Must have gardening book...

[Spatzbear]

Originally Posted by lakshmi

Has anyone tried Lasagna Gardening (the method, not the book) with any success?
Lakshmi

Lakshmi, I am a fan of Lasagna or No-Dig Gardening. I'm on hard clay, too, and I found this the best method to build up the soil.

Building up the soil with compost, manure, newspapers, pea straw, etc. you can really see the improvement within a year. I have been doing this with my garden for about 6 years now and the results speak for themselves.

Where there was hard clay before, there is now good, dark, healthy soil with tons of earthworms.

I can only recommend this method. All the best!

[Ruth_10]

Laksmi, you will need to till lots of organic matter into your clay. You will want to do this for awhile before attempting to plant into it. Perhaps you could use some raised beds for a quick start to your garden while you worked at conditioning your clay soil with organic matter. (We tilled horse manure into our clay soil in the fall and planted the next spring. Clay soil is often quite fertile but it can be difficult when wet or dry.)

Dick Raymond's books are great. I did not realize that the DR of DR Chipper was Dick Raymond! Huh! I thought he had probably passed on by this time. Weren't his books published in the seventies?

[lakshmi]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

I really like this one -

http://www.amazon.com/Making-More-Pl...3634866&sr=1-3

Making More Plants by Ken Druse. It described all sorts of ways to propagate all sorts of plants.

I looked it up and it sounds like a really interesting book. I think I would get kicked out of the house, though, if I tried to multiply the plants I already have.

I think I'm going to try Lasagna beds too. I don't want to till if I don't have to. I used Mel's mix from SQFT gardening for a small bed last year because I quickly wanted to put up something up before the summer was lost. This year I want proper sized beds and the mix works out way too expensive. Plus, I've got loads of grass and leaves to contribute to my lasagna!

Lakshmi

[greggf]

Raymond's books were published from the 1970's through the late 1990's. Some are still in print. All are readily available used.

The organic golf course article that I read said that he was about 70. That would have been a couple three years ago. I assume he's still gardening.

He owned a large share of Troy-Bilt at one time. There was a nasty corporate split, and he ended up with enough money to start his "own Troy-Bilt," which is DR. They have those ubiquitous TV ads.

I have a DR rototiller. Nice.

A good book to read if you're interested in gardening history, or in the history of Troy-Bilt (which is now, sadly, a small part of MTD), or in Dick Raymond, is WHAT A WAY TO LIVE AND MAKE A LIVING: The Lyman P. Wood Story, In Brief Press, 1994. Wood saved Troy-Bilt in the early 1990's, and hired Raymond in the mid-1960's. I came across it when I was writing a book proposal. It's amazing the level of intrigue and politics in the world of gardening!

[greggf]

Ooops. Should have said that Wood saved Troy-Bilt in the early 1960's.

[cdntomato]

2 must-haves, IMHO:

Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
The New Seed-Starters Handbook by Nancy Bubel.

There is a real range of approaches in the material that's been recommended in this thread. Lakshmi, a suggestion: see if some or all of the books cited are in the library, either the local public or at MacDonald College/McGill. That way you can gage whether a book approaches and covers the information you want or need in a way and in enough depth to keep you referring to it over and over. Then, you'll know you're spending wisely for maximum benefit. Amazon et al have interesting and occasionally valuable reviews, but often ones that can misdirect or that might be true for one person, but not the next. Likewise, that could be said for this thread. Try a book out before buying to see what fits and feels comfortable to you. Also keep in mind your location; general compendiums (see American) often ignore pertinent information about growing in the 'north'.

Jennifer (ex-library world inhabitant)

[lakshmi]

I'm going to head to the library with this list. I already have a bunch of gardening books on loan but nothing struck me as a must-have so far.

Thanks everyone! :-)
Lakshmi

[wilderness1989]

I agree with the other member choices! But I just received a book that is really really great it is The Plant Propagator's Bible by Miranda Smith, published by Rodale. I consider it to be the best book on propagation in my library.

[honu]

2 must-haves, IMHO:

Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
The New Seed-Starters Handbook by Nancy Bubel.

I agree w/ cdntomato, but Nancy Bubel's "The New Seed Starter's Handbook" may be easier for the beginner.
Another easy to read, convenient quick reference for beginners is "Secrets to Great Soil" by Elizabeth P. Stell.
For organic info, I like "The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control," edited by Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley.
For interesting reading, I like "The Truth about Garden Remedies, What Works, What Doesn't & Why" by Jeff Gillman.

[amideutch]

Heres a site "Food For Everyone Foundation" founded by Dr. Jacob R. Mittleider . Check it out and he has some downloadable books in PDF or Word fomat that are pretty good reading. Ami
http://foodforeveryone.org/garden_store/