Home Garden - Food for Life

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:18:05 +0000

New Release

Publisher
Atlantic Publishing Company (FL)
AuthorAtlantic Publishing Company
Garden Design Book Reviews
Price($24.95)

The Complete Guide to Growing Tomatoes: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide Including Heirloom Tomatoes (Back-To-Basics)

The average tomato farmer has more than 100 varieties of tomatoes, ranging from the sweetest, juiciest strains available to the smallest, easiest to grow options out there. Tomatoes are found in thousands of dishes across the world and they are notoriously expensive, especially in years when bad weather can destroy anywhere between 10% and 60% of the crops harvested in the United States annually. For all these reasons and more, many people have taken to growing their own tomatoes, setting up containers in their kitchens and digging plots in the back yard. But, effectively growing tomatoes is more than just a hobby for most. It is a challenge and without the right knowledge of how tomatoes grow and what they need, it can be downright frustrating. Growing tomatoes is a task anyone can accomplish and enjoy and this book strives to provide every possible resource and tip needed for you to become one of a growing legion of tomato growers. You will learn the fundamental basic aspects of all tomato plants that have helped growers around the world master their craft and create the largest tomatoes around. You will learn the basics of composting and fertilization and what each tomato plant benefits best from. You will also learn how to select your garden location and the seemingly complex but ideal task of starting from seed with your new tomato plants. You will learn what kinds of support systems are best for each kind of tomato plant, including the kinds of watering, cages, and nets that your plants might benefit most from. Tomato experts who have created a livelihood for themselves in growing and mastering the tomato plant have been interviewed around the country and their responses added to the book, helping you to know how to set the plants, prune them effectively, read a tomato plant at various times during the season and even to combat the various trials and tribulations of tomato growing, from pests and disease to frost and storms. Everything you could possibly need to know about tomatoes, how to grow them and how to effectively start a new hobby and possibly create secondary income, is included in this guide for you.

Rodales-Ultimate-Encyclopedia-Organic-Gardening

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:31 +0000

Most Gifted

Publisher Rodale Books
Author

Garden Design Book Reviews
Price
($3.15)

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

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.

Condition: NEWNotes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Beginners-Guide-Edible-Herbs

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 20:08:47 +0000

Excellent new book for growing herbs!

New Release

Publisher
Storey Publishing, LLC
AuthorCharles W. G. Smith
Herb Book Reviews
Price($7.57)

The Beginner’s Guide to Edible Herbs: 26 Herbs Everyone Should Grow and Enjoy

Food gardens are springing up in backyards across the country. Organic, homegrown tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers are being enjoyed at more family dinner tables than ever, bringing serious nutrition and delicious tastes to homemade meals. But why stop with vegetables? Herbs are perfect companions in the garden, and their bright flavors elevate the taste of nearly every vegetable. A handful of basil added to a tomato salad or a bit of chopped dill sprinkled on butter-sautéed carrots creates new layers of flavor and complexity.

The Beginners Guide to Edible Herbs helps every vegetable gardener realize the pleasures of becoming an herb gardener. Readers will find complete information on growing, harvesting, preserving, and using 26 of the most popular kitchen herbs, from basil to thyme. There are also food-pairing tips, simple recipes, and basic information on medicinal uses, all enhanced by beautiful, full-color photographs of every plant and many kitchen recipes and projects.

Whether they complement rows of asparagus and cauliflower or grow in a garden all their own, edible herbs are versatile, undemanding, and abundant. They’re winners in every garden.

Mediterranean Kitchen Garden

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:48:21 +0000

New Release

Publisher
Frances Lincoln
AuthorMariano Bueno
Garden Book Reviews
Price($23.10)

Mediterranean Kitchen Garden: Growing Organic Fruit and Vegetables in a Hot, Dry Climate

Now that growing your own food is back in fashion — for health, financial, and environmental reasons — Mariano Bueno gives full practical details on how to grow vegetables alongside fruit trees and a variety of aromatic, medicinal and ornamental plants and herbs. He gives the individual requirements of common garden vegetables and popular fruit trees and provides a calendar that describes how to care for the kitchen garden through the gardening year. Explaining how to meet the particular challenges of growing edible plants in a hot, dry climate, with advice on matters such as irrigation, the book will be useful for those who live in a Mediterranean area or find themselves gardening in ever-hotter, dry climates. But it is also abundant in expertise on gardening in other climatic conditions, too, and is available here to an English-speaking audience for the first time.

