bookshelf favorites

[redbrick]

Let's put in votes for our favorite gardening (and related) books. They can be technical, entertaining, inspiring, tempting, etc... You can even site magazine authors if you like! I'll start things off.

My favorite technical book would have to be Plants-a-Plenty, by Catherine Osgood Foster. It was published by Rodale press, and is now out of print. It covers propagation methods from cuttings through grafting to seeds, and gives a biology lesson on each topic.

For entertaining, I'd say anything written by Ruth Stout is hard to beat. She had a wonderful view of life, and could really turn a word.

Temptation lives in the works of William Woys Weaver and Sylvia Thompson (The Kitchen Garden). They could make me want to grow hot peppers, and I can't take the heat! Oh, and every seed catalog that shows up in my mailbox, of course!

Who's next?

[zebraman]

My favorite is "Isolation distancesfor Tomatoes" by Jeff MCCormack;Phd. Ok you do need a Degree to read this but I do and it is a very informative read.the Second is"Cornucopia" A Sourcebook of Edible Plants by Stephen Facciola which not only has alot of background but hundreds of mail order listings for Co.s and Individuals offering seed for sale.I have amassed most of my collection from this and two other Volumes.I just got the SSE yearbook in the mail and that is my Fav for the moment.

[jtcm05]

100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden - Carolyn J. Male

Seed to Seed - Suzanne Ashworth

Some of us don't need a degree to read a book and understand it while others need to toot their own horn. :rolleyes:

[tashak]

Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living--a good first look it up reference for growing/harvesting/cooking and storing lots of different stuff.
I also like The Zone Garden 3.4.5 (haven't been able to get my hands yet on 5.6.7), Lisa Rayner's Growing Food in the Southwest Mountains (which is about 2000 feet above my own elevation), and Desert Harvest: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening in Arid Lands, and ....

[wilderness1989]

The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book, Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living is good too. I've used the Ruth Stout method for over 30 years....it works. Carla Emery's book is chock full of information about homesteading and gardening.
John

[SelfSufficientOne]

The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour

[turnip]

An absolutely beautiful and fascinating book is The Random House Book of Vegetables by Martyn Rix and Roger Phillips. Unfortunately out of print, but you might find a used copy. Abundant wonderful color photos of vegetables from all over the world, with botanically accurate text. I think they also did a few similar books on flowers, and a couple of similar, but much smaller books on culinary herbs and salad plants.

[walleye]

Lots of the ones mentioned above are on my list of favorites. There are a lot of good ones out there. "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" is a great starter book for those looking at organic gardening. Not too technical, lots of good pictures, not too preachy. Good sections on most common garden crops.

"This Organic Life" by Joan Dye Gussow is another favorite. Not so much a gardening book per-se, but an entertaining autobiography focusing on eating local and in-season foods as much as possible. Not the type of book I usually read, but I spent many hours in an otherwise-uneventful Wisconsin deer stand a couple years ago reading this one cover to cover! Somewhere out there, a deer probably owes it's life to this book!

[deb65802]

Some of my favorites are.. The Healing Herbs by Castleman this is extensive listing for all herbs with explanaions of uses. It is a definitive work.

All of Rodales's books on Gardening and Homesteading.

I find the Western Garden Book by Sunset handy for a reference for latin names germination information, etc.

I still like Garden Way's Down-to-Earth Gardening Know-How. Unfortunately this is out of print but you can find them around if you look.

Then of course to many of us Mel Bartholomew "Square Foot Gardening". I have a small yard and am cramming in all I can possibly grow. With seven to feed more food is better.
deb

[redbrick]

I just got a new (ok, old) book the other day, "Jim Crockett's Victory Garden". It looks like it's really entertaining and useful. I got it at a local used book store for two dollars. Think maybe I should go back and offer a couple more bucks so I don't feel like a thief? LOL!

I've gotta agree on the Rodale books. They're almost always worth their weight in gold! And props have to go to Mel B. as well. Thanks to him, I haven't hoed a row in years!

