Best gardening & horticulture reference books according to redditors
We found 268 Reddit comments discussing the best gardening & horticulture reference books. We ranked the 70 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Actually, in most cases it isn't, but it is pasteurized. Sterilization would make the medium insanely contamination-ridden, due to the lack of competing microbes. Once mold starts growing, you've gotta toss the medium completely. While this is probably a nice hippy-dippy way to sell mushrooms, there's no way it's going to maintain healthy flushes for long with a "tame" culture like agaricus bisporus. It just can't compete with molds like trichoderma, which is possibly the most common mold on earth. That's not counting the possibly hundreds of people touching the growth medium, throwing their trash in it, discarding unwanted mushrooms into the pile, and the like.
I've read a lot about it (I was once an aspiring mushroom farmer) and I believe it has something to do with pressure+heat killing fungal spores, but leaving beneficial bacterial endospores intact. Essentially, the bacteria and other microbes take up real estate until the fungus shows up, and then it moves into their turf and consumes them as well.
The interesting thing is that in commerical mushroom grows, pasteurization temps are reached naturally due to the size of manure piles. The mass of the piles coupled with the immense activity of microbes within them raises the internal temperature to anywhere between 140f-170f.
Source: Paul Stamets, The Mushroom Cultivator and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms.
Edit
Here's some more places to find information about mushrooms, since I'm hardly an expert. I'm just a guy who reads a lot, essentially.
Books:
Those are the standard grow manuals, but if anyone has a suggestion for a more comprehensive or up-to-date manual, it'd be welcome. Mycelium Running is a great book if you're just looking for a fun read about mushrooms.
Websites:
Videos:
If you move the decimal over. This is about 1,000 in books...
(If I had to pick a few for 100 bucks: encyclopedia of country living, survival medicine, wilderness medicine, ball preservation, art of fermentation, a few mushroom and foraging books.)
Medical:
Where there is no doctor
Where there is no dentist
Emergency War Surgery
The survival medicine handbook
Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine
Special Operations Medical Handbook
Food Production
Mini Farming
encyclopedia of country living
square foot gardening
Seed Saving
Storey’s Raising Rabbits
Meat Rabbits
Aquaponics Gardening: Step By Step
Storey’s Chicken Book
Storey Dairy Goat
Storey Meat Goat
Storey Ducks
Storey’s Bees
Beekeepers Bible
bio-integrated farm
soil and water engineering
Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Food Preservation and Cooking
Steve Rinella’s Large Game Processing
Steve Rinella’s Small Game
Ball Home Preservation
Charcuterie
Root Cellaring
Art of Natural Cheesemaking
Mastering Artesian Cheese Making
American Farmstead Cheesemaking
Joe Beef: Surviving Apocalypse
Wild Fermentation
Art of Fermentation
Nose to Tail
Artisan Sourdough
Designing Great Beers
The Joy of Home Distilling
Foraging
Southeast Foraging
Boletes
Mushrooms of Carolinas
Mushrooms of Southeastern United States
Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast
Tech
farm and workshop Welding
ultimate guide: plumbing
ultimate guide: wiring
ultimate guide: home repair
off grid solar
Woodworking
Timberframe Construction
Basic Lathework
How to Run A Lathe
Backyard Foundry
Sand Casting
Practical Casting
The Complete Metalsmith
Gears and Cutting Gears
Hardening Tempering and Heat Treatment
Machinery’s Handbook
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic
Electronics For Inventors
Basic Science
Chemistry
Organic Chem
Understanding Basic Chemistry Through Problem Solving
Ham Radio
AARL Antenna Book
General Class Manual
Tech Class Manual
MISC
Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft
Contact!
Nuclear War Survival Skills
The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization in the aftermath of a cataclysm
I'd going to answer in two posts here, this one will link stuff to websites or amazon for physical books. The other will be more discussion based. (e.g. this is just a raw data dump.)
I have used some google foo and I'm willing to post links, note that many of these will overlap (that is they have the same free PDFs or HTML pages etc.) Others are a bit further out there, e.g. magnetic pole reversal etc.
You get the point though people compiled whatever they though the world might need after aliens, the clintons took your guns, or trump and putin nuke everybody, global warming, plague, etc. Since it takes a massive amount of work to put these together and most people are not dedicated enough to do so, they all have the flavor of whatever the person building them thought was most important.
Here is a list, use from it what you can. Including in the list are things like RACHEL, hardware hotspot for wifi that any computer can connect to, like a library box or pirate box. Many of these resources are focused on and in use in 3^rd world nations. things like the one laptop per child might be a perfect resource to allow some technology designed cheaply but ruggedly to have to access this stuff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD3WD
https://worldpossible.org/rachel
http://librarybox.us/
http://one.laptop.org/
http://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia
http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/INDEX.HTM
cd3wd torrent magnet link. 2012 version
dropbox link for torrent files for the above if the magnet or trackers aren't working.
http://oer2go.org/
Pole shift library magnet link
Need 55 gigs of wikipedia offline? get it at this link
http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/borden/Portlet.aspx?ID=cb88853d-5b33-4b3f-968c-2cd95f7b7809
http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/
https://modernsurvivalonline.com/survival-database-downloads/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061992860
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452295831
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570618402
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933392452
https://graywolfsurvival.com/3083/documents-need-bugout-bag/
https://www.opensourceecology.org/gvcs/
Have an accepted offer on 50+ acres of land (future home site). About 50% cleared for eventual pasture, 50% wooded. Lots of wildlife in the area, dirt is better than most of the area and plenty of pond sites available.
