Fruit and Vegetable Books

This is an excellent work for health buffs. It describes
a series of delicious and healthful juice preparations
that are simple to prepare. The "six pack" consists of
asparagus, dandelion, melons, cucumbers and pears in a unique
blend. The "bumpy ride" consists of apples, beets and celery.
The "power pack" consists of carrots, beets, oranges &
strawberries. There is an interesting ginger derivative
consisting of carrots, cantaloupe and ginger root.
The cited juice preparations will enhance any diet with
a proper alkaline balance and natural vitamin supplementation
resulting from the many delicious preparations described
in this work. It is a worthy purchase as a supplement to the
existing health regimen. In addition, people who work out
frequently will need the vitamin and mineral supplementation
of these juice preparations to replace depleted minerals
from strenuous physical activity.

Designed landscapes are usually and broadly described as being either English or French gardens. The English sort seeks to group trees, foliage and flowering plants as if growing randomly without a perceived design, usually favoring twists and turns in the landscape, avoiding large vistas, favoring more intimate perspectives, rejoicing in cul-de-sacs, easily adaptable to any surroundings. Of course, it is all neatly crafted, art to conceal art. A French garden, rejoices in design, favors focus and symmetry, celebrates the subjugation of nature to the landscaper's master plan, opens up, indeed enhances vistas, expands the horizon. It is also dynamically related to the structure with which it is associated (unless it is a stand-alone park, of course). Such close interdependence is absent in English gardens, hence the latter's pliability and popularity.

French celebration of design in gardening could not have remained immune to the revolution in plastic arts centered in Paris until the start of World War II. Thus Ms. Imbert's marvelous book which analyzes through renderings, photographs and text the impact of cubism in particular but modern art in general in French garden design during the first part of the twentieth century through the thirties. The works of Gabriel Guevrekian, Le Corbusier, André Lurçat, Pierre-Emile Legrain among others are analyzed in great detail, establishing the profound links between garden design, the structure it supported, and the "outside" aesthetic which nurtured both architecture and landscaping. Thus it is instructive to notice in the excellent illustrations, among other things, how, when the perspective is high, garden paths, flower beds, etc. mimic observable planes in, for example, cubist painting. That it worked so well is one of the miracles of modern art; that it has remained so unheralded outside France was one of the casualties of WWII as well as America's marked preference for English gardens and general distaste for the architecturally adventuresome. Of course, to influence architecture and landscaping, art must be identifiably formal. When it comes to gardening, Abstract Impressionism brings to mind weeds.

The book excels in bringing all strands together in meticulous order and clear detail. The photographs, given their vintage almost exclusively black and white, are well reproduced, make their respective points, and provide much pleasure in viewing. Color helps create texture, so history has denied us full appreciation of the beauties discussed. However, there's a short section of color plates at the end, of either designs, watercolors or current photographs of some of the items discussed. Pity there is not more color material available.

Dorothée Imbert's work is palpably a labor of love even if it also started as a graduate thesis for UC at Berkeley. It is thoroughly annotated, and not at all pedantic.

This delightful book has four lines of poetry on each page under a drawing of a particular vegetable or fruit. Not only are the drawings imaginative, and colorful, but this is an easy way to introduce children to the different vegetables and fruits. They will remember this book, as I have, for over 50 years. And they will want to read it to their grandchildren, as I do, and my Grandmother did for me.

As a lover of mushrooms and the out doors, i just had to have this book.
My friends and family spend many hours hiking in the woods Having this book as a sort of reference guide to take along,has made our hikes more interesting and productive.
The photos and detailed descriptions of the mushrooms are quite helpful when trying to identify an edible species.

The definitive book on apples if you are interested in all the varieties. For further and wider apple reading try Browning's Apples the Fruit of Temptation, and Juniper's The Story of the Apple.

This is one of the best general references regarding onions and other alliums. It should be on your bookshelf right between the Compendium of Onion and Garlic Diseases by Schwartz and Mohan and Allium Crop Science: Recent Advances by Rabinowitch and Currah.

a gardening friend of mine recommended this book to me to begin learning about organic vegetable gardening. although i don't have much gardening experience, this book is easy to follow and very helpful, explaining things step by step. it gives garden designs as well as information on composting and on growing specific vegetables. a great resource for experts and beginners alike!

