Gardening Success with Difficult Soils: Limestone, Alkaline Clay, and Caliche Soils (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

One of the greatest frustrations to new gardeners or newcomers to any region is discovering that one's favorite plants refuse to thrive. All the gardening hints in the world don't seem to help when your soil is the consistency of adobe bricks. Ogden's book is especially appropriate for those living in the Southwestern United States, but there are plenty of other areas with difficult soils and harsh climates. He covers various methods of soil improvement, but more importantly, describes and specifies what plants prefer these conditions. There is no one-time treatment to cure a calcareous soil, but there are plenty of alkaline-tolerant plants available. Ogden advises on fruits and vegetables, trees, annuals, and biennial flowering plants, vines, ground covers, shade-loving plants, attracting wildlife, and even night-blooming plants for fragrant summer evenings. Recommended. (Illustrations not seen.)-- Katharine Galloway Garstka, Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, Ala.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Scott Ogden's Gardening Success with Difficult Soils: Limestone, Alkaline Clay, and Caliche Soils provides everything needed to be known in order to successfully garden in difficult, even inhospitable, soils. Gardening Success with Difficult Soils includes descriptions of heat-tolerant and lime-loving plants varieties and gardening to attract wildlife including butterflies, hummingbirds, and ticklebees. Gardening Success with Difficult Soils is ideal for the novice gardener and has much of value for the experienced gardener as well! -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing (February 25, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878337415
• ISBN-13: 978-0878337415
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #578,424 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this is an invaluable book for Central Texas gardeners, March 13, 1999

By	Susan Richter "srichter1" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the most practical, useful, and enjoyable book on gardening that someone in the Texas Hill Country could ever want! It's not as big or comprehensive as the Wasowskis' "Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region", but that's because it focuses on the challenges of gardening in these "difficult" (nice word!) soils that we live with. Ogden's observations and advice about dealing with our limestone and caliche, and his reality-based recommendations of plants to use and the ones to avoid, gave me hope, encouragement, and new ideas for making this corner of the world a more beautiful place! It's got some great color photos, too.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For hot, dry and high pH soils (Texas Hill Country), December 16, 2001

By	Charles Laird (Kerrville, TX USA) - See all my reviews

Dry limestone based soils such as the Edwards Plateau area of Texas and other places in the southwest, provide a major challenge to gardening which is addessed in this book. In such areas many plants simply will not grow well. Trying to get them to do so is an exercise in frustration and general garden books can lead you far astray. This book is not about how to try to change your soil, high pH soils cannot be effectively acidified. The book is about plants, trees, shrubs and varieties that do well in dry calcarious soil conditions. It will save you a lot of time, money and frustration if you face these conditions. A great book, a gold mine of information.