[kabuti]

A good one for the mind-set of farming/gardening is 'One Staw Revolution' by Fukouka. I have found tons of great books on the internet. Some books are even posted & you can read them there. books from the past, you wont find easily. Information on gardening/farming is re-discovered over & over thru the ages & some is forgotten or missed altogether by the main body of growers then it goes to the dust-bin & once in a while some fortunate person will chance upon it & marvel knowing that he may be the one of only a few of his generation who has become aware of a obscure but relavent bit of knowledge that some gardening genius seized upon decades ago. Look at all the information we have that goes totally ignored. Amazing!

[Timeless Rogue]

Here's another vote for 'The Vegetable Gardener's Bible' by Edward C Smith and 'The Organic Life' by Joan Dye Gussow (and excellent, very interesting read.) But of equal standing as 'must haves' in my library are both of Eliot Coleman's books 'The New Organic Grower' and 'Four-Season Harvest' which I refer to all the time. And of course Rodale's 'All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening'.

[stonysoil]

i have read many ooks on the subjecy but a recent one i found intesting is called "botany of desire" it discusses with an intersting perspective 5 plants if i remeber vorrectly ... apples.... tulips,,, potaotes.. hemp and one more.. he narrates with fascinating antedotes and touches upon the way rhe palnts are woven into the fabric of oour lives even at times controlling us,, he delves into many sideline topics such as the potato being gentivlly engineered for corporate greed.. its worth the read for its humor and seriousness... and fascination... ira

[rjzatyko@yahoo.com]

hi, my favorite book is you guys,you ask questions and someone answers them(most of the time) and that is a great help to me,the only other thing would be if someone knew about something propagating blueberys.richard from ky.

[SunflowerMeg]

I've learned almost exclusively from the Organic Gardening magazines. I love gardening books, but I usually just read bits and pieces as I don't retain much. :D Magazines are easier on my lack of attention span.

Can someone please tell me what the SSE yearbook is? Thanks.

[redbrick]

<Sigh!> I do so miss the Organic Gardening magazines from the '80s! There was so much more information in each issue, and they still came every month! Oh, well, I guess those days are gone.

BTW, the SSE yearbook is a listing of Seed Savers Exchange members and the varieties they offer for trade, if I understand right. I'm not a member, although I've often considered it.

[jetstream]

My favorite books are Intensive Gardening, out of print, published by Rodale; Vegatable Gardeners Bible, and The Encyclopedia of Country Living, as well as Seed to Seed.

[Timeless Rogue]

I've just gotten back from strolling through Northshire's bookstore with my morning coffee ... this day I got by easy! Somehow I can never get out of a bookstore empty handed! The same held true today but I think I did pretty well for five bucks: I made off with a brand new copy of the English translation of Jurgen Dahl's classic 'The Curious Gardener'. What a score! This book contains his last three works: 'The Curious Gardener' from 1998, 'The Stinking Garden' from 1997 and 'How to Eat a Lily' from 1995. He died in October of 2001 at the age of 72 but fortunately for us his work lives on, courtesy of his wife.

I am so looking forward to getting into his essays about the essence of gardens and the effect they can have on our lives ...

If this book goes like others have, I will be days finishing it ... days when I will be bathed but not shaven with a cup of coffee or tea in front of me as I become totally absorbed by his writings ... see you all later ...

[brandynickels]

My two most favorite gardening books are The New Organic Grower and Four Season Harvest, both by Eliot Coleman. I also like Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth and The Country Journal Book of Vegetable Gardening by Nancy Bubel.

[Timeless Rogue]

Ah yes, Brandynickels, you've got a definite second on that vote for Eliot Coleman's books. Also 'The Vegetable Gardener's Bible' by Edward Smith and 'The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food' by Tanya Denkla. My list of 'favorites' has grown ... another would be Joan Dye Gussow's work 'This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader'. Oops ... I got carried away ... I think I covered that before. Sorry ...

[Bellepepper]

Mel B.'s Square Ft Garden by all means is tops. I have been gardening his method for about 15 years. Have most of my neighbors doing some or all. Every year I have at least 2 ladies bring thier husbands just to see how I am set up. Once Hubby gets everything set up/built, then it is easy for us ladies. OK, I had to do a lot of it myself but hubby helps a lot now that he is retired.

