Customer Reviews

Month-by-Month Gardening in Louisiana

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I moved to Lousiana from Chicago and although I know a thing or two about gardening up north (or Zone 5) I didn't have a clue how to do a darn thing down south, especially in Louisiana! This book is a must have for the new or novice gardener - it not only includes information on just about anything you can grow in the soil, it gives you a month-by-month list of what you need to do in order to succeed. I've used it to learn about my lawn, plant a new tree in my yard, keep my flower beds looking great and even for beginning my vegetable garden. There isn't any info on growing fruits, (tomatoes excluded!) but I don't really have much interest in that part of gardening yet so it didn't bother me a bit.

There are few people in the world who are known by one name only; Cher is one I can think of off hand. Dan is another. Here in Louisiana, if you are talking about gardening and say, "Dan said.......", everyone knows who you mean and everyone believes what you say. Dan is not only the casual gardener's gardener; he is the professional gardener's gardener.

Month to Month Gardening can guide anyone through necessary tasks in the garden and yes, here in Louisiana we are lucky enough to be able to garden 365 days a year. There are always flowers blooming, always plants growing and we who live here are dedicated gardeners. We garden in the winter, the summer and the two or three weeks of fall and spring that come our way.

Dan does a regular Saturday morning radio call-in show and a weekly segment on a morning TV show. During the 20+ years Dan has been disseminating plant knowledge in the New Orleans area, his reputation has spread and we rely on him for all sorts of growing information. And since he continues to write this knowledge down in a weekly Times Picayune Newspaper column and now in Month to Month Gardening, we are indeed fortunate to be able to share his Louisiana gardening information. Now readers can learn what grows and what doesn't, how to care for it, what to try, when to try it, what will fail, what will flourish and what to watch out for. Dan emphasizes organic growing methods in his gardening approach as much as possible and as an organic gardener myself, I appreciate that.

If you wish to learn of Louisiana Gardening, and have a good read and reference source, have this book in your library.

Timing is very important in gardening, and in Louisiana with its variations of climate it is dangerous to take generic Internet sourced advice about timing. Dan is the man to listen to here. Especially if you've got huge tracts of land, this book is for you.

I think that Dan Gill's books are extremely informative and he really knows his plants. Thus, I have to reluctantly recommend his book. However, I wish he would take more pains to point out the folly of planting certain plants in Louisiana and recommend more native plants. I would like to see more awareness of the environment and much less emphasis on pesticides and fertilizers. It is possible, especially in our climate, to have a stunning yard and one that is organic. More reliance and emphasis on native plants is key. Gill seems to have no awareness at all, in a rainy clime, where the pesticides and fertilizers end up, i.e., our waterways.

I got this book for my mom for her birthday. She loves working in the garden. She was very impressed with how organized the book was and she references it all the time.

I hadn't gardened seriously since I was a kid. I needed something that was geared to our hot weather in La. this fit the bill perfectly. I got off to a late start but thanks to this book, I now have a garden growing.

The book is very helpful for gardeners in the deep South. The grids are particularly useful. I can't wait to plant my new garden at my new post-Katrina home. I have purchased other Dan Gill books in the past - always easy to understand and put into practice (too bad Katrina took them).

Wel. I must say this is a decent book for those who have just bought a new home in the New Orleans area and are looking to start a Garden. One of the most important points that this book neglects however is MATH.

Miscalculating the size of your garden is a major problem for some folks, especially those who are stuck studying medical knowledge all day, so only really look at this stuff at midnight. They might be the type to be prone to make a mistake like transposing radius and diameter... and therefore planning a, oh I don't know, 650 sq ft garden. Goofy if you ask me. This will be the same person who one day takes out your apendix... er, I mean tonsils.

The other thing this book neglects is that its just too darned hot in LA most of the time to care about a garden. I mean, its a bloody swamp, why people think they are going to plant anyting which doesn't attract alligators and rats is beyond me; so the idea of sitting out in the garden weeding, while being stalked by an alligator, which is hiding behind the Tomatos, is just 'not a good thing'. And its 100% humidity, but only rains when you have to go from your car to a building... the rest of the time the water just sits there in mid air. Unlkess you are talking about the French Quarter, at which it really is not water... don't ask.

Which brings us to pointed sticks. A must for any garden. 'Of course' you say, thinking I am refering to the ability to stake plants up so they grow taller. No, I say... you don't want tall plants - the alligators will then hide behind them, not to mention the 3 ft crickets. You don't want a 3 ft cricket charging you without a pointed stick. Well, unless you are armed with a Banana... I mean, if you got a Banana, then why are you even reading this, you should be over in Iraq helping the American forces.

Unless of course you ate it... then you deserve whatever the cricket chooses to do with you.