Gardening Books

If you’re like me, you probably want to know more about certain topics. I have an overflowing bookshelf full of gardening books, and I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.

Composting

The very first book on composting I ever read was the venerable Compost (Rodale Organic Gardening Basics). Although the most recent issue is from 2001, it nevertheless has plenty of excellent information.

But another newer contender is The Complete Compost Gardening Guide. This book was published in 2008 and is chock-full of great information.

While I prefer to have both (never can have enough books), if I had to choose just one I’d pick The Complete Compost Gardening Guide.

Growing Organically

I am a great believer in growing organically, but there are days when it is frustrating — especially when it comes to pest control. But I also hate the thought of putting pesticides on my veggies, so organic it is. So when I saw The Truth About Organic Gardening by Jeff Gillman, the title intrigued me. And I found the book to be quite interesting! At any rate, Jeff outlines why you can’t assume that “organic” is always safer, and how you need to make informed choices. There are pros and cons both ways. It’s a very interesting, thought-provoking read. If you’re currently using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, this book may help you decide which is best for your circumstances — maybe a little of both conventional and organic?

On the days when I am not feeling as frustrated, I get out The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control and remind myself why I’ve decided to be a 99% organic gardener. OK, I’ll admit to using all natural products on rare occasions, as opposed to organic (they are not necessarily the same). At any rate, if you really do want to go organic as possible, I recommend this book highly.

Small Gardens

When I originally started gardening, it was on a much smaller piece of property — a zero lot line house, with a backyard the size of a postage stamp. Because of that, the original book on Square Foot Gardening appealed to me. It’s several years later now, and I see there is another edition out: All New Square Foot Gardening.

You don’t need to have just a small plot of land available to use square foot gardening, which is based on increasing the yield for each square foot. You can use the same basic principles even if you have an acre to use. But it is targeting the home gardener who has a limited amount of time and space.

If all you have available are containers, you will likely be interested in McGee & Stuckey’s Bountiful Container. While this book isn’t just about vegetables, it is about about edible gardening (veggies, fruits, herbs, edible flowers). I like this book because even though I do have a large yard in which to garden, I don’t have the time or energy to grow everything I’d like. And growing some vegetables, fruits and herbs in containers fits in nicely. (I haven’t gotten around to trying edible flowers, though…much rather look at them instead.)

Vegetable Gardening

I don’t grow everything in my garden, as much as I’d like to. Some veggies don’t grow as well in the terrific heat and humidity of South Florida. But I still like reading about all veggies, and if something is going wrong with something I’m growing, I want to know why. Enter The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible.

Get ready, it’s rather different than, say, Square Foot Gardening.

But in reality, I like this book for the overall information on all kinds of veggies (and herbs). You could forget about the other books and just get this one if all you can get is one, as it does touch on growing organically as well as composting. But I like it more for the information on vegetables that I don’t grow as much.

Heirloom Tomatoes

These are my absolute favorites to grow. I love heirloom tomatoes for their wonderful (and sometimes wacky) colors and shapes, not to mention the taste! So when I saw The Heirloom Tomato by Amy Goldman, I knew I had to have it.

Ahhh, the book is glorious! The data is thorough, the tomato information is easy to understand and the photos are phenomenal! There’s only one thing about this book I would change — the print in italics is hard for me to read, as it’s so small. Then again, I guess I’m getting old enough to need those reading glasses…

If you love tomatoes, run (don’t walk) to get this book — you won’t regret it.