Something to Think About

Every now and then I feel like sitting down with a good book, not just any good book, a good classic. My favorite author is John Steinbeck, I have never read a book of his that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed. He has such a wonderful way of writing that is perfectly descriptive, yet not too wordy. I like that his stories are true to life, not always ending happily and not every story works out neatly in the end. They are at times very harsh, but that’s what I love about them. I love that his endings have a way of making you think.

Yesterday I finally found some time to sit down with a cup of coffee and one of his books I haven’t read before, The Red Pony. I especially love the last last little short story in this book titled: Julias Maltby. It’s a wonderful story that makes you wonder about happiness and cultural norms and whether poverty has anything to do with money. This is why I love his books, they usually give me something great to think about and contemplate while I’m out working in the garden.

I have a few other books from the library on my “to read” pile and I can’t wait to find some time for them.

Who’s your favorite author? Do you love any of the classics?

Free Copy of “Stay” by Allie Larkin

I first met Allie through her blog Allie’s Answers, which has become The Greenists. If I remember correctly I came across her blog when looking for ways to make homemade cat litter. I’ve been reading her blog every since, and if you’ve been reading here you know that she comments occasionally here as well.

This is Allie, author of ‘Stay’ (photo courtesy of Allie)

When she asked me about hosting a day in June to feature her new book Stay, I was more than happy to get involved. I’m always ready to help a friend, especially when it’s something as great as getting your book published!

I’m usually drawn to the classics, anything by John Steinbeck or Ernest Hemingway, so I don’t read a ton of new literature (besides gardening books and cookbooks). I received a copy in the book last week and finished it in two sittings, a sure sign that it’s a good book (at least for me). This book is entertaining; a story about a girl that buys a German Shepherd puppy from Slovakia on-line after a few too many drinks the night after her best girlfriend marries her best guy friend that she was in love with. Of course you can imagine the things that transpire when a huge puppy shows up at the airport a few days later. I won’t ruin the story for you, so I’ll stop with that description.

This is one of Allie’s dogs, a German Shepherd named Argo (photo courtesy of Allie)

I will be giving away a copy of the book to one lucky reader. Comment on this post and you’ll be entered in the contest to win a free copy of Stay by Allie Larkin. If you’d like to read an excerpt from the book head on over to her website and download the first chapter.

What’s your favorite book?

Gardening Reference Books

I get lots of questions about gardening here on my blog. It’s kind of funny to me because I’m not a gardening expert. I grew up with gardening parents so I absorbed some of their knowledge during my childhood, but I only started gardening in earnest 5-6 years ago. Since then I’ve been reading tons of books about gardening, most of them from the local library. This is where I’ve gained most of my knowledge.

I do have a few that I have purchased that I use frequently as a reference guide for information. If you’re interested in gardening, buying a few good all-around gardening books is a good idea. They will give you quick reference guides for things like: composting, specific plant information, planting guides, and so much more. I bought a copy of Better Homes and Gardens New Garden Book many years ago and it has been an invaluable reference for me.

It’s a huge book, brimming with 600 pages of information on everything from composting and pest control (not organic pest control) and it includes a great amount of information on the culture of specific plants, bulbs and trees. I use this book often when looking up information specific plants or when I’m planting something and I’m not quite sure of the spacing. I do love this book and find myself flipping through it often, if not for information for the lovely photos. If you want to grow a wide variety of things, including edible plants, I’d recommend getting a copy of this book. I guarantee you’ll get your $16 worth out of it!

I have a few other books on my gardening library shelf. A few I’ve read over and over again like:
Midwest Cottage Gardening,
The New City Gardener: Natural Techniques and Necessary Skills for a Successful Urban Garden,
Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically,
Perennial Combinations: Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the Start ,
and of course my newest addition: The Winter Harvest Handbook which I’ve already read twice.