The Patio Kitchen Garden by expert gardener Daphne Ledward (author or co-author of sixteen books on a wide range of gardening topics) is a highly practical, "user friendly" handbook to establishing and nurturing a simple patio or balcony-based fruit, herb, and vegetable garden to be personally harvested for delicious home eating. With the advice, instructions, and ideas laid out in the pages of The Patio Kitchen Garden, even a simple sunny window can provide great bounty; as clear "how to", step-by-step instructions illustrated with color photographs demonstrate how. If you would like your own little garden and are hard pressed for space in an apartment or condo setting, then carefully read through Daphne Ledward's The Patio Kitchen Garden!

After extensive reading on apples through history, I found this be very helpful. Well researched and nicely illustrated. Suggest also Brown9ing's The Story of the Fruit of Temptation, French's the History and Virtues of Cyder, and Juniper's Story of the Apple.
Can't go wrong.

Postharvest Physiology and Hypobaric Storage of Fresh Produce by Stanley P. Burg (CABI Publishing) Postharvest Physiology and Hypobaric Storage of Fresh Produce is dedicated to preserving the existing theoretical knowledge, applied research and technology relating to hypobaric storage in order to promote an understanding and appreciation of the method. The author's views regarding the postharvest behaviour of commodities at atmospheric pressure were developed in an attempt to explain the documented advantages of LP vs. CA storage and do not always agree with currently accepted concepts in postharvest physiology. Scientific readers may respond to some of this background information with scepticism and disapprobation, but if at the end of the day researchers are motivated to test these concepts, Postharvest Physiology and Hypobaric Storage of Fresh Produce will have been well worth the time and effort expended in writing.
`Controlled atmosphere storage has been the subject of an enormous number of biochemical, physiological and technological studies, yet it is still not known precisely how it works' (Thompson, 1998). Lipton (1977b) commented `It seems after 50 years of work on CA storage, we ought to at least try to see whether there is a common basis for our observations'. LP theory has been developed to a higher degree than the present empirical understanding of CA, but this knowledge is difficult for postharvest physiologists to evaluate unless they possess an intimate familiarity with thermodynamics, mass transport, refrigeration, vacuum technology and the physical laws applicable to an environment resembling that in which earth satellites orbit. It is not possible to plan an LP experiment and interpret its result without considering the manner in which mass and heat are transferred in the medium vacuum range and the influence this has on water loss and the gaseous gradients that arise within a commodity's intercellular spaces. The physical laws governing these processes will be reviewed to assist the reader in understanding the mechanisms that give rise to the unusual results attainable with LP described in the following Table. Postharvest physiologists can easily comprehend the biological factors, but may find the physical computations distracting. Therefore, relevant equations are presented in the Appendix, and computations are included as Examples at the end of each chapter, which the reader can ignore if he so chooses because the text summarizes each example's conclusions and interprets its significance.
The low-pressure storage method originally was called LPS or LP. Later, Tolle (1969, 1972) suggested the term `hypobaric'; Rynearson proposed the trade name `DormavacTM' (dormant in a vacuum) to describe Grumman's intermodal hypobaric container and the original `wet' LP method; more recently the service mark `VacuFresh' became synonymous with the `dry' LP method, and `TransVac' with a new `square' LP container design. Frequently used abbreviations throughout the text include RH (relative humidity), CA (controlled atmosphere storage), MA (modified atmosphere storage), NA (normal atmosphere storage), ICC (internal concentration of CO2) and IEC (internal ethylene concentration). Other abbreviations are defined in the index or when they first appear. To simplify comparisons between results obtained at atmospheric and subatmospheric pressures, the O2, CO2 and NH3 concentrations are expressed as per cent [O2], [CO2] and [NH3], where 2% [O2] refers to an O2 partial pressure of 0.02 atm. According to international conventions, the pressure-unit conversion constants are: 1 atm (standard) = 101.33 kPa (kilopascals) = 1013.3 mbar (millibar) = 760 mm Hg (mm mercury) = 760 torr = 14.696 psi (lb/in2).