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Oh fine, blame ME... :) (Reply to this comment)
by arianej
I have this book sitting out in the livingroom right now, since I feel better being able to consult it for plant descriptions, information on planting and harvesting, etc. I do agree that with the newer varieties and hybrids, not all the information is applicable, unfortunately. I still think it's nice general guideline and is my favorite all-round gardening book.
A lot of the previous books I had seemed to be based more on eye-appeal than actual useful knowledge. They'd say things like, "First, prepare your vegetable garden bed." without saying HOW to do that! BH&G assumes that you need to know the basics, which is certainly true of me.
arianej
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Apr 24 '03
12:11 pm PDT
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Yo, black-thumb: (Reply to this comment)
by scmrak,  in Books
If it's a good gardening book, they're gonna have a map showing which growing zone you live in (four, maybe?) - that, not what it says on a package, should determine when you plant what. All the plants have different hardiness factors and growing seasons, so you have to plant with one eye on you local "average last frost" date and the other on the time remaining until your "average first frost." Makes it hard to see the soil, though...
You might want to look for a second gardening book that's tailored to your locality - New England or whatever. 'Round these here parts, we have hundreds - okay, dozens - of books on gardening in Texas, and this state spans at least four climate zones...
Luck!
Rex
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Apr 24 '03
12:37 pm PDT
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Re: Oh fine, blame ME... :) (Reply to this comment)
by owling
Well, it is partly your fault. ;)
Yeah, I like finally knowing a lot of those little details!
heather
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Apr 24 '03
1:00 pm PDT
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Re: Yo, black-thumb: (Reply to this comment)
by owling
"If it's a good gardening book, they're gonna have a map showing which growing zone you live in (four, maybe?) - that, not what it says on a package, should determine when you plant what. All the plants have different hardiness factors and growing seasons, so you have to plant with one eye on you local "average last frost""
Well, yes, but that's what I mean. :) There was a lot of disagreement on that front. The book would say something should be planted before the last frost, but a seed packet would say after, and vice versa, in quite a few cases.
Thanks for the luck!
heather
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Apr 24 '03
1:26 pm PDT
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Re: Re: Yo, black-thumb: (Reply to this comment)
by rmthunter
As an enthusiastic gardener (at least, I was when I had some space to garden in), I learned one thing: neither the books nor the seed packets are always right, because they can't take into account micro-climates. If you have an exposed area that is a bit lower than the rest of your yard, it will be more vulnerable to frost, for example. So you'll have to do some fine tuning.
Most states have agricultural extension services, and a lot of state-supported universities also offer soil testing (at least in the Midwest), if you really want to go that route.
And yes, gardening is terrific therapy.
Have fun!
Bob
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Apr 25 '03
4:04 am PDT
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Re: Re: Re: Yo, black-thumb: (Reply to this comment)
by owling
Yeah, I expect it to be one of those things where the first year a lot of things die, and in subsequent years, as we figure out what we're doing, more and more lives. ;)
heather
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Apr 25 '03
4:36 am PDT
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snowing! (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
Oh, right, New Hampshire. I'm very glad snow is behind us here in Nebraska! Um, this isn't for the organic gardener, is it? Or is there a balance?
Jan
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Apr 28 '03
9:20 pm PDT
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Re: snowing! (Reply to this comment)
by owling
It's supposed to be down to 25-30 again tonight. :(
It isn't about organic gardening, no, although it does try to stress natural solutions to things before the use of pesticides.
heather
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Apr 29 '03
4:33 am PDT
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