Gardening Books

wonderful. when you read this work you can actually feel the soil, smell the grass, and taste the fruit. a greeat read

I feel a connection with David Masumoto. Not that I've met him or anything - in fact, there's a good chance I never will (although I keep hoping that one summer day I can make it over to his farm to pick peaches). No, this feeling is based on an impression that we have both fought the same fight over different things, for the same reasons. It is also because he writes so poignantly about a landscape I grew up in. Mr. Masumoto is an organic farmer in the valley of California, and his story is becoming more and more familiar to me as I see this way of life disappearing across the country.

A third generation Japanese American peach and grape farmer, David Masumoto inherited the family orchard from his father. He also had the heritage of his childhood memories of how that particular peach variety, Sun Crest, tasted and ran with juice unlike the pretty red baseballs that have passed for today's supermarket peach varieties. Mr. M wanted to show the world how delightful an old-fashioned peach could be.

When he took over his father's farm, he resolved to not only continue growing his Sun Crests, but to do it organically. This would prove challenging in our day and age of cheap, quick fixes; moreover, it would test his strongly felt ideals. The land needed to heal and replenish itself after years of chemical fertilizers and toxic pest control methods. Masumoto had to take his example from research on other organic farming practices, planting wildflowers to encourage beneficial insect life and sowing "green manure" crops to act as natural mulch and compost. All this took time, patience, and faith that his hard work would eventually pay off.

Epitaph for a Peach is rich in sensory descriptions, philosophy, and nostalgic flashbacks. It is a picture of the way a farmer's life is connected to the seasons, capricious weather patterns, and changing market conditions. Not incidentally, Masumoto also teaches about the obscure history of Japanese farmers in the Valley - something that even I, native to Fresno, had little idea of. Reading this book was a slow, thoughtful experience much in the same manner that one slows down to savor a rich fruit. Recommended to anybody interested in history, growing food, or the vanishing California landscape.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

Author David Masumoto has written an excellent vignette into the year in a life of a small-scale, family farmer. His passion for his life's work, his connection to the land, and his strong family values are so clearly evident in his writing. I think a lot of readers will be envious of the life he describes. I share many of his views on the value of small family farms and the need to focus on how food should taste. Masumoto's book will reonsate deeply with those of us who know what it means to be curious about how something grows, who look forward to the first ripe peach or melon of the year, who prefer to make things from scratch and sit down with all our kids at dinner.

It is rare to read a book where the author works miracles with his hands and his words. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction but finds it dry, without humanity. David Mas Masumoto is anything but dry. His land may be at times, but his poetic prose is anything but. His relationship with his family, his family's farm and nature is a rare combination. I highly recommend this read.

I live somewhat north of the area Mr. Masumoto writes about - where the San Francisco Bay Area Suburbs collide with the San Joaquin Farmlands. The Peach and Cherry Orchards and the Sweet Corn, Tomatoes and Strawberries are currently holding their own - but like Mr. Masumoto's Peaches and Grapes, only tenuously, and with great courage. If you would like to understand not only how these people live, but who and why they are, you should read this book. It is both beautifully written and thought provoking.

Book contains p[lenty of good solid info which is reliable. Print is large enough so that you dont have to stain your eyes to read so therefore it is good for older folks who love gardening and are perhaps retiring to Florida and want info for the area.

Really good information as to what will grow in Central Florida. Good map outlining the hardiness for plants. Describes native plants very well. Tells about the strange lack of rainfall in the Spring. Good for anyone living in Central Florida.

This was for my daughter, a new resident of Florida. She was very excited about the book and is looking forward to trying out many of the suggestions.

This is an excellent book to have on your book shelf. I work out in the landscape and this book is an excellent refrence book to have around. The only one thing that I would of liked to of seen is a little larger pictures with more detail, but this is not enough of a problem to drop a star rating. I am from London, England and the soil there is nothing like the soil here in Florida. I moved from there to Washington DC, the soil there is different too. So moving here was a whole new ball game...sandy soil where nutrients wont hold to well is where you need to know what will grow here and what to do, this book has it.