A few of the books I have are for inspirational purposes:
Stone in the Garden: Inspiring Designs and Practical Projects,
Cottage Garden,
Country Living Cottage Gardens,
and Garden Color (Better Homes & Gardens).

I also have a few on my “must buy” list:


What’s your favorite garden reference book? Any good ones to recommend?

Book Review: The Winter Harvest Handbook

I mentioned yesterday that I loved to read and that I was currently reading Eliot Coleman’s newest book The Winter Harvest Handbook. I’ve read his other books Four-Season Harvest and The New Organic Grower which are both great. When I read I keep a small notebook at hand to jot down info, quotes and other interested things. My notebook is organized into sections, one for each book, a section for plant ideas and a section for each month so I can jot down when I need to do specific things related to a time line.

While reading this book I found myself jotting down so many notes, I decided I’d better buy the book (so I did). Since the information in this book is seasonal and time specific, I knew it would be a worthy addition to my reference library. I’ll be referencing it often in my efforts to make the most of my garden throughout the long winters here in my zone 5 NE Ohio garden. I knew if I didn’t buy it I’d be constantly requesting it from the library trying to remember when to plant leeks or lettuce for a mid-winter harvest.

If you’re interesting in winter gardening at all, I’d highly recommend buying this book. Now is the time to start reading about winter gardening so you have a good understanding and can start planning for it. If I had spent a little more time last summer and fall I’d be harvesting a bounty of fresh spinach, leeks and other vegetables right now instead of waiting for my spring planted spinach and lettuce to mature enough to harvest. I’m really hoping to overwinter some carrots this year as well as some leeks.

This book is full of charts and graphs to help you understand what and when you need to plant specific crops for late fall, early and late winter as well as early and late spring harvests. Eliot does a great job explaining why we can grow food in our northern cold climates even though traditionally people don’t think you can. You just have to have an understanding of how the fewer daylight hours affect the maturation rate. The list of of specific cultivars they grow at the Four Season Farm that’s included in this book is a great resource and jumping off point for anyone interested in winter gardening. You can’t just plant any kind of lettuce in the winter garden.

While the book is written by a market gardener, and their techniques are done on a large scale, the ideas are easily translated to the small home garden. I enjoyed his previous winter gardening book (Four-Season Harvest), but it felt a bit more “out of reach” for me as a small grower without room for a greenhouse. In this book he goes into much greater detail about all the experiments they’ve done and what worked and what didn’t. It really makes is seem much more attainable for the small home gardening with things like those hoop houses I built over my raised beds were built with winter gardening in mind.

I really like that he recommends specific products, like lighter floating row cover instead of a heavier grade. Which crops they use soil blocks to start seeds for, when they start leek seeds and how and when they harvest different kinds of greens. I just ordered some more floating row cover and some greenhouse plastic for my hoop houses using his recommendations. You can be sure I’ll keep you posted on my efforts to harvest more from my garden in the winter months.

I’ll keep reading stacks of gardening books and let you know which ones are worthy of your time (an in depth feature that will be on my new blog – yep, blog redesign coming soon). Of course if you end up buying this book, buy through my amazon link above or in the sidebar, they give me a few cents and I certainly appreciate it (helps pay my hosting bills).

Have you ever thought about, or had experience with winter gardening? Any great tips or books you’d recommend?

Books, Books, Books and more Books

I read a lot. I don’t buy books, or I’d be penniless, I get them from the library. If I love the book I often buy it so I can read it again and again. This is the stack I’m reading currently, with a few others scattered about the house in my various reading points.

This time of year I’m pretty busy, so I don’t get as many books read as I would like. I find myself reading during any spare bit of time I can find; over breakfast, lunch and dinner, at night before going to sleep, for an afternoon break, in the evening. I still won’t get all the books read that I want to read, but that’s OK.

I generally have a notebook handy while reading so I can jot down quotes, ideas, plant recommendations, etc. Right now the book I’m thoroughly enjoying is The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses. More about it specifically tomorrow.

Do you like to read? Do you use your local library?