[stonysoil]

my favorite book growing up was 10000 garden questions answered.. i used to read it every day and found the format very digestible.. i rember doing some weedinfg for a nieghbor and as a gift she bought me the book and incribed in it.... "to my favorite gardner" 30 yrs later i strill have the book and still read the questions

[Timeless Rogue]

So ... I was having so much fun reading 'The Curious Gardener' that I had to go back out there (twenty miles one way ... with a nice coffee at the other end, of course!) this morning to buy up what they had on the shelf to gift out to others that they, too, might have a chance to enjoy it! This is a very relaxing, quite humorous and super informative read! Get a copy if you have a chance ...

[deb65802]

Hoe a row?????
You mean we are supposed to use a hoe in the garden??? lolol
I thought it held up the clothesline.

[stonysoil]

i just thought of a great bvook that all us like minded gardeners would really enjoy.... its called gardening for the future of the earth written by howard-yana-shapiro and john harrisson.. a seeds of change book

[Timeless Rogue]

And now I've gone and done it again! Went out to the Spiral Press for a morning latte ... the Spiral Press is located adjacent to and shares a lobby with the bookstore ... so just take a guess what it is I've done! Yep! Found another excellent book: 'Tools of the Earth: The Practice and Pleasure of Gardening' by Jeff Taylor, Columnist for This Old House Magazine. To quote the flyleaf: 'Each of the 24 chapters highlights one commonly used garden tool and explores its meaning, feel, history, and use.' Now that sounds pretty dry ... trust me, it's far from that!

And after sitting there reading it over my coffee, I can tell you truthfully that that brief synopsis is absolutely true. Another humorous but informative book that I can highly recommend. There's even a chapter about that classic old garden tool: 'Hammock: The Raised Bed'.

Get yourself a copy, grab a cup of coffee, find a comfortable spot to rest and have a go at laughing and learning about your garden tools ...

[Timeless Rogue]

So what a way to start a new week ... the morning's mail delivery included a couple of books that I had ordered from Amazon.com last Thursday evening (around midnight actually) ... plus one ordered the week before that had to come in from Ireland!

1. 'Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance' compiled by John and Martha Storey and written by 150 different authors, published right here in the Green Mountains of Vermont in 1999.

2. 'The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals' written by Barbara Ellis and Fern Bradley, published by Rodale Press in 1992, revised 1996 with 'the latest, safest organic controls'.

3. 'The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-to-Basics Guide' written by John Seymour, first published 1976, latest edition published 2003.

And after briefly glancing through each of them, I think I've got to go brew another pot of coffee so I can dig in and do some serious reading ... well, after some chores get taken care of, that is! Oh, and there are a couple of others on the way ... can't say enough about Amazon and their service, not to mention their prices!

[SunflowerMeg]

redbrick - I agree 100%...I miss the OG from the 80's. I started subscribing in 1980 and for the first time in all these years, I let it lapse. The magazine has gotten very thin, very boring, very repetitive (of course, how many ways can you describe a squash vine borer, and how often?). I so enjoyed it in the 80's, was too busy in the 90's to pay much attention and started paying attention again in 2000. But, there's been little to hold my attention these last few years. I guess every dog has his day. :)

[redbrick]

Yeah, depressing, ain't it? At least we still have Mother Earth News (I refuse to use the acronym) and Heirloom Gardener!

I can't wait until my newest acquisition arrives: "Propagation of Plants" by Kain and McQuestin! Six hundred-some-odd pages of mad scientist experiments waiting to happen! It's the adventures of Dr Plantenstein! "Igor, bring me the scion!" "Yesss, Masterrr!" I'm soooo sick, ain't I?

[redbrick]

Heirloom Gardener arrived today! (happy dance!)

[mrtomatoexpres]

i still like og not as good like it use to be,giant book of garden solutions and get the #@*&!! outta here by jerry baker,gardening essentials by barbara pleasant national gardening club,iam i aloud to say carrots love tomatoes bylouise riotte :p can not find my copy of square foot gardening :mad: i want to get the 2 eliot coleman books the new organic grower and four season gardening,seed to seed by susan answorth :confused:

[Sookie]

Silly gardeners, books are for winter! :)

then again...the sun's gotta go down sometime.