The book I've been looking for. Living in central Florida poses a challenge to landscaping. This book is informative, current and a major help in deciding how to do what you wanted to do with your property. It has become my guide to planning and planting for beauty and value.
I highly recommend this publication.

Reading over previous reviews, I am glad there are others who feel the same way as I do about this book. I read it as a child but when I recently recalled it, I could not remember the title and searched in vain for some time for books on hedgehogs and gardens! I don't know how I finally found it but I'm so glad I did. I purchased a copy immediately. I too used to pore over the map of the garden and wished I was there. It's a lovely, timeless book with fantastic illustrations and a sweet story line.

I remembered this book ever since my daughter used to get it out of the library. For years it was out of print, but luckily someone decided to put it back into publication.
This endearing tale of a near-sighted lady and the hedgehog who lives in her garden (and unwittingly becomes a walking bouquet) will delight everyone, young and old.
The illustrations are done in a charming watercolored pen and ink format, enhancing the fun of the story.

I've never forgotten this book, I loved it as a little girl and I just got a new copy of it. This is genuinely a delightful book and so delightful for kids. I read it over and over again.
If you have young kids you should get a copy of this book it is soo sweet and well drawn.
Wonderful, simply wonderful!!!

Just as my children were, my five year old grandson was enraptured by this wonderful, gentle story with its lovely humor! Hedgie the Hedgehog will find a lasting place in your child's (grandchild's) heart and mind! Give them a wonderful childhood memory, as vivid as reading with Grandma and baking cookies with her! Give them this book! They will never forget it!

Just as my children were, my five year old grandson was enraptured by this wonderful, gentle story with its lovely humor! Hedgie the Hedgehog will find a lasting place in your child's (grandchild's) heart and mind! Give them a wonderful childhood memory, as vivid as reading with Grandma and baking cookies with her! Give them this book! They will never forget it!

After seeing references to this book in several articles about Permaculture, I knew I needed to get it. So I looked, and I buy a lot of used books from Amazon, so I was hoping to get it that way. No luck. So I found a publisher in India, Vedic publishing and ordered from them. A month later(Air Mail) I got it. It is an easy read, throughly enjoyable. The author challenges you to rethink your daily life and question where your food comes from now. Because a book is hard too find and in demand, it shouldnt be expensive (sheer greed).

Fabulous book. Inspiring look at how not to mess around with Mother Nature. Nature is not the enemy we have been led to believe! I love this book, and it was one of the first to make an indelible impression about changing one's philosophy of how to possibly go about organic farming (I was an organic farmer later on). Poses searching questions (and one man's answers) that every gardener and farmer should look for the answers to, regarding how much we need to interfere with natural processes to produce food. Also a thoughtful look at balancing nutritional needs with what is seasonally available. Vital reading for anyone interested in permaculture, sustainable agriculture, or just a soul-lifting antidote to modern, corporate food production.

I read this book years ago when it was first published and it has been a magor influence on me and my gardens for all these years. I've followed Fukoka's ideas as much as closely I can living in a city and have had wonderful results. He is right, let nature do the work. My garden is the most beautiful in the neighborhood, and without any pesticides, fertilizers, tilling, or backstrain. Buy this book, Gaia's Garden, and Forest Gardening. They all follow the naturalistic, symbiotic, permaculture mode that mother nature has been evolving for a billion years - just plug into the natural order and start growing!

