Joyfirst
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What are your favorite gardening books and why?

Please share.

Joyfirst
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I see what you are saying about different climates, but there are some general books, that gives you advice, that can be used anywhere, although at a bit different time. My most precious planting guide as far as my climate goes is just a page, made by a guy fron Dan Diego, who had seed company and created a guide specifically just for gardens in Southern California that are almost at the beach.
I am talking more about books like Square Foot Gardening, Lasagna Gardening, GAIA"s Guide to Permaculture, Grow More Vegetables, etc.
And not 64 Dollar Tomatoe :lol: That book is a perfect example of how not to garden.

Swivel
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THE PATH by CHET RAYMNO

Not quite a gardening book, but gives an extra apreciation to your garden, its inhabitants, what makes up your garden and all its surroundings. Its a poetic scientists view on what it is that we call home.

Joyfirst
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I'll check it out, thank you.

731greener101
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Teaming With Microbes for its scientific....yet organic approach,The Vegetable Gardner's Bible for its tried and true direct approach(both word and container),and Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Organic Gardening for its total comprehensive coverage.Rod

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Darceyoh
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My coworker is moving from Washington to California. To downsize, and the fact that the home she's moving in doesn't have any gardening space, she was ever so kind to hand over a few books.

With the Sunset flower garden book I already had, I added, and fell in love with, the original Square Foot Gardening book. Now if only I gotten it and read it before I started the garden... ah well, next year!

I was also given about 6 manuals, study guides, or books the Master Gardeners pass out for their classes! Now I may not be a certified Master Gardener, but it sure is handy to have all that info (and cheaper)!

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No suprise to those following my rants this year, The One Straw Revolution by Masonobu Fukuoka has literally changed how I garden, how I think about gardening, and what I think gardens will look like in the future.

This is the book that inspired Emilia Hazelip (inspiration for my current veggie garden), that inspired Mollison and Holmgren to invent permaculture (thirty years ago and still gaining popularity daily), and spurred the whole macrobiotic revolution in the Seventies that has become the organic food movement of today.

While I love many gardening books, this one is like a touchstone; not a week goes by without rereading a few chapters, gleaning a quote, or just basking in the complex simplicity of Fukuoka-sensei's vision. A game changer for me, as all truly inspiring books are...

HG

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Wife was dusting bookshelves this evening and roughly determined I have several thousand dollars worth of gardening books. "Where do they come from?" she muses aloud, as if to herself, but we both know better...

"Three books on native trees... who needs three books on native trees?" We both know that person is in the room. I point out Bill Cullina's book on Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, and note that technically, there are four books on the subject. It does nothing to lighten the mood... "A whole shelf on Japanese Gardens, and you have never even been to Japan." But in my mind I have, many times...

Name a topic and it is likely I have a book on it. And probably some vintage stuff as well. So what is my favorite gardening book?

The next one... 8)

HG

cynthia_h
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For gardeners in the western states and provinces: Sunset's Western Garden Book. Essential for beginners and for those new to western conditions (like I was). Sunset climate zone system absolutely leaves USDA Hardiness zone system in the...ah...dirt. (No, not the soil; the d-I-r-t.)

For gardeners in the eastern states and provinces: Sunset's National Garden Book. Essential for beginners and for those new to matching cultivar with climate zone.

My paeans and encomia to these books litter the forum. Just use Search with Sunset + me as author, and a sadly large number of posts will pop up.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

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My favorite vintage book is one called [url=https://www.booksleftbehind.com/si/003003.html]The Complete Book of Garden Magic[/url] (the link is for the 1950 reprint and he is off; mine is the third edition 1941 printing. First edtion was 1935, second was 1940).

This is a book from the time before chems, when many jobs were by hand and not machine, when compost wasn't a cool new idea but an old art form. There are bits on flower arranging and photographing your garden, mixing cement (making your own benches or a lawn roller even!), guides to plants, diseases, pests... corn supporting pole beans (use those corn stalks in a bundle to protect roses in winter), color lists, bloom times, vegetable planting schedules; in short the most complete gardening book I have ever seen. It still comes out from time to time and I have had great fun once again looking through the HUGE variety of drawings and photos...

Oh, there are some signs of age; the words "lead arsenate" pop up way more than I am comfortable with and I ocassionally have to stop to puzzle out that Latin names that changed four decades back, but all in all I still love this book for it's witticisms and poems and general wisdom...
"Give fools their gold and knaves their power,
Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall
Who sows a field or trains a flower
Or plants a tree is more than all"
Whittier
That starts the Garden In July section, fr'instance... 8)

See why this is a favorite?

HG
Last edited by The Helpful Gardener on Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Ozark Lady
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I have been busy replacing books and other stuff since 2008.
I was fortunate one of my favorites survived: Rodales encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.
I have since replaced another favorite: Jeff Ball's 60 minute Garden.
I want Ruth Stout replaced, but my book was valuable... yikes!
I have a book on order that is "Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long" Eliot Coleman; I think that just might make my favorites list.
At this point number 3 on my list is Homegrown Grains.
Why? Encyclopedia tells me almost anything that I want to know.
Jeff Ball: I like his inventions, and his system of scheduling his succession plantings.
Homegrown Grains: It is down to earth for the backyard gardener
And a 4 season Harvest sounds like what I would like to do, take some pressure off of the garden season by spreading out the harvest.

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I have a friend who knows Elliot well and as they say in Maine, he's a smaht fellah...
I have heard very good things about that book and the workshops Elliot has been leading in suport of it...

HG

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lorax
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My favourite gardening book is probably a huge format Spanish-text reprint of plates and paintings of John Tradescant's gardens for King Charles II of England, and Tradescant's own botanical drawings of the plants he introduced to the UK. It's from 1932, according to the endpapers. Why? It gives me huge inspiration for formal garden design using edible plants.

After that, it's probably The Amateur Naturalist by Gerald Durrell, and The Useful Plants of Ecuador (which will be all but useless to anybody not living here.) The first helps me to keep an inquisitive sense of wonder in the garden, and the second helps me determine which native plants I want to grow or wild-harvest.

For permaculture, (and I'm translating from Spanish here) "Methodologies for Sustainable Forest Intercropping" is really useful to me, since I'm part of a forest conservation and sustainable gardening group that tends a large forest intercropped with cash crops. It's harder than one might think to maintain.

And (insert shameless self-promotion here) for banana growing in odd climates, I haven't seen anything better than Bananas Quarterly.

Canadian Farmer Guy
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The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. By Ed. C. Smith.

Best gardening book I have ever read. Very useful.

CFG

SkyKero
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lorax,

You didn't mention the name of your "FAVORITE" book. .. I love picture books :) .. and I speak spanish --so , it may work for me :)

Silvia

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Hard to decide exactly my favorite. My short list is:

The Undaunted Garden; Lauren Springer
Noah's Garden; Sara Stein
On Gardening; Henry Mitchell
In Search of Old Roses; Thomas Christopher
Second Nature; Michael Pollan
Gardening for a Lifetime; Sydney Eddison
Down to Earth; Helen Dillon
A Gentle Plea for Chaos; Mirabel Osler
Mrs. GreenThumbs; Cassandra Danz
Garden Musings; James Roush (sorry, had to include my own book).

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I'm now reading [url=https://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/thehelpfulgar-20]Omnivore's Dilemma[/url], by Michael Pollan. It's terrific about what is really involved in our current industrial agriculture methods, what big business "organic" farming really looks like, what true sustainable agriculture looks like, etc. It is a great combination of hard science and nearly poetic writing. Entertaining reading with tons of information.

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Got a new one; [url=https://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Dragons-Gate-Cultivated-World/dp/0553378031/thehelpfulgar-20]Gardening At The Dragons Gate[/url], by Wendy Johnson. While this is a study in Zen teachings as well as a gardening tome, the focus is far more on the latter, and the knowledge is well researched and presented. It is the organic holistic approach we preach so much here, offered with the same care and love we might give it. I feel a sure kinship to this woman and this book; as if we were taught from the same teachers (which in some ways we were; Fukuoka-sensei makes an appearance here once or twice).

Five stars.

HG

ameliat
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Thankd ofr everyone's posts, now I have some more books to add to my "to read" list!

For gardening info, I mostly use NC County Extension Web site. The one general refeence book I have is Burpee - The Complete Vegetable and Herb Gardener - A guide to Growing your garden organically - I think it has good general info.

I have been reading books with gardening as a theme:

I liked Joan Dye Gussow's: [url=https://www.amazon.com/This-Organic-Life-Confessions-Homesteader/dp/1931498245/thehelpfulgar-20]This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader[/url] and [url=https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Older-Chronicle-Death-Vegetables/dp/1603582924/thehelpfulgar-20]Growing, Older: A Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables[/url]. She is an inspiration for eating local and growing your own food.

I just finished My Empire of Dirt by Manny Howard (didn't like it), but this book did introduce me to Wendell Berry and I have requested one of his books from the library.

Other books I have read this year are: [url=https://www.amazon.com/Heirloom-Notes-Accidental-Tomato-Farmer/dp/B005UVUXKG/thehelpfulgar-20]Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer[/url] by Tim Stark and [url=https://www.amazon.com/64-Tomato-Fortune-Endured-Existential/dp/B002PJ4IW0/thehelpfulgar-20]The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden[/url] - these were both good reads.

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Hey Amelia

Just finished [url=https://www.amazon.com/Unsettling-America-Culture-Agriculture/dp/0871568772/thehelpfulgar-20]The Unsettling Of America[/url] by Wendell Berry and I am impressed with his mind. While I am likely to stay with his non-fiction works for a while, I will certainly head towards his fictional works in the future as his prose is simply wonderful. I have just read this one (wondering how I might have missed him all these years), but recommend it highly as a tome of truth (easily indentified by the fact it is as relevant and topical forty years later as the day it was written, perhaps even more so).

Enjoy the reading and let me know if you have any other good WB books for me; there's heaps.

HG

ameliat
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The Helpful Gardener wrote:Hey Amelia

Just finished The Unsettling Of America by Wendell Berry HG
This is the book I reserved from the library! I guess it seems like a good place to start when looking over all the books he has written. I just started it, but so far I am learning a lot. It may have taken almost 40 yrs, but I am confident that the writings of WB and others are making a difference in 2011.

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Currently reading [url=https://www.amazon.com/What-Matters-Economics-Renewed-Commonwealth/dp/1582436061/thehelpfulgar-20]What Matters? Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth[/url] by Wendell, even meatier than the aforementioned. Not so much about gardening as agriculture, but about reducing agriculture to a scale more like gardening (he is awful fond of Amish and Mennonite farms for just this reason). Good stuff.

HG

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rainbowgardener
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LOVE Wendell Berry! In the meantime, I just finished [url=https://www.amazon.com/Noahs-Garden-Restoring-Ecology-Backyards/dp/B005UVRHK0/thehelpfulgar-20]Noah's Garden[/url], by Sara Stein, which is wonderful! It is a similar message to [url=https://www.amazon.com/Bringing-Nature-Home-Wildlife-Expanded/dp/0881929921/thehelpfulgar-20]Bringing Nature Home[/url], about why we need to be planting natives, but much more personal and beautiful writing and I think in places a better exposition of all the complex interactions going on in an ecosystem.

I just discovered she has a follow up volume: [url=https://www.amazon.com/Planting-Noahs-Garden-Adventures-Backyard/dp/0395709601/thehelpfulgar-20]Planting Noah's Garden[/url], which I have not seen yet, but am anticipating!

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My current favorite is [url=https://www.amazon.com/New-Organic-Grower-Techniques-Gardeners/dp/093003175X/thehelpfulgar-20]the New Organic Grower[/url], by Eliot Coleman.
His approach to "organic" agriculture is very much in line with my philosophy, and I find this book is absolutely loaded with practical advice and resources.

The book has an emphasis on commercial production, but there is bountiful information and insights that can be applied by the home gardener as well.

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Ms. Stein's books are faves for some time now, I have both...

Eliot is a National Treasure; I have customers adn friends who he shares info with all the time. An ubermensch... 8)

He has me thinking about hoops for the garden...

HG

DoubleDogFarm
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Wife was dusting bookshelves this evening and roughly determined I have several thousand dollars worth of gardening books. "Where do they come from?" she muses aloud, as if to herself, but we both know better...
Scott,
My brother has the same addiction. I bet he orders at least two books per month. The latest, I've seen anyway, is a book by Dick Strawbridge. I've forgotten the title. If you think about it, a lot of the books are $35. to $50. so they add up fast.

This is my fist posting in Gardening Books. I don't hangout here because I'm half the reader that I should be and my writing probably shows it. :)

Anyway, One book that has influence my property is a book by Robert Kourik, designing and maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally. "Transforming your home with beautiful, bountiful landscape using natural systems"

Eric

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Yeah, it's a disease, but a useful one, like obsessive cleaning...

Eric having seen pics of your place, I think you might like Lee Reich's [url=https://www.amazon.com/Landscaping-Fruit-Strawberry-blueberry-paradise/dp/1603420967]Landscaping With Fruit[/url] or his [url=https://www.amazon.com/Uncommon-Fruits-Every-Garden-Reich/dp/088192623X]Uncommon Fruits For Every Garden[/url]. I suspect you would like both. I think you'd like Lee, too. His first book,[url=https://www.amazon.com/Weedless-Gardening-Lee-Reich/dp/0761116966]Weedless Gardening[/url] is how you and I garden. Not bad for an old USDA soil researcher. Just like F-san, his scientific study brings him to the place of less being more...

HG
Last edited by The Helpful Gardener on Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ameliat
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The Helpful Gardener wrote:Currently reading[url=https://www.amazon.com/What-Matters-Economics-Renewed-Commonwealth/dp/1582436061]What Matters? Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth[/url] by Wendell, even meatier than the aforementioned. Not so much about gardening as agriculture, but about reducing agriculture to a scale more like gardening (he is awful fond of Amish and Mennonite farms for just this reason). Good stuff.

HG
I just finished the Unsettling of America and was checking back here to get this title. I am looking forward to reading this one. Thanks for sharing!

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Cool, Amelia! This is what this thread is for!
8)

RBG, finished Omnivore yet? What say you? A goodie, eh?

Have you read Second Nature yet? Sort of Mike's prequel to getting the fervor for home raised, his inculcation to the organic as it were. One of my favorites...

HG

ameliat
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ameliat wrote:
The Helpful Gardener wrote:Currently reading[url=https://www.amazon.com/What-Matters-Economics-Renewed-Commonwealth/dp/1582436061/thehelpfulgar-20]What Matters? Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth[/url] by Wendell, even meatier than the aforementioned. Not so much about gardening as agriculture, but about reducing agriculture to a scale more like gardening (he is awful fond of Amish and Mennonite farms for just this reason). Good stuff.

HG
I just finished the Unsettling of America and was checking back here to get this title. I am looking forward to reading this one. Thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately, my library doesn't have this title, but from the mention of WB"s fiction I am now reading a collection of his short stories called "that distant land" it is a collection of somewhat interconnect stories in chronological order starting in the 1888 and ending in 1986. It centers around a small country town in KY. I am really enjoying it. His stories bring you to a time and place. I just finished a story about a man walking home after being away fighting in the WWII - it was wonderful.

ameliat
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I just finished another interesting book, Fruitless Fall. It is about honey bees and the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has been widespread in the US.

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[url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/tag/imidacloprid/]Interesting side note to the last book topic...[/url]

HG

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BarbaraParis
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Gardening 1-2-3 ... the green one... It's a book from Home Depot and it's the best book I have ... it's excellent for beginners and for gardeners with more experience it covers from planing a garden to fertilization, pruning etc... It has a lot of plants and how to grow them. It has a very nice guide on how to take care of roses and how to make a water garden... It's an excellent book and a MUST HAVE ! :D

calvinjane
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I like to collect old gardening books and have quite a few - can't name a favorite. As for the books that I use the most, and these are Michigan specific and a series put out by Lone Pine Publishing. The series includes:

Perennials for Michigan
Roses for Michigan
Tress & Shrubs for Michigan
Annuals for Michigan

I beleive that Lone Pine Publishing also has books for other specific areas. I find them to be a great reference and have great pictures.

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froggy
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I like picking up old gardening books at used book stores etc...
Gotta love references where you clearly see it was a different time - as in home mixed fertilizers and pesticides etc - I doubt you could still go to an apothecary and ask for the ingredients listed...
or I have one that hails the qualities of asbestos cement for containers...

I find the illustrations way more helpful than in most newer books. Heck, photographs may look nice, but a properly done illustration can make things so much clearer (but it would cost the publisher more :) )

The older books also tend to offer you more incentive to "do" instead of "buy"... oh and they usually come in around $4 a piece :P - so no 1000s worth of gardening books here...

Artemesia
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The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening by Rodale
The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener by Burpee
Taylor's Guide to Fruits and Berries
American Horticultural Society, Pests & Diseases
by Pippa Greenwood
Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
Biological Control of Weeds and Plant Diseases
by Elroy L. Rice
Roots Demystified by Robert Kourik
Lessons in Nature by Malcolm Beck

I like these books because they provide breadth and depth of detail. They provide ideas that are not the most popular, but they work.

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farmerlon
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calvinjane wrote:I like to collect old gardening books ....
I also enjoy reading old gardening books.
However, I would caution anyone (especially those new to gardening) to be very careful and double-check recommendations [especially any recommendations about chemicals] before following the advice given in older books.

As an example, I have enjoyed the Victory Garden television series through the years. For fun, I started acquiring old books that were published as companions to that TV series... I suppose that I enjoy the nostalgia of that sort of thing.
But, many of the old books from the 1970s and 80s have information that is in stark contrast to the Organic gardening that I practice.
A beginning gardener would probably come away from those books thinking that it is impossible to garden without a supply of chemical fertilizers and pesticides ... not to mention that many of the chemicals sited are no longer available (banned). :shock:

So, yes, enjoy old garden books, but just be aware of the potential pitfalls.

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Excellent advice Farmer Lon. Couldn't have said it better...

HG

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applestar
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*waving madly*
!! Hi Scott !! :D

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Easily the two most important books to the nursery industry are Manual of Woody Landscape Plants 6th edition by Dr. Michall Dirr and Armitage's Garden Perennials by Allen Armitage. To a lesser degree Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: an illustrated encyclopedia (Dirr's Tree's and Shrub's for Warmer Climates: an illustrated encyclopedia, for those of you in zone 8+) is VERY GOOD as well.
Generally ANYTHING that TIMBER PRESS puts on the shelf is exemplary.



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