Edible-Estates-Attack-Front-Revised

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:12:13 +0000

New Release

Publisher
Metropolis Books
AuthorWill Allen
Garden Book Reviews
Price($16.47)

Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn, 2nd Revised Edition

Since the first edition of Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn was published in 2008, interest in edible gardening has exploded across the United States and abroad. Even First Lady Michelle Obama is doing it! This greatly expanded second edition of the book documents the eight Edible Estates regional prototype gardens that author Fritz Haeg has planted in California, Kansas, Texas, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and England, and includes personal accounts from the homeowner-gardeners about the pleasures and challenges of publicly growing food where they live. Ten “Reports from Coast to Coast” tell the stories of others who have planted their own edible front yards in towns and cities across the country. In addition to essays by renowned landscape architect and scholar Diana Balmori, edible-landscaping pioneer Rosalind Creasy, bestselling author and sustainable-food advocate Michael Pollan and artist and writer Lesley Stern, this edition features updated text by Haeg (including his observations on the Obama White House vegetable garden); a contribution from Mannahatta author Eric W. Sanderson; and Growing Power founder, MacArthur Fellow and urban farmer Will Allen’s never-before-published Declaration of the Good Food Revolution. This is not a comprehensive how-to book, nor a showcase of impossibly perfect gardens. The stories presented here are intended to reveal something about how we are living today and to inspire readers to plant their own versions of an Edible Estate. If we see that our neighbor’s typical grassy lawn instead can be a beautiful food garden, perhaps we will begin to look at the city around us with new eyes. Our private land can be a public model for the world in which we would like to live.

Starter-Vegetable-Gardens-No-Fail-Organic

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:57:58 +0000

Top Seller

Publisher
Storey Publishing, LLC

Author
Barbara Pleasant
Reviews
Price
($11.23)

Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens

Home vegetable gardening is all the rage. Millions of Americans have picked up spade and hoe and are digging into the soil for the first time. But starting a garden isn’t always simple. Many hopeful growers find themselves confused by the dizzying array of things to know about soil quality, garden layout, seeds, temperatures, planting schedules, fertilizer, pests, watering, and harvesting. Still other first-time gardeners plant too much, only to find themselves overwhelmed and exhausted by July.

Barbara Pleasant is here to help. In Starter Vegetable Gardens, Pleasant a master gardener and award-winning gardening writer takes the guesswork out of growing food, explaining in simple, straightforward language how to start, maintain, and expand a bountiful vegetable garden in small, manageable spaces.

Pleasant presents 24 no-fail, small-scale garden plans from a simple bag garden (planted right in soil bags!) to an orderly border and from a family food factory to specialty beds for salads, Cajun flavors, and Italian cuisine. For each plan she provides plant and material lists, a plot layout, four-color photographs, and tips for succession planting to keep the garden productive all season long. Her all-organic approach ensures that the harvest is not simply tasty but also chemical-free.

Pleasant anticipates and answers novice gardeners myriad questions, guiding readers through the complexities of assessing site and soil, understanding the climate, choosing the very best vegetable varieties, starting seeds, identifying insect friends and foes, watering, fertilizing, mulching, and harvesting.

The books layout is friendly and accessible, filled with detailed images that bring the concepts to life. Both instructive and inspiring, Starter Vegetable Gardens is an essential one-stop resource for anyone just beginning to cultivate a vegetable-gardening green thumb.

Includes 24 illustrated planting plans including:

Easy-Care Bag Garden
Backyard Veggie Border
Front-Yard Food Supply
Family Food Factory
Paintbrush Beds
High-Value Verticals
Marinara Medley
Managed Mulch Garden
Sweet Corn & Company
Cajun Spice
Six-Weeks-Sooner Salad Garden

Planting an Organic Garden

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:18:55 +0000

Well lets face it. What does organic really mean when it is used to describe garden vegetables.
If a garden vegetable carries a USDA Organic label, that means it has produced and processed according to the USDA standards. These standards stipulate that least 95 percent of a food’s ingredients must be produced organically.
Display of the USDA organic seal certifies that 95 percent or more the contents are organic.

Products that are completely organic — such as fruits, vegetables, eggs or other single-ingredient foods — are labeled 100 percent organic and can carry the USDA seal.
A good rule to follow regardless whether the product is grown organically or not is to always wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly with running water to reduce the amount of dirt and bacteria. Also if it is possible , use a small scrub brush on the produce, before eating apples, potatoes, cucumbers or other produce in which you eat the outer skin.
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Seed shortage?

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:46:42 +0000

Dreaming of biting into a garden-fresh cucumber sandwich this summer? Better order your seeds now.

A poor growing season last year and increased orders from Europe could make it difficult for home gardeners to get seeds for the most popular cucumber variety and some vegetables this spring. Farmers, who usually grow different varieties than home gardeners, aren’t likely to be affected.

