Golden Gate Gardening 30th Anniversary Edition

“For vegetable gardening in the Bay Area, Golden Gate Gardening is indispensable—if you buy one gardening book, this is the one.” --Michael Pollan This fully revised fourth edition of the ultimate food gardening bible for Central and Northern Californians includes updates that address changes in climate, crop availability and sources, and pest management strategies, and includes expanded help for inland, hot summer gardeners. The gardening guide has become a perennial seller, beloved by both new and experienced gardeners for its friendly, practical advice on how to grow fresh produce all year long. Expert author Pam Peirce shows how to use the unique local conditions of climate, soil, and rainfall to grow both common and unusual vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, cut flowers, and fruit from trees and shrubs including berries, citrus and avocados for your kitchen garden. This encyclopedic guide covers all the bases, including what to plant in every season, how to select varieties, assess a microclimate, organize a garden, manage pests and weeds safely and effectively, attract beneficial creatures, conserve water, improve soil, make compost, harvest wisely, and garden in containers. It includes delicious, seasonal garden-to-table recipes and an essay on learning to eat from a garden. Charts, sidebars, illustrations, maps, resource lists, and cross references make it easy for readers to find the information they need. This vegetable gardening book will especially help readers in the San Francisco Bay Area and in California coastal areas from Humboldt County south to San Luis Obispo, as well as those in nearby mild-winter inland climates (including Alameda, San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties).

The bible of vegetable gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area has been revised and updated! Packed with more than 400 pages of reliable information, Golden Gate Gardenin offers encyclopedic coverage of gardening principles and practices specific to the Bay Area and the Northern California coast. Author Pam Peirce explains strategies for growing common favorite vegetables and herbs, plus unusual ones that bring variety to the garden. She includes information on organizing a garden, dealing with pests, assessing a microclimate, cultivating fruit trees, gardening on a rooftop, harvesting the crop, and creating delicious gardener's dishes. This third edition also contains new or updated information on resources for specific seeds, tomato planting, organic gardening, and vegetables not included in previous editions, including amaranth, shell beans, Chinese broccoli, broccoli raab, Florence fennel, oca, okra, and quinoa. Charts, sidebars, maps, and online resources help make the vegetable gardening experience easier and more fun.

Local Master Gardeners lend their expertise on everything from propagating plants to dealing with snails, slugs, and slime to having a successful rose garden in a coastal climate. Bay Area Gardening provides comprehensive answers in sixty-four diverse essays on landscaping, garden design, pests, chemicals, and a multitude of topics endemic to the trials and tribulations of Bay Area home gardeners. Book jacket.

Rocky Mountain Gardener's Handbook is an all-inclusive gardener's reference book. It includes plant information as well as when-to-do-it information. Covering decorative landscape plants and edible plants, this handbook is a thorough introduction to gardening in the Rocky Mountains.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic of true crime, set in a most beguiling Southern city—now in a 30th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author “Elegant and wicked . . . might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.”—The New York Times Book Review Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. In this sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative, John Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman’s Card Club; the turbulent young gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the “soul of pampered self-absorption”; the uproariously funny drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young people dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience.

Since it was first published in 2002, the California Master Gardener Handbook has been the definitive guide to best practices and advice for gardeners throughout the West. Now the much-anticipated 2nd Edition to the Handbook is here—completely redesigned, with updated tables, graphics, and color photos throughout. Whether you're a beginner double digging your first bed or a University of California Master Gardener, this handbook will be your go-to source for the practical, science-based information you need to sustainably maintain your landscape and garden and become an effective problem solver. Chapters cover soil, fertilizer, and water management, plant propagation, plant physiology; weeds and pests; home vegetable gardening; specific garden crops including grapes, berries temperate fruits and nuts, citrus, and avocados. Also included is information on lawns, woody landscape plants, and landscape design. New to the 2nd Edition is information on invasive plants and principles of designing and maintaining landscapes for fire protection. Inside are updates to the technical information found in each chapter, reorganization of information for better ease of use, and new content on important emerging topics. Useful conversions for many units of measure found in the Handbook or needed in caring for gardens and landscapes are located in Appendix A. A glossary of important technical terms used and an extensive index round out the book.

This is not your grandmother's gardening book. You Grow Girl is a hip, humorous how-to for crafty gals everywhere who are discovering a passion for gardening but lack the know-how to turn their dreams of homegrown tomatoes and fresh-cut flowers into a reality. Gayla Trail, creator of YouGrowGirl.com, provides guidance for both beginning and intermediate gardeners with engaging tips, projects, and recipes -- whether you have access to a small backyard or merely to a fire escape. You Grow Girl eliminates the intimidation factor and reveals how easy and enjoyable it can be to cultivate plants and flowers even when resources and space are limited. Divided into accessible sections like Plan, Plant, and Grow, You Grow Girl takes readers through the entire gardening experience: Preparing soil Nurturing seedlings Fending off critters Reaping the bounty Readying plants for winter Preparing for the seasons ahead Gayla also includes a wealth of ingenious and creative projects, such as: Transforming your garden's harvest into lush bath and beauty products Converting household junk into canny containers Growing and bagging herbal tea Concocting homemade pest repellents ...and much, much more. Witty, wise, and as practical as it is stylish, You Grow Girl is guaranteed to show you how to get your garden on. All you need is a windowsill and a dream!

Even in winter’s coldest months you can harvest fresh, delicious produce. Drawing on insights gained from years of growing vegetables in Nova Scotia, Niki Jabbour shares her simple techniques for gardening throughout the year. Learn how to select the best varieties for each season, the art of succession planting, and how to build inexpensive structures to protect your crops from the elements. No matter where you live, you’ll soon enjoy a thriving vegetable garden year-round.