siting and establishing the vineyard, training and pruning the vines, pests, diseases and animal pests, propagation and breeding.This book covers EVERYTHING the small grower needs to know.
Burn your General Viticultures and Biology of the Grapevines
This book contains absolutely everything you need to know about growing grapes, and is the best value for your dollar on the market today.
Read more

Subjects:  1. United States    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Organic    4. Viticulture    5. Fruit & vegetables    6. Organic gardening    7. Fruit    8. Gardening/Plants    9. Gardening    10. Grapes   

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

Subjects:  1. Gardening / Horticulture    2. Gardening/Plants    3. Organic Gardening    4. Techniques    5. Gardening / Organic   

Reviews (2)

One of the best gardening books I have ever read!
David Owens has written a real winner with this book!He tells us which plants will survive in our harsh desert environment and how to plant and take care of them. The book is easy to follow and I'm having good luck with all the trees and vegetables I have planted using his guidelines. Good tips...not only for Desert Gardeners
I live in Phoenix and have the opportunity of catching Dave Owens tips for gardening on Channel 3 on a weekly basis.Dave has so many tips for gardening that the only way to harness his knowledge is to purchase this book.I have come to find that these tips work not only for those of us living in the desert, but I pass them along to my Mother in Wyoming, and she has as much success as I do with them.Dave is an extremely knowledgable gardner and his book reflects that, the layout was very thought out and takes you step by step from the "what do I need", to "now I've got what I need, what do I do" stages.Bravo, Dave! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Organic    5. Regional - General    6. Outdoor and Nature   

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Health & Healing - General    4. Organic    5. Specific Ingredients - Vegetables    6. Cooking / General    7. General cookery    8. Organic gardening   

Reviews (1)

Hoot!
This book is a real hoot! Many giggles in most chapters. Stuff that really makes sense and that I would never have thought of. Being a re-cycler from waaaay back, this book is great fun. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Organic    5. Reference    6. Techniques    7. Gardening / General   

Reviews (1)

This book was usful in some areas
Had very little resources on harvesting and preparing the buds.The book was worth reading and was good for beginers starting out on growing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cannabis    2. Gardening    3. Gardening/Plants    4. House Plants & Indoor    5. Hydroponics    6. Marijuana    7. Organic    8. Plants - General    9. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    10. Popular Culture - Counter Culture   

Editorial Review

The demand for high-quality, organically grown food is skyrocketing with people's gradual understanding of the health risks and dangers of chemical pesticides and "industrialized" farming, yet good organic apples are still hard to find in many places. Phillips has employed hard work and keen observation of nature to make the best use of our great-grandparents' experiences and techniques. He then examines the latest scientific knowledge of apple pests and their life cycles to produce a thorough guide to growing wonderful, delicious varieties of apples in an orchard that is safe for animals, birds, and children playing under its tree branches. Each chapter has practical advice for the backyard fruit grower, and while this book is filled with useful facts and tactics, Phillips also adds a gentle, Earth-friendly, philosophical writing style that makes for quite an enjoyable read. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

For the love of apples
In (old) England where I live we are losing our orchards, especially small family ones, as the apple trade looks overseas to places with low wages, constant sunshine and scant environmental controls. Michael's book was a relief!
A great resource
I could not put the book down.It reads more like a conversation between friends than a step-by-step how to.The author is present several schools of thought on organic farming and encourages others to try different approaches.A goldmine of information, it is comprehensive in its treatment of the organic apple growing.I highly recommend it to any one interested in raising apple trees for fun or profit.

