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NEW! The Resilent Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times by Carol Deppe 384pp, 2010, $30

Scientist and author Carol Deppe offers readers an inspiring approach to gardening. For many, gardening is a hobby-a source of solace and an experiment in self-sufficiency. Gardens are designed to offer up good things during good times-handfuls of bulbous tomatoes after weeks of careful watering, weeding, and monitoring for invading insects, for example. But what happens when gardeners-along with the rest of society-face uncertain times?

Uncertain times, caused by an unstable economy, changing weather patterns, or personal injury, result in an expanse of time when the "garden suffers because people have other priorities. " With this premise in mind, Deppe introduces the concept of resilient gardening. In Deppe's world, gardening transcends the world of leisurely pursuit and transforms into an act of empowerment.

In twelve intensely detailed chapters, The Resilient Gardener empowers readers with the knowledge they need to design, build, and maintain gardens that can withstand intense hardship and thrive despite periods of complete neglect. The first half of the book marries the practice of gardening with emerging global issues, such as climate change, increasing attention to weight control, and the rise of food allergies. Readers must first achieve a firm grasp of how these issues intersect with the process of gardening in order to fully benefit from the hands-on guidelines provided later in the book. Deppe's analysis is thorough; her research delves deep. By discussing the interaction between gardening and prevalent world issues, she establishes gardeners as hubs of sustainability and survival, their individual efforts producing movements of resilience that can benefit society as a whole.

One of the major strengths of this book-and what sets it apart from the deluge of gardening books currently on bookstore shelves-is the union of Deppe's scientific knowledge with her personal gardening experience. The second half of the book details the five essential crops of self-reliance-potatoes, corn, beans, squash, and eggs-and how to grow them. Though these sections are largely "dip and skip" depending on the reader's level of knowledge, they are expressed in crisp, detailed, and incredibly fluid prose. Deppe is able to transmit the nitty-gritty of gardening through invaluable parcels of personal anecdotes that make the material relatable and a pleasure to read.

Deppe's unique approach to her topic makes The Resilient Gardener an appealing selection for both experienced and beginner gardeners, as well as readers interested in issues of sustainability and global reform.

NEW! The Urban Homestead:
Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living
in the Heart of the City
by Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen $18, 2008, 312pp.

The Urban Homestead is the essential handbook for a fast-growing new movement: urbanites are becoming gardeners and farmers. Rejecting both end-times hand wringing and dewy-eyed faith that technology will save us from ourselves, urban homesteaders choose instead to act.

By growing their own food and harnessing natural energy, they are planting seeds for the future of our cities.If you would like to harvest your own vegetables, raise city chickens, or convert to solar energy, this practical, hands-on book is full of step-by-step projects that will get you started homesteading immediately, whether you live in an apartment or a house.

It is also a guidebook to the larger movement and will point you to the best books and Internet resources on self-sufficiency topics.

• How to grow food on a patio or balcony
• How to clean your house without toxins
• How to preserve food
• How to cook with solar energy
• How to divert your grey water to your garden
• How to choose the best homestead for you

The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
by Eliot Coleman $30, 2009, 250 pp.

"'Attention to detail is the major secret to success in any endeavor,' writes Eliot Coleman on page 156 of this absorbing and happily detailed report on his ongoing efforts to grow flawless vegetables without hothouses on the

From the bestselling author of The New Organic Grower and Four-Season Harvest, a revolutionary guide to year-round harvests of fresh, organic produce—with little or no energy inputs.

Choosing locally grown organic food is a sustainable living trend that’s taken hold throughout North America. Celebrated farming expert Eliot Coleman helped start this movement with The New Organic Grower published 20 years ago. He continues to lead the way, pushing the limits of the harvest season while working his world-renowned organic farm in Harborside, Maine.

Now, with his long-awaited new book, The Winter Harvest Handbook, anyone can have access to his hard-won experience. Gardeners and farmers can use the innovative, highly successful methods Coleman describes in this comprehensive handbook to raise crops throughout the coldest of winters.

Building on the techniques that hundreds of thousands of farmers and gardeners adopted from The New Organic Grower and Four-Season Harvest, this new book focuses on growing produce of unparalleled freshness and quality in customized unheated or, in some cases, minimally heated, movable plastic greenhouses.

