Garden Wisdom and Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Plant, Grow, and Harvest [Paperback]

Editors of Rodale Books (Author), Judy Pray (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2010

The latest addition to the bestselling Wisdom & Know-How series is a complete home reference for everything you need to know about gardening - from soil and fertilizers to growing flowers and vegetables

Garden Wisdom & Know-How is a large-scale practical guide to planting and maintaining a garden, indoors or out. The chapters are organized by topic—garden techniques and tricks, the flower garden, the edible garden, container gardening, garden design and landscaping, attracting wildlife, and so on—and packed with information. Readers will discover tips and techniques for maintaining a garden year-round; harvesting herbs; designing by bloom season; turning garden refuse into garden rewards; building teepees, trellises, and other plant supports; and much more.

Featuring handpicked selections from dozens of publications from Rodale Books, this massive collection is full of indispensable and trusted advice from some of the most respected gardening authors in the world. And with hundreds of black-and-white illustrations and photographs as well as step-by-step projects, key gardening resources, and essential information on countless plant species, Garden Wisdom & Know-How is a must-have volume for both the aspiring and the experienced gardener.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rodale Books publishes award-winning, bestselling titles on gardening, health, wellness, fitness, food, nutrition, inspiration/spirituality, and the environment.  Some of their best-known gardening books include Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Your Backyard Herb Garden, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide, and The Garden Primer.


Judy Pray is a freelance book editor.  She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (March 3, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579128378
• ISBN-13: 978-1579128371
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 0.9 x 13.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > Reference
  • #88 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > By Technique

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Covers every aspect of gardening April 14, 2010

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Paperback

Compiled by freelance book editor Judy Pray, "Garden Wisdom and Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Plant, Grow, and Harvest" is a large, 480-page, coffee-table reference book that covers every aspect of gardening from soil preparation, to plant selection, to insect and pest control, to flower arranging, to cooking with herbs. Enhanced throughout with a profusion of charts, lists, diagrams, and illustrations, "Garden Wisdom & Know-How" is an amazing and practical compendium of special projects ranging from creating outdoor rooms and making a barrel composter, to building a moth trap, to making a portable trellis. Densely packed from cover to cover with information, ideas, examples, and gardening resources, "Garden Wisdom & Know-How" is an ideal instructional reference guide for novice gardeners and experienced professionals alike. No community library gardening reference collections can be considered complete without the addition of "Garden Wisdom and Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Plant, Grow, and Harvest"!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent resource March 6, 2011

By Hot hands

Format:Paperback

I bought this book, as a first year vegetable gardener, and a need to fulfull a book club's buying requirements...and it's a whole lot more than I bargained for.

There is a little information, about everything...how to attract butterflies, when to prune, wasps are our friends, they eat bad insects, garden critters, you name it...indoor gardening, outdoor gardening, vegetable gardening, shrubs, flowers, vegetables..I could go on.

The only thing I am not super fond of is the size, it's HUGE, it reminds me of reading newspaper articles....like a giant farmer's almanac, doesn't fit on a traditional bookshelf...but worth finding space for...and there are no color pictures, if you need a visual...but with all the subjects covered, there may not be room for any!

A great resource on a large variety of plant subjects, great for a newby, and I'm sure lots a more experienced gardener could pull from as well. The author really did a great job with this one, it's a keeper.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Garden Wisdom and Know-How October 4, 2010

By C. M. Morris

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Loaded with good information. Helps you through every step if you're a beginner, and offers great tips and methods for old hands. I especially appreciated the problem/solution sections. Divided logically, making later reference quick and easy. I am a fan of all the Wisdom and Know-How books. The only downside I can think of is the awkward size.