Gardening books

Dr.Bigfoot 3/21/2011, 11:36 pm

Well, I was super motivated after reading Mel's book. Even more excited about composting after reading Let it Rot. But this "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" has been kind of a downer. The first 40 pages seem to be nothing than a list of all the reasons why it's hard to grow veggies around here. I hope it gets better. A non SFG person recommended it to me. Many of the topics don't quite apply since this guy talks about row gardening and sounds anti-SFG at times. Apparently our manure options suck, the hay sucks, the soil sucks, the rain sucks, the brief appearance of the sun sucks. Sheesh! Can I return a book to the bookstore with the complaint that it was too depressing? tongue

boffer 3/22/2011, 12:05 am

Dr.Bigfoot wrote: Apparently our manure options suck, the hay sucks, the soil sucks, the rain sucks, the brief appearance of the sun sucks. Sheesh! Can I return a book to the bookstore with the complaint that it was too depressing?

Nah...they would just blame it on S.A.D.S.! The trick is to acknowledge, accept, and adapt...or something like that...a marriage counselor told me that once! I dunno: I plan on having great success with cool crops; I hope for, but don't expect success with warm season crops; I know the best places to buy tomatoes and peppers for salsa in case we have a lousy summer!

It's not the best...but have you seen some of the sci-fi monsters our southern friends on the forum call bugs? Ye gads!! I think we win! Wink

ander217 3/22/2011, 8:20 am

boffer wrote:It's not the best...but have you seen some of the sci-fi monsters our southern friends on the forum call bugs? Ye gads!! I think we win!

Lavender Debs 3/22/2011, 9:10 am

I am a recovering row gardener who has a copy of Steve Solomon's original Growing West of the Cascades... I thought it was a decent reference. He was the first person that I ever read who was willing to tell me how to mix my own organic fertilizer. He was the one who let me know why it takes so long to grow tomatoes in a Maritime Climate and how to have food in Spring by overwintering. The information I hated in high-school biology is in his book (no element charts, just the information on soil science), so I don't feel so bad about not taking notes in class back in the day. Even though a lab we once shared our home with used this book as a chew toy, I still open it up and read circles around the bite marks.

My current veggie read is "Seed to Seed" on learning to save seeds. My husband, who is just beginning to get interested in growing food, is sure that it is too technical, but I compare it to one of his Chilton’s (car repair manuals), something I would never read (I hardly look at the pictures) and he gets it. I find Mel's book slightly irritating because I want to get to the meat without sloshing through all the gravy, Ray likes Mel’s book because he wants all the information and encouragement he can get.

FarmerValerie 3/22/2011, 10:49 am

ander217 wrote:
boffer wrote:It's not the best...but have you seen some of the sci-fi monsters our southern friends on the forum call bugs? Ye gads!! I think we win!

sci-fi is right, we spend more time fighting bugs than anything else, and we may be able to grow outside from March to November, but we fight bugs from April to April...... We've already started killing squash bugs this year, and the squash is still not out yet.

Dr.Bigfoot 3/22/2011, 8:58 pm

Yeah, I just decided to skip the sections on fertilizer and soil types since that doesn't really apply since I'm using Mel's Mix as our medium to grow food. Now it's less depressing to read it. My coworkers are teasing me about all my gardening books and research. Can't help it. I like to read as much as possible about anything new I'm trying.

Goosegirl 3/23/2011, 6:40 am

FarmerValerie wrote:
ander217 wrote:
boffer wrote:It's not the best...but have you seen some of the sci-fi monsters our southern friends on the forum call bugs? Ye gads!! I think we win!

sci-fi is right, we spend more time fighting bugs than anything else, and we may be able to grow outside from March to November, but we fight bugs from April to April...... We've already started killing squash bugs this year, and the squash is still not out yet.

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about! When I moved to SD from CA I showed a picture of a potato bug to my gardener friends out here and they screamed - it is not what SD gardeners call a potato bug! I don't know what the 'official' size of these things is supposed to be, but I know I have seen them 3" long.

TC

http://www.potatobugs.com/

middlemamma 3/23/2011, 2:06 pm

Goosegirl...you might get a kick out of this thread since you mentioned potato bugs...

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3645-this-is-my-gardening-nightmare

Goosegirl 3/23/2011, 3:29 pm

middlemamma wrote:Goosegirl...you might get a kick out of this thread since you mentioned potato bugs...

[url=https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3645-this-is-my-gardening-nightmare

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3645-this-is-my-gardening-nightmare[/quote[/url]]

lol!

Loved it! I remember that HISSING sound! I followed the link to the potato bug info site in your post. It had all the right info about the 'potato bug' but it is too bad that it shows a little bitty Colorado Potato Beetle instead of a POTATO BUG! Those beetles are what my SD friends thought I was talking about until I showed them the picture of that big pink face with black eyes and that striped abdomen that looks like a pink and black bee on steroids!

