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Books > Gardening > Specialized gardening methods > Organic gardening
Humans and the world around us have been governed by the waxing and
waning of the moon since the planet came into being. Over the
centuries different civilisations have embraced these natural
cycles, and so lunar gardening has been around for as long as man
has pulled food from the soil; once practised by the Incas and
Native Americans, this tried and trusted method has been largely
forgotten. John Harris, head gardener at Tresillian Estate in
Cornwall, has been using Moon Gardening for over forty years. The
methods he uses can be implemented anywhere, you do not need fancy
tools, expensive seeds or substantial acreage, but instead, given
time, patience and care, the results can be breath-taking. This is
gardening at its most natural and organic. The Natural Gardener
charts John's story from a rudderless young lad in a Cornish
village to being charged with the salvation of the long-neglected
gardens at Tresillian. As he shares how to follow these simple
principles, he imparts his abundance of horticultural knowledge
from years spent working in harmony with the soil, providing a
timely link back to nature and the reassuring regularity of the
seasons.
Herbert Koepf was a pioneer of biodynamics in Germany, the USA and
in the UK. He was an expert teacher, and drew on his own practical
background in farming. This book is a collection of some of Koepf's
writings on key aspects of biodynamics. It includes practical
guidance on building soil structure, preparing and applying
biodynamic sprays, crop rotation, compost and composting methods.
He also considers ways of researching the effectiveness of
biodynamic methods, and measuring results. This is an invaluable
guide for anyone working with biodynamic methods, offering Koepf's
unique insights and wisdom on practical issues. This overview of
Koepf's work is a newly-edited combination of four pamphlets:
Compost, Biodynamic Sprays, Three Lectures on Biodynamics, and
Research in Biodynamic Agriculture. Published in association with
the Biodynamic Association.
Biochar, charcoal made from wood or another type of biomass, has
become the new darling of organic gardeners, embraced for its
outstanding abilities to enrich the soil and improve plant growth.
Gardening with Biochar is the first comprehensive guide to
understanding, making, and using it effectively in the home garden.
In this highly accessible handbook, long-time garden writer Jeff
Cox explains what biochar is and provides detailed instructions for
how it can be made at home, along with specific guidelines for
using it to enrich soil, prevent erosion, and enhance plant growth.
Now widely available at garden centers, biochar is also being
lauded for its ability to sequester carbon in the soil, making it
good for the health of the planet, as well as the plants.
Organic Gardening in Cold Climates can teach you how to reap a
vegetable bounty despite a short growing season. Gardeners from the
Rocky Mountains to New England can enjoy luscious red tomatoes,
fresh kale, and baby carrots chilled by the damp earth in their own
backyard. Perrin helps you plan your garden and shows you how to
plant, fertilize, water, mulch, and harvest -- without the use of
agricultural chemicals. Special sections explain companion
planting, season extenders, composting, natural pest and disease
control, saving seeds, and the French Intensive method of
gardening. You'll also find hints for cooking and preparing
vegetables, a list of cold climate seed suppliers, and sources for
further information. Includes 64 pen-and-ink drawings, index, 2
appendixes, and 4 charts.
This title features organic gardening hints, tips and folklore from
yesteryear, from companion planting to compost, with 150 glorious
photographs. Tried and tested methods for today's organic gardener,
helping to rediscover the wisdom born of an understanding of nature
and the natural rhythms of the seasons. It covers all types of
garden, including cottage gardens, orchards, hedgerows, kitchen
gardens and herb gardens, as well as a range of plants, from
flowers to topiary. It includes traditional techniques for sowing,
planting and harvesting, as well as age-old methods for controlling
pests and diseases, feeding the soil and caring for tools.
Practical projects include creating a bee and butterfly garden,
establishing woodland bulbs, making a scarecrow, collecting your
own seed, and growing fruit in pots. It also features many ancient
folk methods, such as planting by the moon and companion planting.
It is illustrated with 150 beautiful, inspirational photographs.
The skill of gardening and nurturing the land is as old as time.
For gardeners everywhere there can be no greater pleasure than
watching a tiny seed thrive, and to witness plants blooming and
fruiting. This inspirational book offers practical advice for every
gardener, whether your interest is in growing healthy vegetables,
fruit-filled trees, a beautiful flower garden or a delightfully
fragrant herb garden. The book contains a wealth of traditional
gardening hints and tips, from understanding the importance of
age-old crop rotation to creating perfect compost and feeding the
soil. There is helpful advice on basic skills such as sowing and
planting, and invaluable information on developing natural, organic
defences against pests and diseases. You can discover the folklore
and wisdom of yesteryear to bring natural balance, glorious scent
and stunning flowers to your garden.
