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The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering.

Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. But, except for labor, these inputs depend on the price of oil. Before the 1970s, North American home food growing used more land with less labor, with wider plant spacing, with less or no irrigation, and all done with sharp hand tools. But these sustainable systems have been largely forgotten. Gardening When It Counts, a Mother Earth News book, helps you rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food.

Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world, except the tropics and hot deserts, this book shows that any family with access to 3-5,000 sq. ft. of garden land can halve their food costs using a growing system requiring just the odd bucketful of household wastewater, perhaps $200 worth of hand tools and about the same amount spent on supplies — working an average of two hours a day during the growing season.

About the author:

Steve Solomon is a well-known West Coast gardener and author of five previous books, including Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, which has appeared in five editions.

Recommended Product for Wiser Living: Today, more than ever before, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, Mother Earth News is recommending books to its readers. For more than 40 years, Mother Earth News has been North America’s “Original Guide to Living Wisely,” creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature.

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This classic guide helps you turn household waste into gardener's gold. The 219 page book has helped countless gardeners recycle waste materials, such as household garbage, grass clippings and ashes, to create useful, soil-nourishing compost.

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Indulge your passion for gardening. Imagine extended growing seasons, homegrown tropical fruits, abundant vegetables ready to pick year-round, exotic orchids and colorful flowers galore. They're all possible with this comprehensive guide to turning the dream of year-round gardening into a reality.

From the simplest cold frame to the most elaborate freestanding tropical paradise, there is a greenhouse plan in this collection to fit every gardener's needs. Author Roger Marshall guides you through all the style options, the practical considerations of choosing materials and a site, plus every step of the building process, from foundation to glazing.

Whether your interest is in rare orchids or in healthful organic vegetables for your family, a greenhouse provides the environment to protect and nurture the plants you love. And when it's cold and gray outside, the greenhouse is a welcoming place to feed your gardening hobby.

Recommended Product for Wiser Living: Today, more than ever before, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, Mother Earth News is recommending books to readers. For 40 years, Mother Earth News has been North America’s “Original Guide to Living Wisely,” creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature.

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This book turns the compost bin upside down with a natural six-way gardening system of keeping compost heaps right in the garden, rather than in some dark corner behind the garage. The compost and plants live together from the beginning in a nourishing, organic environment.

Author Barbara Pleasant's bountiful, compost-rich gardens require less digging, weeding, mulching and even less planting. And here's one of the best parts — no more backbreaking slogs from compost bin to garden. Pleasant and co-author Deborah Martin even identify the plants that benefit most from compost and how the elements of a composted garden work together. Their natural six-way compost gardening system provides the ruling principles for successfully improving every garden with healthy compost.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $18.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

The most comprehensive and entertaining single-volume gardening reference ever printed is now 100 percent organic. This beloved classic has been revisited by author Barbara Damrosch to reflect the latest research on plants, soils, tools and techniques.

The updated edition includes expanded information on planning an organic garden, recommended plants and the best tools. Ecological issues are addressed more extensively, covering lawn alternatives, the benefits of native species, wildlife-friendly gardens and how to avoid harmful invasive species. More attention is also paid to plants native to the South, Southwest and West Coast, while cold-climate gardeners are given detailed advice on how to extend the growing season. Simply put, this new edition is a richer and fuller compendium than ever before, including more text and illustrations, additional garden plans and expanded plant lists. This new version of Damrosch's classic guide rejuvenates the original material while maintaining its primary appeal — practical, creative ideas and friendly style.

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A perfect lawn may not always be a good thing, as manicured lawns are high-maintenance, chemical-dependent water guzzlers. This handsome, informative and amusing book should serve as an inspiration to those who are tired of manicured lawns.

Alternatives to the traditional lawn effectively cut down on water usage and may also play host to beneficial insects and birds. Once the desire to do away with grass takes root, readers can turn to author Liz Primeau for help in rejuvenating a front yard so that flowers, foliage textures and hardscaping come together in inviting swaths to both beautify and benefit the environment.

Useful as a source book, this volume presents photographs and text that suggest potential ideas to increase curb appeal through the transformation of front yards and parkways.

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Beginning with the down-to-earth basics of soil, sun and water, fertilizer and seeds and propagation, The Bountiful Container is an extraordinarily complete guide to container gardening. Written by two seasoned container gardeners and writers, Rose McGee and Maggie Stuckey share their expertise and experience in the art of container gardening.

Armed with this manual, frustrated apartment dwellers can indulge their passion for growing edible things. If there is an available balcony, porch, front or back steps, growing produce in containers can be easy and rewarding. With some limitations, it is even possible to grow foods in a window box or on an indoor windowsill.

This collection of practical advice includes detailed information on the types of containers to use, equipment needed, the right soil, when to plant which seeds and how best to deal with problems such as too much or too little sunlight. Written for the beginner as well as for those with a background in gardening, the book contains comprehensive, clearly written and frequently inspiring directions from authors McGee and Stuckey.

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More and more Americans are seeking out locally grown foods, yet one of the real stumbling blocks to their efforts has been finding local sources for grains, which are grown mainly on large, distant corporate farms. At the same time, commodity prices for grains — and the products made from them — have skyrocketed due to rising energy costs and increased demand. In this book, Gene Logsdon proves that anyone who has access to a large garden or small farm can (and should) think outside the agribusiness box and learn to grow healthy whole grains or beans—the base of our culinary food pyramid — alongside their fruits and vegetables.

Starting from the simple but revolutionary concept of the garden “pancake patch,” Logsdon opens our eyes to a whole world of plants that we wrongly assume only the agricultural “big boys” can grow. He succinctly covers all the basics, from planting and dealing with pests, weeds, and diseases to harvesting, processing, storing, and using whole grains. There are even a few recipes sprinkled throughout, along with more than a little wit and wisdom.

Never has there been a better time, or a more receptive audience, for this book. Locavores, serious home gardeners, CSA farmers, and whole-foods advocates — in fact, all people who value fresh, high-quality foods — will find a field full of information and ideas in this once and future classic.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $34.95. AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Most gardeners know how rewarding it is to harvest ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes or pungent herbs straight from the garden. But those pleasures can be multiplied a hundredfold by creating a garden that is not only productive, but also a beautiful, well-integrated part of the home landscape. In this handsome volume, Jennifer Bartley shows how the traditional features of the classic kitchen garden, or potager, can be adapted to contemporary American needs and conditions. The book is informed by her conviction that the nurturing, preparing, and eating of fresh, home-grown vegetables contributes enormously both to our ties with the natural world and our ties to each other. Copiously illustrated with photographs and with the author's delightful watercolors, Designing the New Kitchen Garden offers the perfect blend of inspiration and practical guidance.

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This e-book is packed with 20 customizable designs, gardening tips and tricks, and conventional wisdom about the many uses of herbs. Creating Custom Garden Spaces is a fabulous guide to planning an organized, beautiful and practical garden for any space, large or small. Whether you’re a first-timer or an avid gardener, our detailed illustrations and maps will help you give your garden personality with our easily understandable designs, including:

• Mexican herb and green salad food gardens
• Medicinal herb gardens
• Gardens for pots and for tight spaces
• Fragrant and flowering herb gardens
• Gardens for children
• Gardens that prevent deer
• Fence line and mailbox gardens
• Hammock and walkway gardens
• Gardens designed for use with a rain barrel
• Gardens that attract birds and butterflies