The Big Book of Gardening Secrets [Hardcover]

Charles W. G. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 1998

Scores of professional secrets for growing better vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers! Extend your growing season and increase yields with this thorough guide to every aspect of backyard gardening! Learn how to: -- Grow more and better-tasting herbs and vegetables -- Grow annuals, perennials, bulbs, even roses, in any climate -- Landscape with shrubs, vines, and trees -- Make compost and amend soil -- Create indoor and outdoor container gardens -- Cultivate bountiful berry patches and fruit orchards You'll also find low-maintenance shortcuts and money saving solutions to dozens of common gardening problems.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The "professional secrets" here involve such gardening tips and tricks as ways to improve soil by using organic matter and nutrients; how to make and use compost; ways to propagate plants by cuttings, layering, and dividing; how to grow better cool-season and warm-season vegetables; and how to achieve longer growing seasons and higher yields of vegetables. Smith also tells readers how to grow bigger and better herbs, grapes and berries, annuals, biennials, and perennials. There's a chapter on growing easy-care roses and one on growing shrubs and trees. Tips on harvesting and preserving vegetables and herbs are included, as well as charts, graphs, and illustrations. There are no surprising secrets, but the book is packed with invaluable information. George Cohen

From the Back Cover

Scores of professional secrets for growing better vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers!

Extend your growing season and increase yields with this thorough guide to every aspect of backyard gardening!

Learn how to:

-- Grow more and better-tasting herbs and vegetables

-- Grow annuals, perennials, bulbs, even roses, in any climate

-- Landscape with shrubs, vines, and trees

-- Make compost and amend soil

-- Create indoor and outdoor container gardens

-- Cultivate bountiful berry patches and fruit orchards

You'll also find low-maintenance shortcuts and money saving solutions to dozens of common gardening problems.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158017017X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580170178
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Gardening Books Out, March 13, 2000

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Book of Gardening Secrets (Paperback)

A wonderful book full of solid gardening secrets that everyone who has a desire to grow anything can benefit from. Written in down to earth layman's language The Big Book of Gardening has something for everyone: warm-season, cold-season, vegetable gardens, flower gardens, herb gardens.

In our spinning world today drops much that was good and proven behind in order to grasp the ever frenzied world of commerce and technology. Yet, many today desire to regain what was left behind, once such touchstone is nature. The natural world holds out secrets to those with eyes to see. The unfolding of a seed in to a plant that declares with flowers its eternal triumph over death is one such enlightenment.

If you are going to get one garden book this year get The Big Book of Gardening Secrets by Charles W.G. Smith; you will be wonderful pleased at the new insights that Smith give you and your garden will sing your praises in higher yields of both herbs, flowers and vegetables. Highly recommended.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Gardening secrets? Yeah, right., June 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Book of Gardening Secrets (Paperback)

This book contains very little in the form of gardening secrets. It does tell you all about various plants, what their characteristics are, and gives guidelines with regards to zoning and such, but I've yet to find an answer to a gardening question or dilemma when consulting this book. For example, here's an excerpt from a supposed "troubleshooting" table for vegetable problems: "Peppers -- problem: sunscald of fruit. cause: inadequate shading of fruit by leaves, often noticed after defoliation of plant during hot, dry weather." Great, so where's the troubleshooting? What should I do to prevent this? What's the practical solution? Where's the 'secret'?

Overall, very unimpressed with this informational book. It's fine if you want to learn about various plants, but not very practical for the gardener trying to yield a successful harvest.