They cover it all--from choosing your site and designing your garden to improving your soil, choosing and caring for your plants, and fighting pests and disease. Create the flower garden of your dreams with this comprehensive reference.

    He joins the healing of the land to the process of purifying the human spirit and proposes a way of life and a way of farming in which such healing can take place.

    With its inspiring photography, clear instructions, and friendly advice, you will be growing tomatoes, eggplant, peas, and everything in between in no time. This refreshed and updated edition has unparalleled depth of coverage, featuring more than 80 vegetables and herbs, with new vegetable cultivars and heritage varieties that can't be found in your local supermarket, and including new entries on grafted vegetables.A year-long planner and "vegetable doctor" section with troubleshooting tips make it easy to avoid a garden disaster. Whether you are an experienced gardener looking to expand your horizons or a foodie seeking your own organic or obscure vegetable varieties, "Grow Vegetables" makes thriving results achievable.

    Since the process takes place in a closed system, insects and smell are controlled, making it ideal for urban or business settings. The process is very fast, with compost usually ready to be integrated into your soil or garden in around two weeks.While bokashi has enjoyed great popularity in many parts of the world, it is still relatively unknown in North America. From scraps to soil, Bokashi Composting is the complete, step-by-step, do-it-yourself guide to this amazing process, with comprehensive information covering:Background—the history, development, and scientific basis of the techniqueGetting started—composting with commercially available products or homemade systemsMaking your own—system plans and bokashi bran recipes using common materials and locally sourced ingredientsGrowing—improving your soil with fermented compost and bokashi "juice"This essential guide is a must-read for gardeners, homeowners, apartment dwellers, traditional composters, and anyone who wants a safe, simple, and convenient way to keep kitchen waste out of the landfill.Adam Footer is a permaculture designer with a focus on soil building, food forestry, cover crops, water conservation and harvesting, and natural farming. He is a tireless promoter of bokashi to maximize the recycling of food waste and runs the website bokashicomposting.com.

    You (and your bees) will be buzzing with delight.From picking the right hive and bringing your bees home to surviving winter and collecting honey, experienced beekeeper Amber Bradshaw takes you on an easy-to-follow journey through your first year of beekeeping and beyond.Beekeeping for Beginners includes: Just the essentials—Learn everything you need to know to begin your first colony—written with brand new beekeepers in mind. Modern beekeeping—Start your colony off right with guides that feature the newest practices and current, natural approaches. Learn to speak bee—Clearly defined terms and a complete glossary will have you talking like a pro beekeeper in no time. Begin your beekeeping the right way—and avoid getting stung by mistakes—with Beekeeping for Beginners.

    John Kallas makes it fun and easy to learn about foods you've unknowingly passed by all your life. Through gorgeous photographs, playful, but authoritative text, and ground-breaking design he gives you the knowledge and confidence to finally begin eating and enjoying edible wild plants. Edible Wild Plants divides plants into four flavor categories -- foundation, tart, pungent, and bitter. Categorizing by flavor helps readers use these greens in pleasing and predictable ways. According to the author, combining elements from these different categories makes the best salads.

    Anyone with a clean kitchen, some basic equipment, and a closet shelf or shady flowerbed will be able to grow a bumper crop. This Handbook also includes an introduction to mushroom biology, a guide for supplies, and advice on discreetly integrating psychedelic mushrooms into outdoor gardens.Hand-drawn illustrations and full-color and black-&-white photographs provide the reader with steps in the cultivation process and exact identification of desired species.The four species detailed include two species that have previously had very little coverage: Psilocybe mexicana (a tiny mushroom used for millennia by indigenous Mexican shamans) and Psilocybe azurescens (a newly described species native to the Pacific Northwest and easily grown outdoors on woodchips).This innovative book also offers a wealth of information about the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in both traditional and modern contexts. Contributing ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison highlights the history, ritual and mythology of sacred Psilocybe mushrooms used in indigenous shamanic settings. The book’s authors offer insights into how these principles might be put into practice by the modern voyager, to provide, safe, healing and fruitful journeys.

    Transform your basics into designer fashions. Turn hardware store finds into statement necklaces or embellishments for a chic dress. Recreate red carpet-ready looks and add your personal touch. Filled with 30 step-by-step projects inspired by celebrities, designer runways, and classic styles, as well as tips from fashion insiders such as Rachel Roy, Olivia Palermo, and Rebecca Minkoff, I Spy DIY Style has everything you need for easy-to-make looks that will up your style quotient without sacrificing your budget.

