Reference Library

Shoda 6/19/2010, 5:51 pm

I am curious what books folks use as their garden reference books other then the SFG books. Here is one of my favorites:

How to Grow More Vegetables *then you ever thought possible on less land then you can imagine" Written by John Jeavons. This book is a fantastic resource. They assume you are going to plant in your own land and so there is a small section on double digging and amending the soil.

However, most of the book talks about intensive planting (like Mel does in the grid, seed propagation, compost, companion planting. About half the book is devoted to Master charts and planning information. The master charts include germination temperatures, plant yields, average consumption in the US, and on and on and on. There are spacing charts for intensive planting, and a very small section section on insect and plant controls of them. The last 70 pages of the book is the bibliography and reference section. 268 pages. Amazon.com Link

**camprn** 6/19/2010, 7:17 pm

I posted about this a few months ago. Here it is..
Besides what is written in the blog, these are my current primary book resources:
The Bible = Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
Gardening Wisdom and Know-How
1001 Ingenious gardening Ideas sunny

**WardinWake** 6/19/2010, 9:37 pm

Howdy Folks:

Yearbook 1894 - United States Department of Agriculture

Yearbook 1924 - United States Department of Agriculture

Rodale's Garden Problem Solver, Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs.

The Complete Vegetable and Herb Gardener

Like any government publication the yearbooks are geared to the big producers and row gardens and for a little while make for interesting reading. The yearbooks are full of charts and graphs that may have meant something to the American farmer in those time frames. Now the yearbooks are mostly of historical interest, however, some of the advice still works today. The print is small and the pages yellowing so reading is a bit difficult.

From the 1894 yearbook.

"Squash Borer (Melittia ceto Westw). Planting early summer squashes to be destroyed; late planting of main crop; destruction of all vines attacked as soon as crop can be gathered; collecting moths".

"Squash Bug (Anasa tristis DeG.). Early burning of vines and all rubbish in fall; biweekly collection of eggs".

In 1894 that was what was available to farmers, large and small. And then we invented DDT and other insecticides. Now we are coming full circle back to the days of planting trap crops and hand picking of bad bugs. Sometimes older methods were better.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

**camprn** 6/19/2010, 10:32 pm

WardinWake wrote: Now we are coming full circle back to the days of planting trap crops and hand picking of bad bugs. Sometimes older methods were better.

I am so glad for the small neighborhood gardener and all the wildlife in our neighborhoods.

jenjehle 6/19/2010, 11:35 pm

Some of my favorites, in order:

Jeff Cox's 100 Greatest Garden Ideas - Tips, Techniques and Projects for a Bountiful Garden and Beautiful Backyard

Edible Gardening for the Midwest: Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits & Seeds by Colleen Vanderlinden

Vegetable Gardening for the Midwest by C.E. Voigt

Grow Vegetables by Alan Buckingham

Shoda 6/21/2010, 5:31 pm

Those all sound great! I am going to go read more about all of them. Thanks for sharing... any other great references out there?

LaFee 6/21/2010, 6:00 pm

The Internet!

I live where English-language books aren't very easy to come by...so I rely on the internet to solve the problems I come across (if they're not answered in the book!)

Gardenweb, the American Horticultural Society, the Royal Horticultural Society (because sometimes the RHS addresses issues common to Europe that may not be all that common in the States)...and just googling things ("raising potatoes"...."Cabbage borers" -- if I can take a wild guess as to what it is, I'll google that, then see if I'm right or not!)

Wyldflower 6/23/2010, 11:00 pm

My go-to reference books are regional in focus:

Sunset Western Garden Book gives terrific information on all sorts of plants, including western native wildflowers. ISBN 0-376-03875-6

Month-By-Month Gardening in the Rocky Mountains (John Cretti) is a great guide on what to plant when, and includes info on what pests to watch for each month. ISBN 1-591-86037-7

Chopper 6/23/2010, 11:42 pm

Ditto on the Sunset Western Garden Guide. I would be lost without it.

graceypt 6/24/2010, 1:11 am

This is my "bible" - Trowel and Error: Over 700 Shortcuts, Tips & Remedies for the Gardener by Sharon Lovejoy.

The title speaks for itself. I am a newbie and this has been a wealth of knowledge for me as it is very simple and most of the ingredients for her wonder concoctions are easily found in my home.

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Great Books

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My fave go-to book

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