I still remember 30+ years ago when I was at my brother's house and we found his baby girl scooting across the floor with one of those things in her chubby little hand getting ready to stuff it in her mouth affraid

. You should have heard the screams!

middlemamma 3/23/2011, 4:02 pm

Goosegirl...when I wrote that post months and months ago it had correct info and photos..I fixed it today...the site must have changed things around in the months since.

Thanks for catching that.

I cannot even imagine a baby having that...or the screams....I have to admit I don't know if I would a have been brave enough to help the kid...oye vay, how terrible is THAT! Embarassed

I don't think I would have been able to hear anyone else's screams over my own!

Jen

FarmerValerie 3/23/2011, 4:17 pm

I have 3 boys, I won't even begin to tell you the things I have done I never thought I would do. And it is VERY true there are just some things a mother does NOT need to know about her precious boys.

yosoypanadero 3/23/2011, 4:25 pm

I have been meaning to get the Seed to Seed book for some time now but along the way I found another great resource - The Urban Homestead by kelly coyne and erik knutzen - if you have any intrest in doing things yourself (which I know you all are) you will find this book another invaluable resource along with mel's SFG book....

**camprn** 3/23/2011, 4:36 pm

Other Gardening Books <~~~ click

Goosegirl 3/23/2011, 6:33 pm

middlemamma wrote:I cannot even imagine a baby having that...or the screams....I have to admit I don't know if I would a have been brave enough to help the kid...oye vay, how terrible is THAT! I don't think I would have been able to hear anyone else's screams over my own!

Jen

I think my older sister is the one that got to her first - I know it wasn't me! (I can claim youthful freakishness - I was only 13) None of our family has ever been a squeamish type, but these things.....

affraid

PS - happened at 13?! Scarred for life!!!!!

Dr.Bigfoot 3/23/2011, 10:05 pm

oooh! Nice list of books! Thanks for the link! I think my husband might not be thanking you but it's not like I make him read the books too...

acara 3/24/2011, 6:28 am

Goosegirl wrote:
FarmerValerie wrote:
ander217 wrote:
boffer wrote:It's not the best...but have you seen some of the sci-fi monsters our southern friends on the forum call bugs? Ye gads!! I think we win!

sci-fi is right, we spend more time fighting bugs than anything else, and we may be able to grow outside from March to November, but we fight bugs from April to April...... We've already started killing squash bugs this year, and the squash is still not out yet.

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about! When I moved to SD from CA I showed a picture of a potato bug to my gardener friends out here and they screamed - it is not what SD gardeners call a potato bug! I don't know what the 'official' size of these things is supposed to be, but I know I have seen them 3" long.

TC

[url=http://www.potatobugs.com/

http://www.potatobugs.com/[/quote[/url]]

Amen, +1

**camprn** 3/24/2011, 12:59 pm

So what are the other gardening books you are reading these days? :?:

Dr.Bigfoot 3/24/2011, 9:57 pm

well, I ended up just skimming through the last book and I think I'm done reading books for now. Tending to my sprouts. Still waiting for more of the spinach and chard but got a few onion sprouts and cauliflower sprouts!

Goosegirl 3/25/2011, 6:47 am

camprn wrote:So what are the other gardening books you are reading these days? :?:

Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. My mom bought it for me last time I was visiting her in CA. It is a great resource for info on all gardening questions/subjects.

TC

FarmerValerie 3/25/2011, 8:53 am

Goosegirl wrote:
camprn wrote:So what are the other gardening books you are reading these days? :?:

Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. My mom bought it for me last time I was visiting her in CA. It is a great resource for info on all gardening questions/subjects.

TC

That's on my wish list, I've checked it out several times from the Library.
I also just got done with
Thomas Jefferson's Garden Journal
Last year I read
Tomatoes Love Carrots and a couple of Compainion Planting books the library had, and Neil Sperry's Guide to Texas Gardening (or something like that), VERY good book for Texas gardeners, no matter which part you are from.

FarmerValerie 3/29/2011, 2:56 pm

I just got Neil Sperry's Complete Guide to Texas Gardening from my library again, needed some more TX specific gardening info.

I also got "Starting From Seed", and "Bugs Slugs & Other Thugs, Controlling Garden Pests Organically". Needed to read up on my seed starting,so I could add what might have gone wrong with a few of them now, so I don't forget and do it again next year. And the bugs are out, so I'm looking to kill 'em anyway I can.

I also got "The Joy of Keeping A Root Cellar, Canning, Freezing, Drying, Smoking, and Preserving the Harvest" for more ideas. Oh how I want a root cellar, kids hate those things, they mean bugs and work (bringing up groceries) I could hide all day in one of those things.

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