Solar Gardening

Solar Gardening shows how to increase efforts of the sun during the coldest months of the year and how to protect tender plants from the intensity of the scorching sun during the hottest months through the use of solar "mini-greenhouses." The book includes instructions for building a variety of solar appliances plus descriptions of more than 90 different crops, with charts showing when to plant and harvest each. The result is a year-round harvest even from a small garden. In Solar Gardening the Poissons show you how to: Dramatically increase the annual square-foot yield of your garden. Extend the growing and harvest season for nearly every kind of vegetable. Select crops that will thrive in the coldest and hottest months of the year, without artificial heating or cooling systems. Build solar appliances for your own garden. Armed with nothing but this book and a few simple tools, even novice gardeners can quickly learn to extend their growing season and increase their yields, without increasing the size of their garden plot.

People are becoming more aware of the environment and their impact on it. Over the past decades we have become an increasingly consumerist based society. From a world in which recycling was common, single use became the norm. This throwaway society is unsustainable. Sustainable gardening results in the creation of an environmentally friendly area in which natural predators thrive and soils are naturally replenished. Discover innovative and simple ways of recycling everything from water to materials in the garden. Practical examples show recycling in action turning unwanted items into useful features such as bottle edging, footpaths made from tyres, garden forks into table lamps, broken pottery to mosaics and tree roots into lush garden stumperies. Recycling, reusing and upcycling in the garden can make a difference helping you save money by using less water, making your own compost, choosing energy efficient equipment and by giving everyday items a totally new function. Instead of a throwaway society, we are increasingly looking at ways of reducing our use of increasingly scarce resources, turning plastic into paths, using solar energy and conserving water. Natural recycling of plant material and sustainable gardening is increasingly popular. This book helps search for creative ideas that can conserve resources, and save you money. Water is no longer cheap, so the book suggests many ways that you can re-use water and get free rainwater. The book helps you with places you may not think of looking for free and cheap material, such as reclamation yards, factories, restaurants and hospitals. Let your imagination run free without needing much skill and without breaking the bank.

Create the lush landscape of your dreams with this comprehensive guide to beautiful, environmentally conscious yards and gardens. Southern Gardening suggests useful groundcovers and easy-care, adaptable trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals. Identify and deal with exotic invasive plants that threaten our natural areas, and learn minimally damaging ways of dealing with insect pests. Plus, a month-by-month guide will help gardeners plan ahead as they strive to have gardens that are more earth-friendly.