NEW! Small-Scale Grain Raising (2nd Edition): An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing, and Using Nutritious Whole Grains for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers
by Gene Logsdon $30, 2009, 307pp.

First published in 1977, this book—from one of America’s most famous and prolific agricultural writers—became an almost instant classic among

More and more Americans are seeking out locally grown foods, yet one of the real stumbling blocks to their efforts has been finding local sources for grains, which are grown mainly on large, distant corporate farms. At the same time, commodity prices for grains—and the products made from them—have skyrocketed due to rising energy costs and increased demand. In this book, Gene Logsdon proves that anyone who has access to a large garden or small farm can (and should) think outside the agribusiness box and learn to grow healthy whole grains or beans—the base of our culinary food pyramid—alongside their fruits and vegetables.

Starting from the simple but revolutionary concept of the garden “pancake patch,” Logsdon opens up our eyes to a whole world of plants that we wrongly assume only the agricultural “big boys” can grow. He succinctly covers all the basics, from planting and dealing with pests, weeds, and diseases to harvesting, processing, storing, and using whole grains. There are even a few recipes sprinkled throughout, along with more than a little wit and wisdom.

Never has there been a better time, or a more receptive audience, for this book. Localvores, serious home gardeners, CSA farmers, and whole-foods advocates—in fact, all people who value fresh, high-quality foods—will find a field full of information and ideas in this once and future classic.

"Interspersed with good-humored vintage anecdotes and his usual 'Contrary Farmer' commentary, this primer elevates the status of grain-growing on farms of all sizes (from the backyard on up) to a happy essential."—Jennifer McMullen, reviewed in The Ethicurean

So You Want to Start a Nursery
by Tony Avent, 340 pp., $25, 2003

For anyone who has imagined turning their love of plants into their dream job, this book offers a realistic overview of the tools and knowledge needed to succeed in the nursery business. Within the greater horticultural community, Avent and his Plant Delights Nursery are known for taking a high-spirited approach to a business that offers a select inventory of plants appealing to sophisticated gardeners. Befitting Avent's effervescent personality and commercial acumen, he steers clear of penning a purely technical manual, and alternatively presents a thoughtful, realistic overview on how to go about building and managing an enterprise based upon cultivating, marketing, and selling live plants. Avent writes for those aiming high in terms of income, as well

Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web
by Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis, fwd by  Elaine Ingham, $22, 2006, 196pp

This book is a welcome clarification of the hard science behind organic methods of gardening. Anyone who reads "Teaming with Microbes" will understand why soil is best understood from a biological rather than a chemical perspective: It's alive! But, because biology is inherently more compex than chemistry, it is often hard to grasp its everyday implications. Teaming's authors have cracked that nut with simple language and entertaining examples.

Using simple techniques and good design the author grows and eats abundant fresh food 12 months of the year in Maine. An excellent resource for cold climate gardeners, with crop profiles and a step-by-step illustration of methods.

The Backyard Berry Book provides the home gardener with a complete guide to growing strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, grapes, and kiwi fruit. It also includes details on soil nutrition and testing, important plant nutrients, and mulching.Discusses site

For every gardener desiring to add apples, pears, cherries, and other tree fruit to their landscape here are hints and solid information from a professional horticulturist and experienced fruit grower. The Backyard Orchardist includes help on selecting the best fruit trees and information about each stage of growth and development, along with tips on harvest and storage of the fruit. Those with limited space will

Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
By Lee Reich, Illustrations by Vicki Herzfeld Arlein 2004, 308pp, $17

Lee Reich provides a valuable guide to uncommon fruits and berries, which add an adventurous flavor to any garden. Though names like jujube, juneberry, maypop, and shipova may seem exotic at first glance, these fruits offer ample rewards to the gardener willing to go only slightly off the beaten path at local nurseries. Reliable even in the toughest garden situations, cold-hardy, and pest- and disease-resistant, they are as enticing to the beginner as to the advanced gardener. This expanded sequel to the author's celebrated Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Attention offers new fruits, new varieties, and new photos and illustrations to entice the reader into an exciting world of garden pleasure.

Even in these health-conscious times, with demand for organically grown foods fast increasing, it's still hard to find a good-tasting, locally grown, organic apple. Faced with an impressive rogue's gallery of potential insect pests--curculio, codling moth, and others--most orchard "experts" will tell you flat out that growing apples organically is impossible. For decades fruit growers have sprayed their trees with toxic chemicals in an attempt to control a range of insect and fungal pests. Yet it is possible to grow apples responsibly, by applying the

intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation.

