Growing Your Own Vegetables : An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide

Drawn from and expanded on the bestselling Encyclopedia of Country Living, this is a complete manual for setting up a vegetable garden—whether it’s just a few rows of lettuce or a year-round field that produces enough for a whole family to eat. This book is informed by years of hands-on experience and the wisdom gathered from a generation of homesteaders and small farmers. Starting with planning the garden (plot size, seasonal considerations, getting the most from a small plot) and laying it out (rows, beds, plowing), this book addresses the planning and growing issues for all North American climate zones. Gardeners need to understand (and love) their soil, and the Growing Your Own Vegetables explains it in simple terms, with advice on composting and testing for contamination (so important since this is going to be your food source!). Carla Emery was a very early advocate of gardening without chemical fertilizers, so the approach here is organic all the way. The large part of the book is the crop-by-crop guide to planting, cultivating, and harvesting the delicious vegetables we love to ear: onions, leafy greens, stems and flowers (rhubarb, artichoke, broccoli), roots (spuds, radishes, jicama), grasses & grains (just imagine: your own wheat field!), legumes, gourds, and the nightshade family (that would be tomatoes, peppers, eggplant). A perfect companion to The Encyclopedia of Country Living, this is a complete gardening manual for setting up your own vegetable garden—whether it's just a few rows of lettuce or a year-round fieldDrawn from, and a continuation of, the bestseller The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Growing Your Own Vegetables is informed by years of hands-on experience and the wisdom gathered from a generation of homesteaders and small farmers. Starting with planning the garden (plot size, seasonal considerations, getting the most from a small plot) and laying it out (rows, beds, plowing), this book addresses the planning and growing issues for all North American climate zones. Gardeners need to understand (and love) their soil, and the Growing Your Own Vegetables explains it in simple terms, with advice on composting and testing for contamination (so important since this is going to be your food source!). Author Carla Emery was a very early advocate of gardening without chemical fertilizers, so the approach here is organic all the way. Much of the book is the crop-by-crop guide to planting, cultivating, and harvesting the delicious vegetables we love to eat: onions, leafy greens, stems and flowers (rhubarb, artichoke, broccoli), roots (spuds, radishes, jicama), grasses & grains (just imagine: your own wheat field!), legumes, gourds, and the nightshade family (that would be tomatoes, peppers, eggplant). Planning your garden Garden layout Gardening under cover Planting dates Care and feeding of the garden Garden competition The onion family Leaves Stems and flowers Roots Grasses and grains Legumes Gourds The nightshade family Herbs. A comprehensive guide to growing vegetables that provides expert advice on setting up a garden, picking the best vegetables for conditions, using organic farming techniques, harvesting the crop each season, and other related topics