Some have said that the Fukuokan philosophy is the tap root of what is now more broadly called Permaculture, only Masanobu Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer, working with rice and winter grain in a southern Japanese climate. Both are no-till methods that shun the use of chemicals. However, Fukuoka should be set apart from farming in general and Permaculture in particular, in that The One-Straw Revolution is essentially a profound work of literary philosophy. Indeed, in many cases it reads like a naturalist's bible. Although the book is dressed in the language and anecdotes of a farmer, the message looms much larger. We read of a man who came to terms with the problem of death, and then decided to form a profoundly new (or is it old?) relationship with nature. In essence, the nugget of his wisdom is that, instead of struggling to control and command nature, we must learn to work with and learn from nature. Allow me to share one quote:"To build a fortress is wrong from the start. Even though he gives the excuse that it is for the city's defense, the castle is the outcome of the ruling lord's personality, and exerts a coercive force on the surrounding area. Saying he is afraid of attack and that fortification is for the town's protection, the bully stocks up weapons and puts the key in the door." Now I ask you, does the following paragraph sound like the words of a farmer or a philosopher? From the face of it, one might think Fukuoka is here criticizing the nuclear arms race, but he is actually talking about the warlike mindset of farmers who see leaf-munching pests as evil enemies that must be fortified against, sought out and destroyed. Whether we are talking about bull weevils or communities, though, his advice is sound. We must change our frame of reference and establish a different relationship with the world. Concise and yet elegant, Fukuoka's prose is pregnant with meaning. Altogether, this work provides poetic an intelligent critique of industrial agricultural practices and the linear notions of nature and progress that underlay those practices. In fact, Fukuoka goes as far as to declare that the scientific method itself limits our experience and knowledge of nature. An invaluable, timeless work that will move you, even if you have never picked up a hoe.

j.w.k.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please get on board, the Fukuoka earth ship is departing for Earth. All I can say is to get involved with the growing community of Fukuoka farmers around the world. Please come and visit us at fukuokafarmingol.net if you have any inclination towards ecological farming and leaving behind the fear of growing your own food because you are afraid the results will not be what you want or because you are afraid to damage the soil. Masanobu points the way to farming without destruction.

Quick and to the point answers about plants and allergies. A great book for what plants are good for in the house or yard and why. If you have mold or animal allergies there is a chapter for those too. My favorite chapter is on houseplants that help with indoor air quality.

Anyone who has read Tom Ogren's book "Allergy Free Gardening" knows it is the bible of all allergy books. I recommend this book just as highly -- Ogren's scientific, common-sense approach to allergies is something that will benefit anyone with allergies, and anyone who has friends or relatives with allergies. I very highly recommend both of these books!!

Safe Sex in the Garden should be required reading for anybody that is in any way involved with making decisions on what plants will be part of both our public and private spaces. Statistics only confirm how pervasive allergies are in the Los Angeles area and the toll this condition takes on the quality of our daily lives and work. I wish for full disclosure from plant growers regarding the potential health impact of the supposed convenience of this cultivars and more widespread knowledge on what company each plant should keep. Thank you. This book could improve the lives of many of us.

You have to love a book with a title like this. You might think a book about allergies and plant sex would be dull, but Ogren's writing style is lively and he knows how to convey information in a fun way. I wish he'd been my science teacher in high school! Everyone who's thinking about doing some landscaping, or has allergies, should read this. I know it's made me think more carefully about what I plant.

This and Ogren's previous book, "Allergy-Free Gardening" should be on everyone's shelf, whether they garden or not. If you want to know why allergy incidence has quadrupled in the last few decades and asthma deaths have reach alarming numbers, this book explains it. Ogren's OPALS ranking scale can help us choose appropriate trees for our own gardens, plus he gives lists of recommended ground covers, poisonous plants, "super trees" and discusses pet allergies and all sorts of other relevant topics.

The book is well-written and easy to understand, even when your sinuses are clogged and your eyes are running.

This book is so helpful that I bought an additional one for my daughter in college. We are about 90% raw and this book is really helpful with real recipes we can use.

It is a good book just not what I wanted. Not the kind of recipes I was looking for.

