Markham Has Gardening Books for Sale (cont.)
We have picked out some new interesting garden books as well as some of our old favorites to offer for sale at our Saturday plant sales. They are now priced at 10% off list price for all customers and 30% off for our members. During the next few emails, we will be providing brief descriptions of the books we have available - check out the selection for yourself at our next plant sale on September 10.
What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?):
A Visual Guide to Easy Diagnosis and Organic Remedies
By David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth
From the publisher, Timber Press: "...provides an easy system for visually diagnosing any problem, and matching it to the right cure.
This innovative and easy-to-use guide is split into three parts.
Part One presents easy-to-follow, illustrated flow charts - organized by where on the plant the symptoms appear - that allow readers to accurately diagnose the problem. The format is so simple it doesn't even require knowing the name of the plant; all you need to know is whether the problem is affecting its roots, stem, flowers, or leaves. It does not matter whether the plant is a houseplant, perennial, vegetable, tree, or shrub.
Part Two offers a 100% organic way to fix the problem. From improper growing conditions and environmental factors, to molds, pests, and diseases, every problem has a safe, natural solution. Part Three shows photographs and drawings of stressed, damaged, and diseased plants that help with accurate comparison."
The Truth About Organic Gardening:
Benefits, Drawbacks, and the Bottom Line By Jeff Gillman
From the publisher, Timber Press: "Gillman's contention is that all gardening products and practices - organic and synthetic - need to be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine both whether they are safe and whether they accomplish the task for which they are intended. When gardeners are well informed about the precise nature and consequences of what they use and do in the garden, they are in a much better position to make responsible, effective choices.
If you've ever wondered about the merits of a specific insecticide, herbicide, or fungicide, or debated whether practices such as planting cover crops or companion plants are worth the trouble, you'll find the answers you've sought in these pages, along with a clear, careful, and good-humored analysis of benefits and drawbacks."
Teaming with Microbes:
The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web (Revised Edition)
By Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis
From the publisher, Timber Press: "Smart gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life - not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants and become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial, often toxic, substances. But there is an alternative to this vicious cycle. We can garden in a way that strengthens the soil food web - the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants.
Teaming with Microbes extols the benefits of cultivating the soil food web. First, it clearly explains the activities and organisms that make up the web. Next, it explains how gardeners can cultivate the life of the soil through the use of compost, mulches, and compost tea. The revised edition updates the original text and includes two completely new chapters - on mycorrhizae (beneficial associations fungi form with green-leaved plants) and archaea (single-celled organisms once thought to be allied to bacteria)."