A rare gardening book imparting as much wisdom as fact
Most gardening books tend to be fairly dry, with step-by-step instructions, lots of tables, etc.This book is the opposite.This book reads like a long story told by the fire which happens to be about serious apple orcharding.And maybe a bit like a sermon, but I mean that in a good way, not preachy.Those with wisdom should impart it.After reading so many impersonal gardening books, this one is a breath of fresh air and reminds me why I love gardening.Read more

Subjects:  1. Agriculture - General    2. Apples    3. Fruit    4. Gardening    5. Gardening / Horticulture    6. Gardening/Plants    7. Organic    8. Organic farming    9. United States    10. Crop husbandry    11. Fruit & vegetables    12. Organic gardening   

Editorial Review

A dramatic pair of pictures opens this book: aerial shots of Fairview Gardens Farm, near Goleta, California, first in 1954, then in 1998. Once part of thousands of acres of farmland, Fairview Gardens is now entirely surrounded by tract homes, strip malls, and all the conveniences of modern suburban life. This 12.5-acre oasis exists only because Michael Ableman has steadfastly refused to let it be gobbled up by the relentless bulldozers. His story is funny, fierce, inspiring, and infuriating. His success, tempered by ample setbacks, will be of practical use to anybody seeking to preserve farmland from suburban sprawl. This powerful love story about a man and a place is especially moving because the land is not his: for most of the past 17 years, Ableman has been a tenant farmer at Fairview Gardens. Few people would put so much sweat and soul into borrowed land, yet to Ableman, ownership is irrelevant--it is the rich, beautiful land itself, and the sweet, slow food it produces for him, that matters. Read more

Reviews (5)

A darn good book!
I live in a desert climate, so farming is something that interests me in this desolate place I live in.I really enjoyed this book because of the success story and the farming aspect of the book.I would recommend this book to anyone who likes farms.

One of my favorite books!
This book was an inspiration to read. It gives me hope that urban sprawl might be contained in some small parts of the world. It's also a good guide to organic farming and living, and getting past the "hippie"stereotype that organics still have.I'd highly recommend this book.

a very personal journey
Reading Michael Ableman's book was like stumbling upon his personal journal.I could imagine it's dirt-stained, hand-written pages - themiscellaneous seed or wind-blown earthen particles stuck deep in thecreases of the binding.This book is filled with earnest, intimate tales -the everyday woes and triumphs of a gentle farmer, side-by-side with thebattle stories of a true community activist. It is his journey that I foundso fascinating, so inspiring.Ableman's story is compelling because he hasbeen on the good path and done the good work for a long time - more than 17years.From the early days of setting up the produce stand on weekends ata local farmer's market, to lamenting a killing winter frost, he draws thereader into the drama.Ableman's intensely close relationship with theland is his reward for paying close attention to its needs.His goals wereclear - to grow healthy food for local people in a way that respected theland's ability to sustain itself.He learned by doing, followed hisintuition, and made tough decisions based on what was right, or what hebelieved to be right at the moment.This book offers its readers as much"food for thought" about life, as it does about farming! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Organic farming    2. Farmers    3. Santa Barbara    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. History    6. Gardening/Plants    7. Regional Subjects - West    8. Specific Groups - General    9. Ableman, Michael    10. Agriculture & Farming    11. Biography: general    12. Body, Mind & Spirit / General    13. USA    14. Biography & Autobiography    15. General    16. Sociology - Urban    17. Biography    18. California    19. Fairview Gardens (Santa Barbar   

Reviews (7)

Sand Management
Between sand on the one hand and clay on the other, there's the world of workable dirt. Lifelong gardener Leila Hadley has worked them all. But the soil that's the most challenging is the type she's working around her and her husband's island home off the coast of Connecticut.
Painterly writing and practical advice make this gorgeous for gardeners
Like all the best gardening books, Hadley's blooms with the personality of its author. A visual writer with an uncommon ability to recreate personal vistas of beauty in the mind's eye of her reader, Hadley has lived and gardened all over the world.
There is wisdom within these pages
This was a very informative read.I have gotten so many great ideas and will be using many of them in my own coastal garden.This is much more than a typical gardening how-to book.There is so much wisdom here and also some interesting facts.Organic gardening is my first love and I was pleased to see Ms. Hadley insist on it in her own garden.A Garden by the Sea reads like a story as well as a great resource for gardening information.I agree with the other reviews here, it is like talking with a friend.This book has become a treasured addition to my library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. General    5. Organic    6. Regional - Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)    7. Techniques    8. Gardening / General    9. Organic gardening   