Sproutman Publications is a specialty publisher with an impressive roster of health books to their credit. One of the best of these is the "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook" by Steve Meyerowitz who began his interest in the relationship of foods to health in 1975 when he sought to deal with a lifetime condition of allergies and asthma. After the traditional medical establishment had failed him for some twenty years, he was able to restore his health through diet and fasting. he at 100% live foods for five years, practices 'fruitarianism -- a diet of fruit, nuts and sprouted seeds -- and fasted on raw juices for as long as 100 days. The resulting improvement to his personal health was amazing. In "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook", Steve has amassed superb collection of recipes for sprout breads, cookies, soups, and salads, as well as 250 additional low-fat, dairy-free, vegetarian recipes. The recipes are presented after the reader benefits from an informational presentation on the pros-and-cons of dairy, dehydrating foods, nutrition charts, sprouting, food drying, low temperature cooking, how to be a healthy vegetarian, and so much more. From Cashew Cottage Cheese; Mighty Millet Bread; Sunflower Nut Milk; and Banana Chips; to Manhattan Sprout Chowder; Braised Tofu; Spinach Marinade; and Creamed Potato Mash, "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook" will prove to be a popular and invaluable addition to the cookbook collection for anyone having to deal with the problems of food related allergies and illnesses, as well as the recipe collections for general vegetarians. Also very highly recommended for those concerned with food related health issues are the other titles from Sproutman Publications (available through their website at www.sproutman.com) including: "The Organic Food Guide"; "Power Juices, Super Drinks"; Juice Fasting & Detoxification"; Wheatgrass: Nature's Finest Medicine; "Water: The Ultimate Cure; and "Food Combing and Digestion".

I got this book because I wanted to make sprout bread. The book is very informative. But 95% of the sprout recipes are for wheat. That is great if you want to sprout wheat, but I don't. It does repeat the same info in many parts of the book. But I would say over all I still say it is a great book. I am on a special diet so a lot of what he has in his recipes I can't use. But I did learn a few things.

I guess I'm not the typical reviewer here - I am interested in healthy eating, but without the context of a major life change for myself and my family of five... I'd like to find new ways to eat well, without undermining our entire familiar (mostly vegetarian, mostly well-balanced) diet.

Let's start with what this book IS: an excellent guide to using all types of sprouts, and to which types are good for which occasions - baking, stir-frying, salads, etc. It's also a rather overt advertisement for "Sproutman's" own website and sprouting tools (sprout bag, greenhouse, seeds, etc); fair enough.

The book is full of interesting, simple recipes and ideas for using sprouts either raw or with low temp cooking to get the most nutrition out of every green, crunchy bite. He's also thrown in a bunch of related nutrition stuff - non-sprout items like vegan ice creams and helpful alternatives to salt and other seasonings.

Still, I found that most of the recipes were impractical for family cooking. If two cups of sprouted wheat make a single small loaf or several crackers or cookies, it doesn't take long to realize I'm going to need wheat berries bursting out of every corner of my tiny kitchen in order to create one meal for the five of us.

And that's just bread! To create enough sprouts for us to eat a single salad, a single stir-fry, a single helping of sprouted nuts... well, we're probably going to need to renovate other areas of the house to accomodate all the grow-bags or baskets.

Also, many of the recipes are just variants on previous recipes. Like, he'll take a page to describe how to make a cracker, and then ANOTHER page - this is just an example from memory - on how to make seasoned crackers, and it's obvious the ingredients and steps are identical, just with seasonings added.

Finally, having tasted sprouts and fermented products, I have some idea of what kinds of flavours to expect. Suggesting that his fermented "rejuvalac" beverage will taste similar to lemonade sounds way overblown. He actually hints that it may taste more "like sauerkraut" - to me, that's a BIG difference. Sorry, but I don't curl up on a summer's day with a tall, cool glass of sauerkraut.

Similarly, I realize our dependence on added sugars is overblown, but if I call something a "cookie", my kids (10 & 11) are going to know I'm lying if it's only sweetened with natural sprout maltose and a few raisins. Yes, sprouts give a nice malty sweetness to bread - but only the most idealistic parents would believe kids would accept it as a special-occasion treat.

I guess I was looking for a book that would help me incorporate sprouts into every aspect of our regular household dishes - stir fries, yes, but also to add flavour/nutrition to standard yeast breads, cakes, cookies, veg patties, etc.

Being almost totally vegan (he practically apologizes in the one section where he asks you to put a bit of butter into your rice cereal), there is too little range of dishes for our family's tastes and the dishes offered seem too monotonous for long-term enjoyment.

