Growing Vegetables West Of The Cascades

Previous editions of this bestseller have established it as the definitive food-gardening manual for the Pacific Northwest. Now, this fully revised edition is available for gardeners' food-growing pleasure!Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades is the bible of vegetable gardening for anyone turning soil left of the Cascade Mountain range-from Western British Columbia to Northern California. It includes the basics of soil composition, when to plant, which seed companies to rely on, pest control, and an extensive section on the cultivation of each vegetable. Carrots, peppers, lettuce-you name it, it's in this book.

Completely revised from cover to cover, this is the 35th anniversary release of Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, the bible to organic vegetable gardening in the Pacific Northwest. Now in its seventh edition, the book has been thoroughly updated and includes a new formula for complete organic fertilizer and how to tweak it for a variety of different soil conditions, how-to sections for herbs and ornamental plants, new organization for better usability, updated sources for appropriate seed suppliers, and information about natural pest controls. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Now in a special updated 6th edition with a new formula for complete organic fertilizer, this complete guide to organic vegetable gardening addresses issues of soil, seeds, compost, and watering. Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades evolved from a self-published pamphlet to the master guide to organic vegetable gardening over the past 35 years. Steve Solomon, who founded the Territorial Seed Company, was one of the early proponents of organic gardening, and the first to codify and refine the best practices of small-plot vegetable gardening in the Pacific Northwest. The approaches to understanding and preparing soils, composting, chemical-free fertilizers, efficient uses of water, and garden planning are universal to any climate or region. Solomon gets specific in his extensive advice on growing specific crops--from tomatoes and beans to kale and turnips--in the gentle maritime Northwest climate. He lays out the principles, but advocates that readers think for themselves and grow their gardens as they see fit.

Updated with an improved formula for complete organic fertilizer, this is the go-to guide for beginning and experienced organic vegetable gardeners west of the Cascades.

“It is bold, it is courageous, and it challenges many of our preconceptions about food, about soils, about farming, and about health.” —Michael Ableman, farmer, author of Farm the City To grow produce of the highest nutritional quality, the essential minerals lacking in our soil from intensive agriculture must be replaced. The Intelligent Gardener is the practical, step-by-step guide for any serious gardener who wants to: · Demystify this process · Debunk much of the false and misleading information perpetuated by both the conventional and organic agricultural movements · Re-mineralize our soil. Accompanied with customizable web-based spreadsheets, this toolkit calls for far more attention to detail than the simple addition of composted manure or NPK fertilizers. It conclusively establishes the link between healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy people. Vegetables, fruits, and grains are a major source of vital nutrients, but centuries of intensive agriculture have depleted our soils to historic lows. As a result, the broccoli you consume today may have less than half the vitamins and minerals that the equivalent serving would have contained a hundred years ago. This is a matter of serious concern, since poor nutrition has been linked to myriad health problems including cancer, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. For optimum health we must increase the nutrient density of our foods to the levels enjoyed by previous generations. The Intelligent Gardener goes beyond organic—it offers the essential tools for those who care about the quality of the produce they grow. “It’s hard to imagine this book not having a significant and lasting impact on the way organic farmers and gardeners grow their crops.” —Mark McDonald, West Coast Seeds

“Shows us how to garden like our ancestors gardened . . . with just four basic hand tools, and with little or no electricity or irrigation.” —Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering. 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 two hundred dollars’ worth of hand tools. Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food. Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to the new circumstances we find ourselves in. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. Prior to 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. Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world except the tropics and hot deserts, Gardening When It Counts is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. “Delightfully informative and abundantly rich with humor and grandfatherly wisdom. A must-read for anyone wanting a feast off the land of their own making.” —Elaine Smitha, host of the “Evolving Ideas” cable talk show and author of If You Make the Rules, How Come You’re Not Boss?

“Very likely the best book ever written on growing food in the Pacific Northwest, and it sets a whole new standard for garden writing.”—Mark MacDonald, West Coast Seeds Grow more food, with less work, in any yard—now completely revised and expanded! Are you itching to start your own garden or grow more in the one you have, but feel that gardening is too challenging or time-consuming for your busy schedule? Now completely updated and expanded, Backyard Bounty will demystify gardening, bringing it back to the down-to-earth, environmentally practical activity that anyone can enjoy. Author and master gardener Linda Gilkeson covers everything you’ll need to grow a successful garden, including: Planning your garden and preparing the soil Organic fertilizers and simplified composting Planting for winter harvests and intensive planting schedules Comprehensive information on pests, diseases, and working with an unstable climate Greenhouses, tunnels and containers Organic pest management. Packed with a wealth of information specific to the Pacific Northwest, this complete guide emphasizes low-maintenance methods, covers problems related to common pests and climate concerns, includes a monthly garden schedule for year-round planting and harvesting, and features plant profiles for everything from apples to zucchini. Perfect for novice and experienced gardeners alike, Backyard Bounty shows how even the smallest garden can produce a surprising amount of food twelve months of the year. “Backyard Bounty is remarkably thorough, from roots to pests to pruning to crowns, and it inspires even the experienced grower. Just like homemade soil for a bedding plant, this book is loaded with the richness we need in order to feed ourselves.”—Lyle Estill, author of Backyard Biodiesel

This is the updated 6th edition of Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, which has evolved from a self-published pamphlet to the master guide to organic vegetable gardening over the past 28 years. Steve Solomon, who was a founder of the Territorial Seed Company, was one of the early proponents of organic gardening, and the first to codify and refine the best practices of small-plot vegetable gardening in the Pacific Northwest. The approaches to understanding and preparing soils, composting, chemical-free fertilizers, efficient uses of water, and garden planning are universal to any climate or region. Solomon gets specific in his extensive advice on growing specific crops in the gentle maritime Northwest climate. This update includes his latest findings on seed sources, refinements in growing and cultivation techniques, and other organic gardening best practices. Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades lays out the principles, but the author advocates that readers think for themselves and grow their gardens as they see fit.