Seeds for what’s known as open-pollinated cucumbers seem to be most scarce, but carrots, snap peas and onions also could be in short supply.
“I suspect there will be some seeds you just won’t be able to buy if you wait too long on it,” said Bill Hart, the wholesale manager in charge of seed purchasing at Chas. C. Hart Seed Company in Wethersfield, Conn. “The sugar snap peas we’re not able to get at all, and other companies that have it will sell out pretty quickly.”

The problem is primarily due to soggy weather last year that resulted in a disappointing seed crop. European seed growers also had a bad year, leading to a big increase in orders for American seeds.

Demand for seeds in the U.S. soared last year, as the poor economy and worries about chemical use and bacteria contamination prompted many people to establish gardens. Homegrown food seemed safer and more affordable. But some wonder if the wet weather that ruined gardens in many areas last summer will discourage first-time gardeners from planting again.

“A lot of people are getting into it, but it was a disastrous year for gardens last year because it was so cold and wet,” said wholesale seed distributor Mel Brekke, who owns Brekke’s Town and Country near Ames, Iowa.

Kathy Gocke of Bondurant, Iowa, said she orders seeds early for herself and her county’s master gardener’s program and advises others to do the same.

“If you do it before the first of January, they have a pretty good stock,” Gocke said.

Burpee Seeds in Warminster, Pa., bills itself as the largest provider of home garden seeds, and Chief Executive Officer George Ball said the company’s huge reserves mean it will have plenty of seeds. But Ball said he understands why others might have limited supplies after a big spike in demand in the past two years.

“It was unlike anything I’ve seen in the past 30 years,” he said.

Barbara Melera, owner of D. Landreth Seeds of New Freedom, Pa., expects carrot seeds to be especially hard to find because of big orders from Europe, which had a poor crop last year. Also, fewer farmers are opting to grow seeds, she said. Many now have switched to growing corn for the biofuels industry.

“In this country, farmers who grow things for seed are becoming an endangered species,” Melera said. “The farms producing things for seeds is reduced significantly, and in the past two to three years they can get more money for growing corn for ethanol plants than carrots for seeds.”

Jennifer Nothwehr, seed coordinator for the Shenandoah, Iowa-based Earl May seed and nursery business, said she hasn’t run into shortages, but her company typically orders its seeds from wholesalers a year in advance. They received and packaged the seeds they’ll sell this year last fall, and because they set prices last spring, any shortage won’t affect them.
Nothwehr also said that while popular varieties, like one known as the straight eight cucumber, may be hard to find, others are available.

“One of the most popular carrots we can’t get, but we have four other varieties we can get if a customer wants to try something different,” she said.

Hart said his family business has a small retail operation, and he’s noticed people coming in earlier than usual this year, possibly because of worries over a shortage of seeds.

“I don’t know if they’re hoping for spring or just hoping to get going,” he said.

Dirt! can you eat it?

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:33:06 +0000

No matter where you lived wasn’t there always some weird kid down the street who was eating dirt on occasion. Well at least he was getting his vitamins. Dirt contains key nutrients of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium,copper, zinc, manganese, and iron.
The practice of eating dirt is called Geophagia and is regular part of some diets. Native Americans in Southern California eat bread with clay and corn, and in the Southwestern United States they eat clay with raw potatoes.
Humans seem instinctively know that ingesting clay and rock powder can alleviate stomach ailments. It has been determined that most worms found in dirt carry few diseases and are pretty harmless to normally healthy humans.
Most people who practice geophagy get their clays from sources other than the first few inches of topsoil, which have the most biological activity and the most bacteria, parasites and other pathogens.
Not surprisingly, clay eating people from the Southern United States readily admit there is a negative connotation associated with anyone who consumes dirt right out of the ground. So if you cant wait for your garden plants to grow, then the rule of thumb seems to be dig deep and stick with the clays. Bon Appetit!

Garden Ideas

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:24:46 +0000

Welcome to the Home Garden resource guide.

About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles

These articles are the most popular over the last month.

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Bugleweed – Ajuga 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Ajuga is a fast growing groundcover that can take over, if you’re not careful. However, when it is in bloom in the spring, there’s nothing to top it. If you have the space to let it roam, it’s well worth growing.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Tomato Growing Tips 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Tomato plants know what they like and they grow well when you give it to them. Growing the best tasting or the earliest tomato is a great source of pride for the home gardener and here are 10 tips for growing terrific tomatoes.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Fall and Winter Greens 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Cool weather vegetable gardening offers many advantages, not the least of which is the colorful choice of crops that can be grown, like ‘Bright Lights’ chard, ‘Red Russian’ Brussels sprouts, ‘Osaka Purple’ mustard greens or any of the many other suggestions offered here by Cathy Wilkinson Barash for the National Garden Bureau. Extend your vegetable gardening season and try something new. Here are some growing tips and variety selections.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Harvesting Vegetables 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

