Looking for encouragement or specific directions on how to plan and produce a good garden? Check the library! Here are some of the books we have found most helpful:
The Organic Gardener by Catherine Osgood Foster (Knopf, 1972). The source of our cold frame sketch, this book has helpful illustrations, specifics on growing most vegetable and herbs and fighting their pests, and some recipes (How about vegetarian chili, dandelion wine, or rhubarb conserve?), in addition to some excellent explanations of the reasons for organic gardening and a balanced ecology.
The No-Work Garden Book by Ruth Stout (Rodale Press, 1971). Mulching and organic gardening techniques are recommended to lighten the work load.
The Food-Lover’s Garden by Angelo M. Pellegrini (Knopf, 1970). This author inspires any food-lover, especially lovers of Italian food, to invest the time and effort in gardening for the pleasure of the harvest. And it’s fun to read.
How to Grow Herbs for Gourmet Cooking by Frederick O. Anderson (Meredith Press, 1967). Garden plans, cultivation, herb lore, and recipes make this one of the best herbals I have read.
Growing Up Green: Parents and Children Gardening Together by Alice Skelsey and Gloria Huckaby (Workman Publishing Co., 1973). This one is not exactly a gardening manual, although it has a series of “5-foot gardens,” but we’ve added it because it’s a great source of ideas for teaching children— as well as city-bred parents —how to see and enjoy and understand things around them — bird-watching, leaf printing, multiplying plants and kitchen gardening.
The Know-Nothing Gardener’s Guide to Success by George F. Hull (Hawthorn Books, 1969). This guide focuses on planning your lot —choosing trees and shrubs, maintaining a good lawn, planning for privacy, with some flower and vegetable gardening. Some allowances must be made for the “suburban” thinking of the author; for instance, “Plant taller shrubs at the outer corners of the house. Select kinds which at maturity will not be much taller than halfway to the eaves.”
One book which, at least according to the title should fit this neighborhood’s needs in The Postage Stamp Garden Book by Duane G. Newcomb (Tarcher, 1975).
This is just a start on good books. Most will provide some helpful hints and/or inspiration. Other sources of information are Organic Gardening and Farming Magazine (Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pa.) which may sometimes seem overzealous in the organic approach to those of us who don’t plan to begin homesteading, or a bit discouraging when a “small” garden is “only” half an acre, but almost every issue has something of interest and the winter issues are particularly helpful with their indoor and container gardening articles.
Seed catalogs are also informative. Read them for planting times, light requirements, plant height and spacing, maturation times, and photos of the plants.
Missouri Botanical Gardens offers an Answering Service if you need to talk to someone about a particular gardening problem. Someone is available on weekday mornings from 9-12.
Originally published in The Paper, March 1976.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: The source prints “most vegetable and herbs” and “needs in The Postage Stamp Garden Book”; apparent printed errors retained.
Original source: SD_Times1976_03.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