Here are some of my picks:

Garden/homesteading essay:

-I love Tools of the Earth by Jeff Taylor. The "Bucket" essay is particularly amusing. I hope you enjoy it, Timeless.

- Full life in a Small place and other essays from a desert garden by Janice Emily Bowers

-One Man's Meat by E.B. White. Yes like as in Charlotte's web, but this one is nonfiction for grown-ups. It's helarious. You must read it.

I intend to read This Organic Life as soon as I get a chance

Old time lore:

-The Foxfire series. Ever wonder how to build a chimney or forcast the weather by insect activity?

Tomatoes:

-Dr. Male's book, of course, even though many of the toms she describes won't grow in my climate.

-You bet Your Tomatoes! by Mike McGrath (published by Rodale) is what I give beginners. It's pretty basic, but it covers the bases, and it's funny and has cute illustrations.

Books which wouldn't be good as your only garden book but which are good represenitives of a certain school of thought:

-No Work Gardening by Ruth Stout (weighing in for the no-till heavy mulch camp)

-The One Straw Revolution by Masanoba Fukuoka (backing Ruth up)

and in the other corner

-How to Grow More Vegetables than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine by John "double digging is my religion" Jeavons

A good general gardening book:

No Weed Gardening by Lee Reich. It deserves a better title. This guy seems to be pretty level-headed.

reference:

I have both Rodale's All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening and the old Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening and I like the old one better. It's out of print. Some parts are out of date. But they really dumbed down the new one and there are about half as many entries (seems to represent the strategy deliberatly undertaken by Rodale, in the magazine and everything).

Two more great sources of info:

-local old guys

-seed catalogs (read cover to cover)



Right now I'm reading permaculture books. Boy, talk about being dogmatic and doctrinaire! Yikes! Still, they seem to have something to offer.

BTW, Stonysoil, I also read 1o,ooo garden questions answered as a kid (at my grandmother's house). How weird! It's isn't exactly Harry Potter, is it? It's a HUGE green book with lots of entries about how to get grubs out of your lawn etc.

[redbrick]

Check this out: I just found a softcover copy of Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening", signed by Mel! It was in a used book store (duh!), and they only wanted $.75 for it! I felt so bad that I asked if they didn't want more (The shop is owned, managed, and run by a little old lady), but I was told that, "No, that's the price, you got a bargain." How about that?

[mrtomatoexpres]

hi red you got really lucky :)

[lovetogarden]

How to Grow fruits and vegetables by the Organic Method by rodale.
The book is almost 50 years old, but it is still the best.

I do not like the organic gardening magazines anymore. It is geared toward the beginer gardener. That is very necessary, but how about some more in depth articles too.

[bluelacedredhead]

The librarian asked me tonight what books I would like her to order in this year?
OMG, to be asked my opinion on what subjects I feel could best serve the readers of this community??
So I looked up this thread to try and get some ideas..Know what? Many of the recommendations here are already on the shelves in our little branch or can easily be ordered in from another branch in the system...

Let me see...if I can't think of any other gardening or homesteading books, I suppose I could request books about cooking, exercise (yoga, tai chi), diet (vegan, vegetarianism, organic foods)...and then of course there are the off-gardening activities like knitting, crocheting, sewing and crafting...to tide us over until the seed catalogues arrive in January...

Any suggestions for these categories??

[Soapymomma]

the four season garden , of course
the encyclopedia of country living, its too bad carlapassed away last year those of us who knew her had a wonderfull chance to talk with her and her dear husband, she did a great job collecting all this information from people, and was a heavy proponent of the do it yourself lifestyle, lets see, i also love "dirt cheap gardening" by rhonda massingham hart, great ways to remember to save money doing this hobby! plus lots of great charts on what grows where, how to propogate certain plants etc....
readers digest " herbs" book published back in 1990


good books keep hanging around..... i also have back issues of mother earth news, some of organic gardening, and clippings from dozens of magazines in a file on gardening , herbs cooking ,
crafts , i pick up magazines at yard sales, generally like 10 or 20 for a dollar, and clip them out over the winter when i have time ..... if its got something good , it goes into the file :D in fact ill need a new file by this winter :D