Even though this book was written over 25 years ago, composting is
experiencing a renaissance - and this revised edition includes all
the latest in new techniques, technology, equipment. Gardeners know
it's the best way to feed the soil and turn food scraps into fresh
produce, but even urbanites can get on board thanks to programs
like compost pickup and citywide food waste initiatives. There's no
better way to reduce landfill waste (and subsequent emissions) and
dependence on fossil fuels while nourishing the earth. The Rodale
Book of Composting offers easy-to-follow instructions for making
and using compost, helpful tips for apartment dwellers to
suburbanites, farmers and community leaders, and ecologically sound
solutions to growing waste-disposal problems.
"Lasagna Gardening With Herbs"
Lasagna gardening is sweeping the nation, as more and more
gardeners discover this simple, sensible method of creating healthy
soil for easy-care gardens. Pat Lanza's organic, commonsense
approach takes the backbreaking labor out of preparing and planting
an aromatic, delicious, and low-maintenance herb garden. Discover
Pat's homegrown methods for using more than 50 favorite herbs in
recipes, making herbal wreaths and delicious herbal teas, and
growing and using edible flowers.
"From the first paragraph of "Lasagna Gardening with Herbs" to the
last, I felt as though I had finally found my soil sister. Pat
Lanza writes and gardens with knowledge, passion, and a pioneer
spirit. Her easy-to-implement tips, combined with her encyclopedic
wisdom about plants and soil, make her book indispensable to both
beginning and advanced gardeners."--Sharon Lovejoy, contributing
editor of "Country Living Gardener," a "New York Times" syndicated
contributor, and author of numerous books, including "Trowel &
Error"
"If Pat Lanza sometimes has dirty fingernails, it's because she's a
writer with the hands-on, dig-in-the-dirt passion of a gardener.
When she writes about gardening methods, you know she's tried them.
And with her discovery of lasagna gardening, she's managed to make
it easier for all of us."--Walter Chandoha, animal and garden
photographer and author and illustrator of more than 25 books,
including "The Literary Gardener"
"Pat Lanza is the only one I know who turns the world upside down
when she gardens. She starts with the basics-- dirt first! Her
philosophy is that if you do it right from the garden up and make
it fun and easy, the garden willdo the rest."--Jim Long, columnist
for" The Herb Companion" and" The Herb Quarterly" magazines and
author of books on herbs and history
"Pat Lanza is a true renaissance woman, always inventing new ways
to tackle old tasks. One day she decided to try her lasagna method
of soil improvement with herbs. Did it work? Of course! Her small
garden produced prodigious harvests of delicious aromatic herbs!
"Carpe diem"!"--Jim W. Wilson, horticulturist and author of
numerous books, including "Jim Wilson's Container Gardening"
"About the Author"
Patricia Lanza is a lifelong gardener, a popular speaker, and the
proprietor of the Potager, a garden gift shop and cafe in
Wurtsboro, New York. Her first book about her time-saving garden
methods," Lasagna Gardening," won the prestigious Quill and Trowel
Award from the Garden Writers Association of America.
Fill your garden with flowers all-year round with inspiration, planting ideas and expert advice from Sarah Raven.
Colour and scent are the hallmarks of Sarah Raven's style – and they are simple luxuries that everyone can bring into their garden.
A Year Full of Flowers reveals the hundreds of hardworking varieties that make the garden sing each month, together with the practical tasks that ensure everything is planted, staked and pruned at just the right time.
Tracing the year from January to December at her home, Perch Hill, Sarah offers a complete and transporting account of a garden crafted over decades. Sharing the lessons learned from years of plant trials, she explains the methods that have worked for her, and shows you how to achieve a space that's full of life and colour.
Discover long-lasting, divinely scented tulips, roses that keep flowering through winter, the most magnificent dahlias and show-stopping alliums, as well as how to grow sweet peas up a teepee, take cuttings from chrysanthemums and stop mildew in its tracks.
This is passionate, life-enriching gardening; it's also simple, adaptable and can work for you. Sarah has made the garden central to her life – this book shows you how you can too.
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