The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food [Paperback]

Tanya L. K. Denckla (Author)

Book Description

Series: Potting-Bench Reference Books | Publication Date: February 1, 2004

Before it was a book, The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food was organic gardener Tanya L. K. Denckla's highly prized personal database, the distillation of years of careful research and hands-on, real-life, dirt-under-the-fingernails experience in growing her own vegetables, herbs, fruits, and nuts. Now available to all, this easy-to-read sourcebook offers much to gardeners of all skill levels, answering questions quickly and authoritatively so more time can be spent enjoying the garden. Six comprehensive chapters cover vegetables, fruits and nuts, herbs, organic remedies, and allies and companions. Within each chapter plants are arranged alphabetically, making needed information eminently accessible. Individual plant entries provide specific information on planting; temperature; soil and water needs; measurements; seed-starting dates; pests, diseases, allies, companions, and incompatibles, as applicable; when to harvest; how to store produce; and overviews of selected varieties. Fully half of the book is dedicated to organic remedies that can prevent or combat plant diseases and garden pests. Hundreds of common diseases and pests are discussed, as well as which plants are likely to be affected, how to recognize the problem, and tried-and-true natural remedies. The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food demystifies how to work collaboratively with the complex natural systems of the environment, making gardening a little easier and definitely more fun.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Denckla's guide to growing organic food covers 765 varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and nuts. There are instructions on temperature, soil and water needs, planting depth and space between plants, propagation, harvesting, first and last seed-starting dates, storage requirements, and support structures when needed. With each entry is a list of selected available varieties. Denckla also tells gardeners how to control 201 pests and diseases organically. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“…a practical guide to growing fruits and vegetables the organic way.” – Seattle Post- Intelligencer

 

”Denckla’s guide to growing organic food covers 765 varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and nuts. There are instructions on temperature, soil and water needs, planting depth and space between plants, propagation, harvesting, first and last seed-starting dates, storage requirements, and support structures when needed. With each entry is a list of selected available varieties. Denckla also tells gardeners how to control 201 pests and diseases organically.”

 

Booklist

 

"A great gift for any vegetable gardener who prefers Earth-friendly methods."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; Revised edition (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580173705
• ISBN-13: 978-1580173704
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use - Rodale, move over, February 21, 2008

By 

Cecil Bothwell "Author of "Whale Falls: A... (Asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food (Paperback)

I have owned my copy of Rodale's classic, Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, for well over 30 years. It has been my garden bible.

But times change. Denckla has created a much handier growers' resource. In this book, she catalogues 765 varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts and offers controls for 201 pests and diseases, but better than the numbers is the way she presents the information. For each species there is a clear, concise directory for every aspect of planting, culture and storage. It is really easy to use. The single best feature may be the planting charts for annuals that make it simple to calculate when to start the first and last seeds of the season, based on last and first frost dates. Rodale's classic will never be far away, but from now on I will pick up Denckla's first.

As an organic grower for nearly four decades and a garden columnist, I'm a pretty good judge of this genre (my own collection of garden writings came out in 2008, Garden My Heart: Organic strategies for backyard sustainability). The only place I take serious exception to Denckla's advice concerns moles, which she treats as a garden pest. Moles are garden allies, consuming vast quantities of beetle larvae and other members of the enemy camp.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book - very thorough and well organized, May 17, 2007

By 

Gotarun26.2 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food (Paperback)

I would have given this book 5 starts except that the section on pest control, which is very important to an organic gardener names the pests and suggests control solutions but shows you no pictures of the pests so if you don't know what the various insects (or for that matter diseases) look like, that's not helpful.

Otherwise the book is well organized and contains a lot of useful information, especially in regard to what plants are allys and incompatible

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fairly solid, May 5, 2008

By 

Bry Bry (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food (Paperback)

Actually, this book is very solid. My only issue with it at the moment is with the blueberry section. She informs the reader to inoculate the roots "with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi". Almost all of the mycorrhiza available to the consumer is endo or ecto mycorrhiza, which forms a symbiotic relationship with most plants' root systems. Though, blueberries, and all members of the Ericaceae family do not respond to those mycorrhiza and require a specific Ericoid mycorrhiza for proper root inoculation. I almost made a $50 internet purchase of the endomycorrhiza before reading (in small type) that it would not work on blueberries. And, the Ericoid mycorrhiza is a bit hard to locate right now since it has just recently become available to consumers.

Aside from slightly incomplete information on the blueberries, the book is very well laid out. She lists compatible and incompatible plants for each fruit or vegetable. There is also a decent section on natural pest control in which a field guide to insects may be beneficial if you are not familiar with the creatures.

For the price, it is definitely worth getting.