[bluelacedredhead]

I just found a title in the library listings and wondered if anyone had read this one by Ruth Stout?
It's entitled Gardening Without Work; for the Aged, the Busy and the Indolent

[bluelacedredhead]

Tonight I picked up a copy of Building and Using Our Sun Heated Greenhouse (Growing Vegetables All Year Round) by Scott & Helen Nearing, Gardenway 1978.
Fascinating reading. If I didn't keep going back to read passages over again or study the photos so intently, I'd have finished the book already.
It covers location, materials, building techniques and even what types of lettuce are best suited for this type of growing (thin veined..not as chewy if they sustain a bit of damage from freezing overnight)..
Check it out this book if like me, you've been amassing materials to build one.

[sunmad strawgirl]

If only there was a book on greenhouse building for the aged, busy and/or indolent. :)
Thanks for the recommendation - I've been looking around for a book I'd like about building my own greenhouse (though it will have to be a little tiny one).

[redbrick]

Hi Blue, maybe you should suggest the Foxfire series? They're a good, fun, all-around what-if-the world-falls-apart resource collection.

[bluelacedredhead]

Andy,
You and someone else mentioned this series earlier, so I've just looked it up in the library catalogue online. Our system shows 5 Foxfire books: #9 (no description of contents), Appalachian Cookery, Book of Toys and Games, 25 years and Foxfire #10 (Gourd Art, Chairmaking, Whirligigs and more)..
Is there perhaps a favourite volume not listed that I might suggest?

Tonight I stopped on my way home and gave the Librarian a list of books recommended here that aren't already in one of the branches. There were only 4, which I don't think is too shabby considering that it's a rural library system for the most part.
The librarian loved Joan Dye Gussow's title This Organic Life/Confessions of a Suburban HOmesteader. And when I told her what Wayfarer said in this thread about reading it while in a treestand and that a bambi probably owed it's life to Ms. Gussow's book..well Librarians aren't supposed to laugh out loud are they?? :D
She has also offered to look into interlibrary loans for books on my list that aren't available to be purchased at this time...I'm going to have a lot of reading to do this winter.. :p

Oh, just been flipping through a book that I ordered in from another branch, and it's another GottaHave, although at $62.95 Cdn/$45 US in 1997, I think I'll be relying on the old library card unless I find a good used copy for sale..
It's Heirloom Vegetable Gardening by William Woys Weaver

[TastyofHasty]

Ho! fellow book-lovers! Redbrick, a week ago I picked up a book at garage sale ... called Plants-A-Plenty ... then your original post in this thread told me ... I had something good! :)

I've been reading through Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books ... besides being heart-warming and entertaining works of fiction ... these books have rather detailed instructions on how they did things back in the 1870's or thereabouts. In Little House in the Big Woods, she describes how they smoked meat in a log from a hollow tree, for instance. But the prize of the lot IMHO is Farmer Boy, which I've just read. How to ... (basically)
Break and train (oxen) calves
Cut ice and fill ice house, plus how ice house was made
Make shoes and boots out of leather
Shrink wool cloth into "fullcloth"
Mark a field to plant corn and pumpkins
Milk-feed a pumpkin for "giant pumpkin contest"
... it goes on and on ...
so many ideas and just a great picture of the olden days when things were done without oil & gas-powered machinery.

And I agree that Seed to Seed is very helpful! And the Permaculture books are very interesting and full of great ideas. And of course, there is always The Internet, greatest library on Earth!

[Lavandula Girl]

Blue - if you are ever looking for a really pretty book to sit and read, try

Earth on Her Hands: The American Woman in Her Garden by Starr Ockenga

It 's not so much a how-to as a wow-look-at-that book, but the photos are fantastic, and the stories of the 18 different women and their gardens are often inspiring. It's a lovely book for curling up with on the sofa with a blanket and a cup of tea.... a winter's here and I can sit and be inspired for next spring kind of book.

