Through the combined use of the ideal growing compost for best nutrition, and Companion Planting methods for nutrition and pest/disease control; SFG is the gardening method of choice for millions of 'switched on' gardeners today.Along with Raised Bed and Container planting methods, SFG is another way that individuals can take back control of their food needs from the big corporations - and benefit from fresh organically produced vegetables - by growing their own easily and with minimum fuss!What You Will Find In This Book:1. An introduction to SFG - What it is all about.Growing vegetables in a square foot garden is all the rage just now - but what exactly is it all about? Here you will find out about the background to SFG and why it is so effective for growing fruit and vegetables of many kinds.2. How to construct your own Square Foot GardenSimple instructions for constructing a simple SFG frame - it does not get much easier than this!3. How to make your own 'special mix' of compost for infilling.;The 'secret sauce' behind the success of this intensive gardening technique, lays in the growing compound. Find out how to make top-notch organic compost to improve your soil and subsequent crop-yield.5. Guidelines for planting out your SFG.Simple and clear diagrams and pictures to get you started on your own SFG.6. Introducing Companion Planting - Good and Bad companions for your veggies.Companion Planting plays a crucial role in the success of a square foot or raised bed garden. Some great tips here to get your vegetables growing strong and proud.7. Beneficial herbs and Organic pest control.Herb gardening is extremely important in the control of destructive pests. Find out which herbs are more beneficial for your plants.8. Instructions on plant support and growing methods.Some instruction on how to go about supporting your plants so that you may get the best out of them and minimalize damage due to heavy crops.9. A list of popular vegetables and herbs to grow in your SFG, including planting, plant care and harvesting/storing your vegetables.A comprehensive list of good vegetables and herbs that will complement each other throughout the growing process, as well as how to harvest and store your crops for later use.

    If you need to fit homesteading into a few hours each weekend and would like to have fun while doing it, these projects will be right up your alley, whether you live on a forty-acre farm, a postage-stamp lawn in suburbia, or a high rise. The May volume includes the following projects: * Plant your summer garden * Decipher nutrition * Choose the right mulch for each plant * Make homesteading easy with teamwork The second edition has been revised and expanded to match the paperback, with extra photos and feedback from weekend homesteaders just like you, plus permaculture-related avenues for the more advanced homesteader to explore.

    The book contains concise and comprehensive listings of hundreds of herbs, vitamins, and supplements that can cure common medical conditions. This book has quick and easy references to all the information you need to maintain excellent health the natural way.

    But aren't they hard to grow at home? No! says orchid grower extraordinaire Steve Frowine. In this handy guide, he shows you step by step how to select the right orchids, keep them healthy, encourage blooms, and even propagate your own plants. Discover how to: * Select orchids that will thrive in your home * Water, fertilize, repot, and propagate orchids * Decipher complicated orchid names * Get familiar with favorite orchid varieties * Create spectacular orchid displays

    An at-a-glance profile reveals effective weapons to use against the slug (including beer), and there are smart new ways to confuse them and set them off track. Choose from those 50 slug-beaters, and inflict death the natural way, by chemical warfare, and by the "surprise" attack. Never has such a practical handbook been such fun to read.

    But few grow them successfully in their own gardens because they haven’t learned the simple techniques that make it possible. Expert flower grower Lisa Mason Zeigler introduces us to the long-blooming stars of the spring garden, the hardy annuals – those flowers that thrive when they are planted during cool conditions (instead of waiting until the warmth of spring).  Forget Some-Like-It-Hot, she advises, and give them a cool start. Plant them in the right spot at the right time, nestle their roots deep into rich organic soil, and stand back. In no time at all, you’ll have a low-maintenance, vibrant spring flower garden that keeps on blooming when other annuals are dead and gone.

    Stressing the utility of raised beds and wide rows, gardening expert Dick Raymond shares his time-tested techniques for preparing the soil, starting plants, and controlling weeds. With helpful photographs, clear charts, and profiles of reliable garden vegetables, Joy of Gardening will inspire you to grow your best crop ever.

    He has perfected the perfect way for anyone to have a garden without weeding, bending over, or using chemicals. If you follow his step by step methods and suggestions you will be assured to grow a beautiful and productive garden this year, even if you have never gardened before. The best part is that if the soil in your backyard is less than productive it doesn't matter at all. If you have sunlight and water, you will have a great garden this year. From the Arctic Circle in Northern Alaska to the heat of the desert in Saudi Arabia, people are using this method, and having great success. The booklet is full color with 78 pages, and has a perfect bind booklet binding.