This book may be ideal for a single person or a couple who want to try an "extreme" veg or raw-foods or minimal-cooking lifestyle. For our family lifestyle, the overhaul required is too enormous to even begin imagining - and trust me, I have plenty of imagination!

Okay, so it's a story we've all heard before, but that does not change the pure loveliness of this story of a seed that does not quite understand its purpose. The prose is beautifully sing-song and the art is enchanting, both handy for drawing this to its sweet and touching conclusion.

I love every book of Jan Karon that I have read. This one was very inspirational. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jan Karon is an excellent writer. I gave this book as gifts with packets of "moonflower" seeds attached and it was received with awe and appreciation. It's a very fun book and you can read not only the story and enjoy the illistrations, but make your own annalagies in your own life.

Such a sweet story and full of encouragement. I hope there are some primary school teachers and parents that read this little story to children. The story is simple and with the little bit of repetition makes it easy to remember, but still ends with a surprise. It surely is good for all ages!

Many times it takes an adult to get the meaning of a child's story. Patience is the thing that is stressed and there are so many who need to learn that when you are patient, good things can happen. I am a Master Gardener and Moonflowers are a favotie plant of many of us. I give this book as a reward to other Master Gardeners who have served our association in some way. I also include a jelly jar and a pack of Moonflower seeds. Jan Karon is also a favorite author and I read everything she writes.

Sybil N. Phillips, Alabama

A great book for plant lovers in the high plains, or the high desert. This book contains inspiring photographs and great plant lists (the most valuable part of the book, as these lists are nowhere to be found elsewhere), as well as wise advise from a well experienced gardener. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading nearly every page of this book. On the downside, the plants in the book may be difficult to find, unless you join a rock garden club and grow the plants from seed. I wish the plant portrait section was three times as big. But overall, this book is indispensible.

I agree with others, lovely prose, lovely photos, good organization. However, if you are looking for a true mountain (high altitude) gardening book, this won't do it. The author is of course speaking of her own experiences but I purchased this book believing it would help me to be a "Colorado Gardener." Not one word on dealing with elk and deer attacks on your plants or that short and really unpredictable growing season above 7500 feet in the Rocky Mountains. This book did make me miss my old mid-Atlantic garden badly!

Lauren Springer is a gifted writer as well as a gifted gardener. She has a knack for passing on her knowledge in a very interesting way, making the book more than just a plant encyclopedia.

In part, this book is a novel about her own garden, but she goes far from her own chunk of dirt to show and describe plants which work in a variety of climates. If there's any one gem I pulled from this book it is to plant the correct plant for the specific micro-climate rather than trying to adapt the micro-climate for the plant you've chosen. This is much easier to do, more rewarding, and requires less maintenance.

This book is a good read now, and a good reference for later on.

I bought this book back in the mid-1990's after attending a lecture by Lauren Springer. Of all the books in my extensive garden book collection- I would list this as one of the top 3. As a Landscape Architect, I frequently review the suggested plantings and incorporate many of the plants she suggests into my xeriscape designs for clients. When her book first came out, it was difficult to find seeds (let alone plants) that are profiled in the book. Fortunately, most of the plants are available now but some may require ordering from places like High Country Gardens.

As others have said, she has an interesting writing style that will have you reading and enjoying the text- not just looking at the pretty pictures!

In The Undaunted Garden: Planting For Weather-Resilient Beauty, gardening expert offers the novice gardener a wonderfully written, illustrated and presented guide to the art and science of growing and maintaining a lovely year-round garden despite harsh climatic conditions. Here are to be found all the information, guidance, tools, and ideas and inspiration to achieving a healthy garden suited to environmental conditions. Springer's informative and engaging text is enhanced with lists of more than 1,000 attractive, resilient plants; complete and detailed descriptions of 64 especially recommended plants; and more than 250 superb photographs. The Undaunted Garden is a core addition to any personal or community library gardening reference collection!

This book is beautifully illustrated and very comprehensive. I know I'll be using it for many years to come. It is a cut above the others.

A beautifully written and edited book that is a must have for the avid gardener. Possibly the 'Bible' of California native plants. I keep it close by for reference or when heading out to do my buying.