[mrtomatoexpres]

thats about all i can curl up with on the sofa a cup of tea or coffee :p :D :) :rolleyes:

[redbrick]

Tasty, you've got a gem, there! I hope you find it as useful as I do.

Blue, no, I really don't have any specific Foxfires to recommend. Actually, you kinda caught me with my pants down on that one. See, I'm not actually intimately familiar with them, as I haven't had enough time to read the two I have, more than in just passing. All I can say for certain is there's a lot of good info and insight in them, and wish I had more of them. I'm still kicking myself for not buying the boxful I saw at a yardsale six years ago!

[TastyofHasty]

If I kicked myself for everything I didn't buy at a yardsale ... I wouldn't have any "kick" left! :)

[bluelacedredhead]

Ooooooo, got a real pretty one out of the library last night.
It's the Organic Cook's Bible: How to Select and Cook the Best Ingredients on the Planet by Jeff Cox, Wiley Publishing, 2006
Here's a review
http://www.food-management.com/article/13662

I also took out Carolyn Male's 100 Heirloom Tomatoes... great pics.
And last, but definitely not least,
175 Essential Slow Cooker Classics by Judith Finlayson, Robert Rose Inc. Publisher 2006. This cookbook has lots of recipes using fennel (bulb & seed); hot peppers; brown rice; wild rice; and beans of all kinds. Ideas for slow cookers that I never would have dreamed of like making plum pudding for Christmas in a slow cooker?! Worth a look believe me.

[GeorgeSims]

I checked out the only Ruth Stout book our local library had. I'm halfway through it (How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back), and she is a HOOT!!!

I want to read anything else of hers that I can find.

[tomakers]

I'm not sure I have read all of her books, but I think anything she wrote is well worth the read. And her techniques do work. I always get a laugh from her.

[GeorgeSims]

Off the subject (a little), I also checked out a couple of novels by her brother, Rex Stout, creator of the "Nero Wolfe" detective stories.

[TastyofHasty]

I'm just starting to read this one but I THINK it may have some answers to a lot of questions I've had for the longest time ... about WHAT'S GOING ON in the world today(??) and WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?? ... title is Critical Path by R. Buckminster Fuller. And there's a sequel that is ONLINE called Grunge of Giants at:
http://reactor-core.org/grunch-of-giants.html

[johnsonjrbm]

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon, an indispensable book for maritime gardeners in the Pacific Northwest. His cheap formula for homemade organic fertilizer alone is worth the price of the book. His sequel, Gardening When It Counts, brings back wide-row gardening for a planet running out of oil and fresh water, and is applicable to most any climate.

Bountiful Container by Rose Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey. A practical guide to food gardening in containers.

100 Heirloom Tomatoes by Dr. Carolyn Male. I thought I had finished buying tomato seed for this year until I got this book.

[gridgardener]

1. how grow giant vegetables by colin bowcock
2. how grow giant vegetables by bernard lavery
3. square foot gardening
4. wide row gardening dick ramond
5. how to grow more vegetables

[Lavandula Girl]

Off the subject (a little), I also checked out a couple of novels by her brother, Rex Stout, creator of the "Nero Wolfe" detective stories.


Rex Stout farmed too. He had a place in Brewster NY. All the Nero Wolfe books feature Wolfe's love of orchids... I gave my Mom an orchid plant once, just because she liked these books so much. If you watch t.v., the A&E series from a few years ago was a pretty faithful portrayal of the Nero Wolfe books, complete with the orchid room.

[gridgardener]

there is also an older book called high yield gardening.

[thegreengrassgrows]

Has anyone heard of The Postage Stamp Garden? It is similar to other intensive planting styles. I found the book at the library when I was starting and liked it a lot, but never see anyone else talking about it. Hmm..

[gridgardener]

I have seen the book. It was not very good.

[PigPenDirtGirl]

Ah, books...the companion addiction to gardening and fishing.

I also picked up a bargain copy of Jurgen Dahl's classic 'The Curious Gardener'. I've been skipping around the essays and it's wonderful. Reminds a bit of Henry Mitchell's books (The Essential Earthman and others of his series).

