With all the interest these days in sustainability and in vegetable gardens, the latest All-Region Guide from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is coming along at just the right time.
Healthy Soils for Sustainable Gardens (Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2009) is the latest in this masterful series of handbooks on all kinds of gardening subjects.
Soil seems to be one of those great mysteries to many gardeners, and it's particularly difficult for novices. This book unravels the riddles about making and using compost; mulching and fertilizing; understanding soil pH; and determining whether your soil is acidic or alkaline, clayey, sandy, or just right.
The best thing of all is that this book is written in an easy, understandable style so that gardeners will get the point about using their common sense in the garden. In the chapter on mulch, Janet Marinelli explains that "When it comes to mulching ... I try to think like a forest." In other words, folks, think about the natural layers of leaves and other organic matter that litter the forest floor ... that is mulch at its most natural and best.
In the chapter on soil ecology, Niall Dunne notes that all gardeners should have their soil tested, and once the results are in, they can either amend it as necessary or simply grow plants that will thrive in those conditions -- and there are always some of those.
Best of all, the book concentrates on organic solutions to promote and maintain healthy soils. There are great lists in the book of plants for specific kinds of soils -- as well as solutions for gardening on slopes and in raised beds. The book includes tips for specific plants, including shrubs and perennials, vegetables, annuals, roses and lawns.
It's a must-have reference for anyone who wants garden without chemicals, and that should include all of us who love gardens.
(click on text link to purchase book)
Looks like a good book for new gardener's in particular.
Posted by: Martha | March 28, 2009 at 11:57 PM