Scott Meyer (2)

This is another beginning self-sufficiency-through-food title. As with many modern self-sufficiency books targeted at city dwellers, it operates from the premise that it’s better to do what you can where you can than sit on the couch and bemoan that you can’t afford your dream farm. It covers the usual array of food options for small lots (vegetables, fruits, foraging, and small livestock such as rabbits and chickens), food preservation, composting, clotheslines, and organic pest deterrents. An interesting addition I hadn’t seen anywhere else was instructions for a “dog doo digester” to keep Rover’s leavings out of the landfill and the groundwater.

Not long, but delightfully illustrated and sound. And you cannot question the author’s qualifications to give gardening advice: he wrote for Organic Gardening magazine for over 20 years.… (meer)

Super useful little pocket guide to gardening, with a list of suppliers, books, and websites (e.g. the American Horticultural Society, ahs.org) at the back. Plenty of interesting tidbits about all garden areas: tomatoes, berries, herbs, annuals and perennials, small trees, container gardening, weed and pest control, and starting seeds indoors. There are no pictures or illustrations, so unless you're already familiar with all of the plants, you'll want to look them up in a book or online.

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Tomato tips:
-plant more than one variety
-plant in full sun
-space correctly
-plant deep
-train the vines

Herb tips:
-Basil: starting trimming the top leaves while the basil is small to encourage branching for a bushier plant
-Parsley: pick from the outside of the plant so the center continues to develop new ones
-Rosemary: prune off a few stems weekly to encourage new leaves, which have the best flavor
-Sage: the red flowers on "pineapple" sage attract hummingbirds
-Thyme: works well as edging for gardens; endures for years even in cold climates

How to grow garlic: start in the fall with one or two garlic bulbs from the farmers' market or garden center (supermarket ones are treated with anti-sprouting agents). Plant cloves; each clove will grow into a new bulb. Space 6" apart with flat end down and pointy end up. Cut off the scape and enjoy. Dig up bulbs when all leaves have wilted. Let them dry for a few days.

How to grow potatoes in a bag

Tips for Hassle-Free Roses:
-opt for shrubs
-plant in fall or spring
-give them morning sun
-manage drainage
-allow breathing room: leave 3" around each shrub
-prune and clean: clip canes that are down flowering (brown and brittle); clip branches that cross through the center of the plant (they block airflow)

10 Uncommon Bulbs
*Allium, *anemone, arum, camassia, *chionodoxa, eremurus, fritillaria, freesia, *galanthus (snowdrops), tuberose
*Pretty!

How to add color in the shade:
Annuals: Baby blue-eyes (nemophilia), fuschia, impatiens, lobelia, tuberous begonia
Perennials: Astilbe, bleeding hearts (dicentra), coral bells (heuchera), hellobore, primrose
Foliage: coleus, hosta, perilla, sweet potato vine

How to divide perennials:
As a rule of thumb, divide spring-blooming flowers in the fall and summer bloomers in early spring

Evening garden tips:
Lemon balm leaves are high in citronella

Ground cover for shade: sheet moss (fares well even in poor, dense soil, as long as it's in the shade). Brilliant green and holds up to foot traffic.

How to prune trees and shrubs:
-prune in late winter
-encourage air flow by removing branches that grow toward the center rather than away from the main trunk
-remove dead/dying branches
-prune just above a bud facing the outside of the plant so the new branch grows outward
-prune no more than 1/3 of the branches at a time

Watering: DEEPLY, NOT DAILY… (meer)