The Secret Garden, David Bodanis. Not the book that was made into a movie. Totally different book that takes a very close look at the interactions between insects and plants and plants and their environment. Fascinating read. Really. I think I read it in one sitting.

The Earth Moved, Amy Stewart. On the remarkable achievements of earthworms. Now this was a real eye opener. Especially in reagrds to non-native worms and their effect on habitats.

Let's Get Growing, Crow Miller. Great intro book to gardening! A real 'how-to' primer.

Of course 100 Heirloom tomatoes, Carolyn Male. The photos are mouth-watering! Especially in the winter when you are out of homemade sauce & canned tomatoes and are refusing to purchase disgusting, imitation, 'nuclear' tomatoes at the grocery store.

And my all time favorite, Deep in the Green by Anne Raver (New York Times garden columnist). Not a how to book but oh what a marvelous, easy read.

Sorry, got a bit carried away. Perhaps I need a 12 step program for books?

[sunmad strawgirl]

A 12-step program for books?! I suspect that several of us on the forums should subscribe to that. But books are one addiction that I'm not even tempted to try and give up.
Thanks for all the recommendations - many sound good enough to head straight for the used-book store.

And Lavendula girl and George - it was strange to read this thread after not looking at it for more than a month. I've spent that month slowly watching through the the two seasons of the A&E Rex Stout shows (they're fun) and reading through as many of the Rex Stout mysteries as we can find in local used-book stores. They're really the first mystery series I've ever attempted to read (not usually my cup of tea) - but I've enjoyed almost all of them so far. :)

[Lavandula Girl]

Sunmad - aren't those A&E Nero Wolfe's fun? Made me go back and read some of those books again. That of course took me to the 'S' portion of our home library (yes I alphabetize - I'm a control freak, as I've said before - I may even start dewey decimalizing the shelves.) and so I also have been re-reading Ruth Stout. She turns a phrase well, too, and is fun to read even if you already know what she's going to say.

[sunmad strawgirl]

Yes - they really are. They make me laugh - which for me is a rare and very good thing in a TV show. I wish they had made more than two seasons worth. I can appreciate the desire to alphabetize the books - all of mine are currently in loose subject categories - but I am too disorganized to get around to alphabetizing. Thus I have to look for books in either a)stacks on the floor or b)loosely organized subject shelfs. It is a wonder I ever find anything.
I haven't read any Ruth Stout. Now I have another excuse for a trip to the bookstore (or at least the library). :)

[tsteven1]

Lavandula Girl, that's a great idea! A Dewey Decimalized bookshelf. Why didn't I think of that?
I really enjoyed 'All New Square Foot Gardening' by Mel Bartholomew. I like resourceful and informative type reading such as this.
I am a big fan of combat weaponry, so that covers alot of my reading, and before sleep, I like reading courtroom dramas and/or Western novels.

[Lavandula Girl]

Um... yeah - I reorganized the entire library at home after realizing that I'd put Ruth and Rex Stout next to each other - reference and fiction!? The horror! Now I have an alphabetized wall of fiction, separated by category, and another wall of reference and non-fiction, likewise separated. This is what I do while watching the Superbowl... my poor family! But OCD behavior has it's benefits... I can lay my hands on a natural healing book or an Erle Stanley Gardner in seconds flat, so I'm happy! :rolleyes:

[johno]

LG - haha - I used to be like that until kids entered the picture. Not only do they mess up my systems, but they zap all my energy for things like orderliness... Maybe I'll pick back up where I left off when they are in college?!

Speaking of garden book authors, have you noticed that Barbara Pleasant is working for Mother Earth News now?

[jeanbean]

For a good laugh you must read "The 64 dollar tomato."

Here in the midwest we are a long way off from getting out into the garden. If it wasn't for being able to read up on plants I want to grow this year I would be going crazy. Can anyone say, "cabin fever?"

I have been reading "The New Seed Starters Handbook" to see which plants I should start indoors. Since I have a Jeffersonian garden in our local public gardens I purchased "Thomas Jefferson: The Garden and Farm Books."
It is a bit dry, however, for those interested in historical plant references it can't be beat.

And "The Sweet Pea Book" by Graham Rice is lovely.

Jean