    But there is an important and simple step toward reversing this alarming trend: Everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity.There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife—native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. In many parts of the world, habitat destruction has been so extensive that local wildlife is in crisis and may be headed toward extinction.Bringing Nature Home has sparked a national conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human well-being, and the new paperback edition—with an expanded resource section and updated photos—will help broaden the movement. By acting on Douglas Tallamy's practical recommendations, everyone can make a difference.

    Most books on smoking just give some elementary information and then are filled with recipes; this book is the reverse, scholarly information and theory as it applies to smoking meats and a few recipes that will get one started. While various recipes usually get the spotlight, it is the authors' opinion that the technical know-how behind preparing meats and sausages is far more important. There is a section with some basic recipes, but after reading the book one should be able to create his own recipes without much effort. The book explains differences between grilling, barbecuing and smoking. The sections on smokehouse design include over 250 construction diagrams and photos that cover most known methods: masonry, portable, wood, concrete, and drum smokers. After reading this book a reader will fully comprehend what can be expected of any particular smoker and how to build one that will conform to his individual needs. The book will benefit the serious smoker as well as the beginner.

    This complete guide, from the proprietors of Kombucha Kamp, shows you how to do it from start to finish, with illustrated step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting tips. The book also includes information on the many health benefits of kombucha, fascinating details of the drink’s history, and recipes for delicious foods and drinks you can make with kombucha (including some irresistible cocktails!). “This is the one go-to resource for all things kombucha.” — Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award–winning author and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods

    The beautiful animals immortalized in Disney 's "Bambi" are also the garden 's biggest pests. Increased hunting regulations have caused the deer population to swell to more than 30 million. At the same time, suburban expansion has led to a loss of natural habitat. The result? Deer are looking for food and finding it in gardens all across the country."50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants" makes keeping deer away as simple as choosing the appropriate plant. Instead of the typical barriers and fencing, expert plantswoman Ruth Rogers Clausen has chosen the 50 most beautiful (and least palatable) annuals, bulbs, ferns, grasses, herbs, perennials, and shrubs. Whether it 's the charming snow crocuses that bloom each spring or the vibrant, long-blooming Texas Sage, these 50 plants provide gardeners a chance to design a deer-proof garden without sacrificing style. Each plant profile includes a deer-resistance scale, tips on growth and care, zone recommendations, and gorgeous color photos showing the plant up close and in the garden setting. Also includes dozens of companion planting ideas. With the helpful and trusted advice in "50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants," gardeners can finally garden without fear of deer.

    That’s right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment, and in this groundbreaking text from mushroom expert Paul Stamets, you’ll find out how. The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called “mycelium”--the fruit of which are mushrooms--recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium’s digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and myco-gardening).  In this comprehensive guide, you’ll find chapters detailing each of these four exciting branches of what Stamets has coined “mycorestoration,” as well as chapters on the medicinal and nutritional properties of mushrooms, inoculation methods, log and stump culture, and species selection for various environmental purposes. Heavily referenced and beautifully illustrated, this book is destined to be a classic reference for bemushroomed generations to come.

    With Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide, Gladstar offers a fresh introduction for a new generation of gardeners and natural health and self-sufficiency enthusiasts.Thirty-three of the most common and versatile healing plants are profiled in depth to get the budding herbalist off on the right foot. Readers will learn how to grow, harvest, prepare, and use each herb. Step-by-step instructions explain how to prepare herbal teas, salves, syrups, tinctures, oils, and liniments to stock the home medicine chest. Simple recipes explore each plant's healing qualities - aloe lotion for poison ivy, dandelion-burdock tincture for sluggish digestion, and lavender-lemon balm tea for stress relief. Gladstar shows how easy it is to make safe, all-natural, low-cost healing remedies for common ailments.

    The book covers all the staples—avocado toast, grain bowls, greens, carbs, healthy mains, cocktails, and more. For Gaby, California is not so much a place but a state of mind, and this cookbook proves that no matter where you live, you can still apply the same philosophy. All it takes is finding the freshest produce you can, stocking up on some versatile pantry staples, and keeping flavors and techniques simple. After that, the only thing left to do is kick back, pour yourself a California Girl Margarita, and listen for those ocean waves.