Fortunately, Michael Phillips and growers like him didn't listen. For several years now, Phillips has been "doing the impossible" at Lost Nation Orchard--growing apples successfully using no artificial pesticides or fertilizers. His secret lies in hard work, creative marketing, and a willingness to observe and learn from nature.The definitive guide to growing apples wisely, naturally, and with gentle impact on the earth.

Since The Apple Grower first appeared in 1998, orchardist Michael Phillips has continued his research with apples, which have been called “organic’s final frontier.” In this new edition of his widely acclaimed work, Phillips delves even deeper into the mysteries of growing good fruit with minimal inputs. Some of the cuttingedge topics he explores include:

* The use of kaolin clay as an effective strategy against curculio and borers, as well as its limitations
* Creating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem through understory management of plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms
* How to make a small apple business viable by focusing on heritage and regional varieties, value-added products, and the “community orchard” model

The author’s personal voice and clear-eyed advice have already made The Apple Grower a classic among small-scale growers and home orchardists. In fact, anyone serious about succeeding with apples needs to have this updated edition on their bookshelf.

The Greenhouse Gardener's Companion
by Shane Smith   2000, $23, 544pp.

There's something refreshing about a gardening book that doesn't start out with soil. Smith (author of The Bountiful Solar Greenhouse) puts off the nitty-gritty subject until chapter nine. In the meantime, he covers such subjects as vegetables, flowers and herbs, light and temperature, ground beds and containers, and crop spacing and scheduling. This is not a complicated book; the operative word for it is "companion."

Building Living Soil booklet
32pp., $7

Basic understanding of and approaches to soil health. Soil fertility, Earthworms, Cover Cropping, Getting the Most out of Your Compost Pile, the Art and Science of Sheet Mulching, Rhizosphere Wars: Tree & Soil Health, Keyline Planning for Soil Improvement, Very Intensive Beds, Silt as a Resource, Roof Gardens Using Leaves, Soil Pesticide Detox.

NEW! Fresh Food from Small Spaces:
The Square-Inch Gardener’s Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting
by R. J. Ruppenthal 2008, 178pp, $25

Books on container gardening have been wildly popular with urban and suburban readers, but until now, there has been no comprehensive "how-to" guide for growing fresh food in the absence of open land. Fresh Food from Small Spaces fills the gap as a practical, comprehensive, and downright fun guide to growing food in small spaces. It provides readers with the knowledge and skills necessary to produce their own fresh vegetables, mushrooms, sprouts, and fermented foods as well as to raise bees and chickens—all without reliance on energy-intensive systems like indoor lighting and hydroponics.

Readers will learn how to transform their balconies and windowsills into productive vegetable gardens, their countertops and storage lockers into commercial-quality sprout and mushroom farms, and their outside nooks and crannies into whatever they can imagine, including sustainable nurseries for honeybees and chickens. Free space for the city gardener might be no more than a cramped patio, balcony, rooftop, windowsill, hanging rafter, dark cabinet, garage, or storage area, but no space is too small or too dark to raise food.

With this book as a guide, people living in apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes will be able to grow up to 20 percent of their own fresh food using a combination of traditional gardening methods and space-saving techniques such as reflected lighting and container "terracing." Those with access to yards can produce even more.

"While the information in this book will benefit all those seeking to grow and prepare their own food at home, it is especially informative for people with only limited space. Ruppenthal covers every food I ever heard of and a whole bunch I never heard of, like water kimchi(!) that can be grown indoors or outdoors where there is not enough room for a regular garden. This is the perfect answer to the question many people are asking me: How can I take charge of my own life now that food prices are soaring when I hardly have space for a container-grown tomato or two? Reading Ruppenthal, I get a distinct feeling that one can grow enough food to survive on down in the cellar and out on the porch."

The term "guerrilla" may bring to mind a small band of armed soldiers, moving in the dead of night on a stealth mission. In the case of guerrilla gardening, the soldiers are planters, the weapons are shovels, and the mission is to transform an abandoned lot into a thing of beauty. Once an environmentalist's nonviolent direct action for inner-city renewal, this movement is spreading to all types of people in cities around the world.

These modern-day Johnny Appleseeds perform random acts of gardening, often without permission.