Reviews (2)

Wonderful Guide for Lifestyle Change
These folks actually did what many of us dream of & re-built their lifestyle based on their own personal beliefs.I was especially interested because of their location in Wisconsin, where I have lots of family & am very aware of what's happening in the agriculture portions of the state.There are plenty of do-able plans for people reading the book to follow to make their own lives more in sync with the needs of the planet without going to the extremes of buying a farm in the country & jumping into the lifestyle headfirst.Our family has instituted many of the suggestions in the book over the past few years, slowly & carefully & have been very pleased with the increased quality of life and the financial savings that have also accrued.

Make your dream a reality - learn from their example!
The best book I've read on building a simpler, more natural life.The instructions in the book are practical, everyday things that you'll need to know to build a new lifestyle.But it also goes beyond the basics that you get in every other book to include community, raising children in this lifestyle, earning money while upholding your values, and much more.The best part is the "sources and resources" sections in each chapter that help you to accomplish your new goals (for instance buying from business that use sustainable resources or are involved in free trade).Anyone interested in trading in the "American Dream" for a real life would find Rural Renaissance to be a valuable resource. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Careers - General    2. Gardening    3. General    4. Organic    5. Organic Gardening    6. Psychology    7. Rural Sociology    8. Self-Help    9. Sociology - Rural    10. Agriculture & Farming    11. Self-Help / General   

Subjects:  1. Gardening / Horticulture    2. Gardening/Plants    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Organic    5. Organic gardening    6. Regional - Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)    7. Techniques    8. Texas    9. Gardening    10. USA   

Reviews (2)

Practical advice for a world of scarce resources.
The is a smart, thoughtful book on an important subject.Despite the cartoon cover, the author approaches the use and disposal of urine in a practical and user friendly way.She presents convincing scientific information supporting the healthful use of urine for growing plants.Also, she gives good information on composting toilets.This is a timely subject for two reasons:first, the recapture of the nitrogen and other resources that are contained in the urine.Second:the disposal of urine without polluting drinking water.Like the Humanure book, this book makes the important point that the use of pure water to flush wastes away into the sewer system is a very poor use of very scarce resources.
urine charge and urine good hands with this book
This little gem of a book is both an informative source of about all things urine - including interesting historical attitudes and uses as well as modern environmental aspects - in addition to being a very fun read due to the amusing diagrams and sharp prose. Both the professional wastewater expert and the casual nature lover will find much knowledge and enjoyment in these pages. Because of this, Liquid Gold would be the perfect "stocking stuffer" gift for the environmentalist in your house this upcoming holiday season! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening / Horticulture    2. Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology    3. Organic    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Techniques    7. Cartoons & comic strips    8. Gardening    9. History of specific subjects   

Editorial Review

Ron L. Engeland has made his living as an organic garlic grower in Washington State for nearly two decades. He has cultivated more than 450 strains from all over the world. If you want to grow incredible garlic for yourself, he's the man to listen to. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Growing Great Garlic
This is the bible on the growing of garlic.It includes both highly technical and highly practical information.
A Nice Guide to Growing Garlic.
Most gardeners don't think of growing garlic, because it is so plentiful and inexpensive at the local grocery store. The problem is that there is only one kind of garlic available at most grocery stores and markets, and that limits variety to be sure! There are over 72 different cultivated varieties of garlic! Each variety has its own distinct aroma, flavor, and level of spicyness. There are even hot garlics! Elephant garlic isn't a true garlic, so it doesn't count. If you only own one book on growing garlic--this is the one.
If you only own one book on growing garlic--this is the one.From the history and enzyme groups of garlic to "how to properly clean and store" it, ron covers it all.The Bibile for garlic growers.Get thesuppliment from FillareeFarms.com to get the most up-to-date expertinformation on this wonderful fun food. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Garlic    5. General    6. Organic    7. Organic gardening    8. Specific Ingredients - Vegetables    9. Vegetables    10. Fruit & vegetables