I bought this book several weeks ago and am very happy with it! Lots of helpful and useful information...and great photos too. This book is definitely a great resource if you are interested in landscaping with California native plants.

In additon to a wonderful collection of native plant profile which you'd expect from a book of this kind, this book also provides plant selection recommendation for different function or desired feature which I found to be most practical. You also get a list of nurseries for purchasing, botanic gardens or similar for learning native plants. That's not all. The short yet informational introduction of the history, design and care of native plant is educational. It's a great book for an out-of-state person like me, native plant beginners, or even professionals.

This is one of two must have books if you are interested in gardening with native California plants. This book is definitely the 'guidebook' half of that collection (the other being Designing California Native Gardens). It does an excellent job of getting you acquainted with all the different plants you may be wanting to bring into your garden, and in giving you actual photographs of the plants! One giant peeve of mine in gardening books and guidebooks is the use of hand done illustrations- in other contexts they are charming but you really can't get a feel for a plant unless you are looking at its' actual picture. It just gives you a much better feeling for the plant- the texture of it's leaves, the weediness of its' growth habit, that kind of thing. This is a book you will find yourself using as a reference again and again. Five stars are given enthusiastically.

This is the greatest book. It has answered all my questions and the ones I didn't know to ask. Highly recommended to anyone starting a business in flowers.

This book is a great resource if you want to grow flowers for a living. I have to warn you, if you love flowers as much as I do, you may have a problem cutting and selling them. Oh, well. I still do sell tomatoes.

When they think of farming, most folk conjure up images of grains, vegetables, and livestock. One very active and lucrative area of specialized farming is the growing and harvesting of flowers -- mostly for the ubiquitous flower shops that are to be found in very town and village. Now in a newly revised and significantly expanded edition, "The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide To Raising And Selling Cut Flowers" by Lynn Byczynski (who draws upon her considerable experience and expertise as the publisher and editor of the monthly industry newsletter 'Growing for Market' and her operation of the Wild Onion Farm in Lawrence Kansas) is the ideal instruction manual and guide for novice and experienced gardeners and farmers alike who wish to take full advantage of new techniques for prolonging their harvests, utilizing greenhouses, selecting flower cultivars, and post-harvest handling for growers throughout North American supplying commercial markets with their flowers. Enhanced with a resource directory, complete with sources for seeds, plants, supplies, and expert information on organic production under the guidelines and standards of the National Organic Program, "The Flower Farmer" will prove to be as valuable as it is indispensable whether growing flowers for fun, family and friends in the back garden, or for commercial profit on the acres of a farm.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Lynn Byczynski's book is terrific! It has all the information that you need to pursue a career as a flower farmer. It has given me the information that I was seeking to make a career change and become a farmer's market flower grower. Especially appreciated the "Source and references" section.

The author spends a great deal of time telling you how to plant, transplant, fertilize, etc. She spends way too much space on basics of horticulture. Surely, anyone interested in selling flowers already knows how to grow them! The Ball RedBook would be a better reference for plant-specific growing advice. This book has extensive information about marketing and field yields, but I would take her advice with a grain of salt. I do not agree with some of her calculations and her other information is so far off the mark that I do not trust her opinions in this regard either.

The best info in this book is from her "case studies". The farmers she interviews give good information about their methods and mistakes, but very few specifics about the most important topic: preservation. Just as top chefs will alter recipes so that no one can duplicate their materpieces exactly, most flower growers are very tight-lipped about their secrets and will write pages and pages without giving specifics. This book is true to form. "Proper contitioning" tips go no farther than adding sugar or asprin, or buying commercial (and expensive!) potions.

My greatest complaint has to do with her guide to cut flowers at the end of the book. Some flowers that keep beautifully (after conditioning) are dismissed as having "no vase life". For example: Poppies and Cleome are dismissed as lasting a day or two, but using certain methods my Cleome lasted 2 WEEKS in the vase and won a blue ribbon at the county fair, and poppies can fetch $5 a stem and last 7-10 days if you do it right. "Flowers for Sale" by Lee Sturdivant has much better conditioning and plant selection information.