    Jan Johnsen’s new book, Gardentopia: Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces, will delight all garden lovers with over 130 lushly illustrated landscape design and planting suggestions. Ms. Johnsen is an admired designer and popular speaker whose hands-on approach to “co-creating with nature” will have you saying, “I can do that!’This info-packed, sumptuous book offers individual tips for enhancing any size landscape using ‘real world’ solutions. The suggestions are grouped into five categories that include Garden Design and Artful Accents, Walls, Patios, and Steps and Plants and Planting, among others. Whether you are an experienced gardener or a landscaping novice, Gardentopia will inspire you with tips such as ‘Soften a Corner”, “Paint it Black”, and “Hide and Reveal”.

    Here’s how to ensure your plot provides fresh, healthy food all year round. Follow month-by-month, easy-to-follow advice on what to do on your allotment and how to do it. Pick up time saving tips and techniques on everything from pruning to dealing with pests. There’s clear guidance on when to sow, plant, and harvest for excellent resultsGet more from your allotment with this indispensable companion.

    Her spectacular photographs render the look and atmosphere of these gardens, while her text focuses on easily grown, readily available plants that are adaptable to a wide variety of climatic and soil conditions. In the back of the book—completely updated for this new edition—may be found specific horticultural information on a wide variety of cottage garden plants commonly available in the United States, glossaries of Latin and common names, and a list of sources for old rose varieties. The gardens in this beautiful book are not those of the great estates of England, manicured by staffs of professional gardeners. They are, instead, labors of love on the part of individual homeowners, many of whom started with bleak, rubble-strewn lots and went on to create the enchanted settings pictured here.

    Now DK brings this ancient practice into the 21st century, explaining how to grow and care for bonsai trees with a clear step-by-step approach.Offering easy-to-follow advice and simple photography, Bonsai demystifies the art of bonsai with sequences covering the traditional styles of Chokkan, Moyogi, Shakan, and Kengai, as well as deadwood bonsai styles such as Ishizuki, Yose Uye, and Sharimiki.For bonsai enthusiasts in search of fresh ideas, innovative techniques, and new ways to display their living art, Bonsai is the must-have book of the season.

    On the other hand, gardening itself could be the culprit: elaborate, traditional perennial borders; water-hungry or disease-prone plants; needy lawns; and high-maintenance plants that require staking or clipping all suck up precious hours. Simply put, we need to start gardening in a whole new way. In this inspiring book, Val Easton shows exactly how to have a low-maintenance garden that doesn't sacrifice style. You won't have to give up your favorite plants or settle for expanses of ugly bark nuggets. You just have to unlearn some bad old habits and pick up some good new ones. So, how do you go about making a "new" low-maintenance garden? First, design your garden with maintenance in mind—good-looking hardscape will both save weeding time and showcase your favorite plants. Second, simplify your garden routines—learn the most efficient planting and maintenance techniques and don't get stressed if everything isn't letter-perfect. Third, learn how to work with nature rather than against it. And finally, embrace home-grown fruits, herbs, and vegetables; well planted containers; and thoughtfully chosen plants.The New Low-Maintenance Garden doesn't just tell you how to garden in a whole new way—it shows you, through profiles and beautiful photographs of real gardens that embody low-maintenance techniques. The pressures of life are not likely to ease up anytime soon, but the lessons of this timely book will help you banish guilt over undone garden chores and revel in your garden successes.

    It describes more than 100 food plants and gives specific information on the growth habits, culture, harvest, and storage of each.

    From the balconies of Manhattan to the patios of Malibu to the backyards of Chicago, anybody with a few square feet of earth is doing their best to make their little corner of the world more gracious and beautiful. And the best thing is, you really don't have to be born with a green thumb to give life to a glorious garden. Anybody can do it with a little coaching. Which is where Gardening All-in-One For Dummies comes in.Puzzled by pruning? Baffled by bulbs? Can't tell a hosta from a hyacinth? Don't worry! This all-in-one reference delivers the know-how you need to transform your little patch of the outdoors into a blooming paradise. Drawing upon the expertise of the National Gardening Association, it gets you up to speed on:Basic gardening skills--from understanding your microclimate to using gardening tools to managing pests and common plant diseases How to design, plan and build a garden landscape that reflects your unique sense of style Selecting, planting and maintaining stunning roses Building a raised bed for your perennials and making them bloom in any climate Choose, grow and maintain annuals From amaryllis to spider dahlias to wood tulips--coaxing beauty from homely bulbs Enjoying nature's bounty by growing you own vegetables and herbs A veritable encyclopedia of gardening, this Gardening All-in-One For Dummies is an indispensable resource for novices and experienced gardeners alike. It brings together between the covers of a single volume seven great books covering:Gardening Basics Garden Design Roses Perennials Annuals Bulbs Vegetables and Herbs Your one-step guide to a beautiful garden, Gardening All-in-One For Dummies shows you how to experience the "purest of human pleasures" in your own backyard.