There are no precise guidelines as to when to harvest your vegetables, but there are some rules of thumb to guide you. Most vegetables are harvested just before full maturity, for maximum flavor and the most pleasant texture. The following are vegetable harvesting criteria for judging whether your vegetables are ready for picking.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Getting Rid of Bagworms 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

If you have bagworms in your landscape, you’ve probably been told there’s not much you can do but cut them out of the tree and destroy them. New studies show promise that planting members of the Aster family, like daisies and gazania, near and/or around the susceptible tree will attract a natural predator of bagworm.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Drying Herbs 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Fresh garden herbs can easily be air dried, to preserve their flavor and quality. Air drying herbs is not only the easiest and least expensive way to dry fresh herbs, but this slow drying process also doesn’t deplete the herbs of their oils. Here are some simple steps for air drying herbs.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Summer Squash 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Summer squash should be in every home garden. Summer squash grows easily, tastes best freshly picked and comes in varieties from acorn to zucchini. The only trick to growing great summer squash is choosing the right varieties. If you love zucchini, there are dozens to try. But summer squash doesn’t stop at zucchini. This profile of summer squash should convince you to try a few vines in your home garden.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Pruning Roses 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Pruning rose bushes is intimidating to many gardeners, but actually very good for the plants. Becoming an accomplished rose pruner takes time and practice, but keep in mind that it is very hard to kill a rose with bad pruning. It is better to make a good effort at pruning roses than to let them grow rampant. Here are some basic rose pruning guidelines for use in your rose garden.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Dealing with Leaf Galls 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Leaf gall, those alarming bumps that appear to be something suddenly infesting plant leaves, are actually the plant’s defensive response to insects or mites that have been feeding on its foliage. Leaf galls are far less harmful to the tree than their appearance would suggest.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Lavender 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

You can be successful growing lavender if you choose the right variety, even if you don’t live in the Mediterranean region. Lavender plants, with their fragrant flowers, can be used to make lavender soaps and lotions. Or maybe you’d like to cook with lavender. Even gardeners who need deer resistant plants can grow lavender.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

New Garden 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Starting your first garden shouldn’t be a daunting task. Probably the best piece of advice is – Start Small. If you’re frozen in your steps, wondering what to plant, where to plant it, how to not kill it…, here’s a bottom line Step-by-Step primer for you. Veteran gardeners, how many times have you been asked for help from frazzled first timers. Here are some tips to pass along.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Strawberries 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Strawberries are one of the easiest fruit crops for the home gardener to grow and one of the most rewarding. Day neutral and everbearing strawberries have been getting all the attention, but there still is no season like June for fresh strawberries. Whatever your zone, there is probably a strawberry plant for your garden. Here’s how to grow great strawberries in your backyard.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Deer Resistant Perennials 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

There are no deer proof plants, only plants that deer don’t prefer. Even that varies from garden to garden. When deer are hungry, they will eat your plants. The only real deer deterrent is a fence. However, here are some perennial plants that are rarely eaten by deer, giving them the reputation of being deer resistant.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Tomato Plant Problems 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Growing tomatoes are subject to a lot of diseases. Many tomato problems don’t show themselves until the fruit starts to ripen? With blossom end rot, green shoulders and tomato cracking, what can be done to save the ripening tomatoes? How can these problems be reduced with future tomatoes?

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

SmVegetableGarden 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

You don’t need a farm to grow fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits. You don’t really even need a garden. Plant breeders know that after taste, home gardeners want a high yield in a small space. So they’ve been developing more varieties that can grow in a small foot print or even live in containers all year long.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Blossom End Rot 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Ripening tomatoes that turn black and soft on their side not attached to the stem are affected with blossom end rot. As with so many tomato problems, water is a key factor here. Is there any saving the rotting tomatoes?

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Soilless Potting Mix 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Starting plants from seed is a lot of fun, but it’s not so much fun to watch them wither and die shortly after germination. One way to gain an advantage is to use a sterile potting mix, because you never know what problems come along with soil from the garden. If you’re going with a potting mix anyway, you might want the further advantages a soilless mix brings. Here’s a rundown on what’s in the potting mix if you leave out the soil, and why you’d bother to in the f. […]

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

Pruning Hydrangeas 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Hydrangeas are popular old fashioned flowering shrubs. Regular hydrangea garden maintenance involves pruning the shrubs to keep them in shape and flowering profusely. But when to prune hydrangeas determines how well they will flower or if they will flower at all.

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |

In Garden Design, Simplicity Can Be Surprising 29 Jul 2010, 3:33 am

Small Space Gardening – Containers

Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles |