HelpfulGardener.com

I'm a New Gardener... Ive posted a topic in the "Introduce youself" Forum.
Basically, I'm a young man thats trying to take care of my family and live natural. The way God Intended us to live.

I want to grow a nice mixture of everything. Food, Vegetables, Herbs. All Organically. I know you have to plant in raised boxes and small details.. but I'm really looking for some good reading. Does anyone have any links they can shoot my way? Some Materials Needed.. Beginner's Advice Type Links? Id Really Appreciate it! Thanks! Hope I can make some new friends here!


-Michael

P.S - I have a pretty good amount of land to work with. Level Areas and sloping hills. Shady / sunny areas. I'm looking to really good in depth reading for beginning your gardens. Its The middle of March and I know I need to get started Asap! I Live in North Eastern, Kentucky. Thanks You all!

I want to Grow lots of herbs around my house. Various Vegetables. alittle bit of everything I guess.

Two books I like to recommend to new gardeners are:

--Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew (2005 revision)

--How to Grow More Vegetables, by John Jeavons (7th ed.)

I have thumbnail reviews of 'em somewhere around here but can't remember where ATM. I'm sure a Search of my name + the book titles will turn stuff up!

And you can check at your local public library for books more relevant to your region as well. Most public libraries use the Dewey Decimal system, and gardening is numbe 636. So just find the 600s in the library, get to 636, and start browsing those shelves! Then look for the DVDs...

Or do it in the other order: ask the librarian how the DVDs are organized, and look through them first. Then go look at the books.

Happy hunting/gardening.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Thank you!

I reccomend practically every read on this page

https://journeytoforever.org/farm_library.html

it might not be direct intructions for a veggie garden. but it will help you build a solid foundation of knowledge to work off of.

The Helpful Gardener has some [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/vegetable/]vegetable gardening[/url] articles that might be useful.

I'm heading to the Hardware store tomorrow and buying some things I need to get my organic garden goin..!! Thanks for the links!

Welcome Live Natural.

What has been said so far sounds good to me.

Check the library around you, I have checked out a bunch of great books from there.

Also I would suggest reading some about soil microbiology like the one in my sig (Teaming With Microbes) That is a great way to get started right and not have to unlearn bad habits.

Dono

P.s. you have come to the right place for gardening information. Most of us are very excited about this coming season and some are already in full tilt the rest of us just on the verge. Lot,s of good info here.

For a truly balanced soil ecosystem you should read "Teaming With Microbes" by Jeff Lowenfels and and Wayne Lewis. I also second "How To Grow More Vegetables" and "Square Foot Gardening".

A really good "all around" gardening book is... "Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically".
It has lots of useful information on all aspects of vegetable and herb gardening; plus detailed information about growing specific plants.

The one that really did it for me was "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Edward C. Smith.

Well laid out, imo and is one of my main "go-to" books, period.

b_kind2animals wrote:The one that really did it for me was "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Edward C. Smith.

Well laid out, imo and is one of my main "go-to" books, period.

Ditto

I like Great Garden Companions by Sally Jean Cunningham. She's local to my area so I may be a little impartial. The book is billed as a "companion plant" book but I think it's more about organic gardening -building the soil and combating pests naturally. It's easy to read and beginner friendly.

Introduction to Permaculture ~ Bill Mollison (Author)


Gaia's Garden, Second Edition: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture ~
Toby Hemenway (Author)


Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World (Paperback)
~ Paul Stamets (Author)

I really like "Teaming with microbes" it's actually a good read considering it's about soil which of course is the most important subject.

Here are my favorites

* ORGANIC GARDENING FOR AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
by Peter Bennett

* PERMACULTURE A DESIGNERS MANUAL
by Bill Mollison

* Organic Gardening for Australia (1987)
By Jackie French

I applaud your wish to work with nature. I don't know how academic you are but if you wish to grow naturally my advice would be first understand nature's processes within and above the soil, before you plant a thing. Here is a link to the soil food web. expaining soil processes Elaine Ingham has just been appointed chief scientist at the Rodale Institute

https://www.soilfoodweb.com/sfi_approach1.html#Benefits

Also there are different approaches to growing naturally, Emelia Hazlips synergistic gardening, forest gardening, Fukoaka's methods, permaculture, organic, no-dig, it helps to know your soil type and climate and any difficulties before choosing the right one to suit you and your plot, each plot and each gardener are different and you will find your own way to suit your own plot and climate, it might be a combination of different methods. Observe, listen to nature, and your plot. A little time spent studying your prospective growing area will pay dividends in the long term enabling you to place plants in suitable conditions for them, eg moisture loving plants in moist areas, drought tolerant plants in dry areas, sun loving plants in sunny areas etc. If your soil has been extensively cultivated you may need to be patient for a little while before a natural balance occurs between predator and pest, and beneficial soil organisms and disease. You will not be bored it is a continuous learning process, You will be giving your family and the planet the very best and you will come to love and treasure what the universe provides for us. Good luck

The Informed Gardener By Linda Chalker-Scott. Great at addressing the myths, which there are many in this hobby. https://www.amazon.com/Informed-Gardener-Linda-Chalker-Scott/dp/0295987901

For a taste of what's in her book you can browse her website: https://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/

You've got lots of good recommendations above.
Another book that I think is fantastic, is Eliot Coleman's "the New Organic Grower"... loads of useful and practical information for anyone that wants to grow with organic methods; on any scale (home or commercial).

Nature's Babe
Thanks for the Soil Food Web site
Great reading

Glad you found it helpful Artemesia. I actually introduced some of the local fungi, by including a small amount of that soil in my seedling compost, we back on to a wooded area so I guess it would grow through slowly anyway, but my compost heap is ajacent to it, hopefully some fungi will infiltrate that too. It is quite interesting to watch the little fruiting bodies emerge with the other plants.

Here are two more you might want to check out:
The roganic gardener's handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control Ed. by Barbara Ellis and Fern Marchall Bardley
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic gardening.
Personally I would hold off on the permaculture stuff, if you don't know what it is until you have gardened for a couple of years.
Also there are some pretty good books on Lasagna gardening and info on it on the net. It is similar to permaculture in some ways, but easier to impliment in any climate than the permaculture that was done down under.
Also check with your extention service to see what they have, like lists of what varieties of vegetables grow best where you are. That is the best varieties to start with the first couple of years. Then you can get more adventuresome.
I don't know what seed companies are close by, most I am familar with are out west, the deep southwest, and Ohio, maybe the Ohio firms, but I have not experience with them. The closest seed company to you I have ued isPinetree Gardem seed which you can find on the net. They are in maine.
Go to the library and get related books to the ones that you find fit your needs, that is what I did for the first couple of years when I started gardening again. Make good winter reading.
Also check out the web site:
gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening
Then hit the button for vegetables, there you will find a lot of info on the various vegetables, what they will tolerate, which you can reasonably start yourself indoors and how etc. It has all of the info you will wish was printed on the seed packets.

These are my favories. Some have been recommended by people above so they are obviously popular.

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