Ordered 'The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself' when it dropped about $10 on Amazon. Reviews make it sound like a must-have book for our next adventure.
Read Five Acres and Independance. Best 8.96 you'll ever spend.
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Dirr et al. has comprehensive instructions for winter propagation. I have had up to 100% success personally doing this. many commercial growers do all of their productions this way.
December through March cuttings -- Four to six inch long cuttings just below last year's lignified stem (slightly more brown). Bottom heat from 66 to 68F. IBA talc at 1000 ppm. I use a sand/fine white-pumice (Mt. St. Helens) medium. This will work very well under protection. Water sparingly and carefully when (and if needed) during the 8-10 week rooting period.
[Edit: Typos]
There are some great resources to read over the winter.
Bill Mollison was the guy who started Permaculture. A great start would be to read his Design Manual.
This will give you a framework to think about Permaculture. You could spend years following the aspects that fascinate you whether it is landscape design or grey water systems or rocket stove heaters, mob grazing, natural swimming pools, or a million other directions you can take it. It's good to have an overview first.
About making a living, there were a couple aspects that never made sense to me. First if I wanted to make living on a permaculture farm full time, how was I supposed to eat apples all year? I like the idea of perennials, but I was confused. Then I met Mark Shepard in Wisconsin at his farm. He explained that it's more than just fruits. He grows hazelnuts for oil, chestnuts for carbs, and veggies between the rows. That made more sense to me. Mark has a permaculture design course that he calls Restoration Agriculture where he talks about how to purchase the land, how to structure your business, etc.
The second area of confusion for me was how to make a living teaching design courses. In any given area, there is a finite number of people interested in Permaculture. For you to teach courses and continue to get enough people to make a living, you need to be a big name like Geoff Lawton. So I thought about falling back on design. Even fewer people have the money to pay you to design their property. Meanwhile more and more people want to do this for a living.
Basically, I'm still struggling to figure out how to realistically pay my bills just doing permaculture. I hesitate to say this because I don't want to discourage you. Permaculture is amazing.
Seconding u/theUnmutual6's recommendations, in addition to u/BlueSmoke95's suggestion to check out Ann Moura's work. I would like to recommend Ellen Dugan's Natural Witchery and her related domestic witchery books. Ellen is a certified Master Gardener and incorporates plants into much of her work.
Some of my favorite plant books!
Plant Science:
Foraging & Field Guides:
Herbalism:
Ethnobotany:
I also encourage y'all to look into fungi as well. I work with both plants and fungi and I think they bring a fascinating and fulfilling aspect to my work. Plus, hunting for mushrooms is super fun! I can recommend field guide books for folks who are interested, they just tend to be very region-specific so I'm not going to list all of them here.
For general fungus reading I recommend the following:
Actually, you should put the seeds in water for few days to ferment them. This removes a coating that inhibits germination, supposedly. Then continue as above.
Pole beans you should just be able to save. Make sure you're not planting hybrids of either plant, or your saved seed will give you unpredictable results.
This book is often recommended. I read it and it was helpful, and will be a really good reference for when I can actually start doing it. There are other factors to consider, such as cross pollination and such, and they're all covered here for each and every plant you could possibly want to grow.
Also... I read Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties and was fascinated. She touches on seed saving, and of course gets into cross pollination (on purpose this time!) and genetics and such. It was really exciting to read, in a total geek sort of way.
Carla Emory's Encyclopedia of Country Living.
A little bit of everything.
Well, Plants from Test Tubes will have you doing it like an amateur. The "pro" part is the next 20 years.
Have you noted how sunny the areas are? That will make a big difference in what you can plant.
There is a book out there called something like PNW Vegetable Gardening. It gives activities for your garden, month by month. It's pretty nice.
You can grow things now if you want that over winter. Purple sprouting broccoli is a good one. Garlic does well as well as some onions which will be ready in spring. Kale and Arugula can do fine as well, but I'm nut sure if you can start them right now. Otherwise, make sure your soil is amended and plant cover crops like has been suggested already. You can get a bag of it at Swansons and it contains a nice mix of them.
Edit: This is the book I was thinking of.
If you enjoyed this article, check out a guy called Paul Stamets, he did a TED talk on how fungi can save the planet:
http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world?language=en
Also his book is about mycelium, the "internet" of the plant world
http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-Help-World/dp/1580085792
I suggest:
Country Living and Know How
Survival Wisdom and Know How
and
Garden Wisdom and Know How
They wouldn't claim to be scientists, more like ecological engineers, but there are tons of writeups. They write a lot of books; there are a lot of "test sites" around the world.
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home Scale Permaculture --> most accessible guide for the layperson
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603580298/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1603580298&linkCode=as2&tag=postapocaly06-20&linkId=PARY4RJKHWLQYGER
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0908228015/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0908228015&linkCode=as2&tag=postapocaly06-20&linkId=NSVF65UXGPBESS3D --> Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, by Bill Mollison --> the textbook for the so-called "permaculture design course"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture
Some famous demonstration sites:
Zaytuna Farm, Australia - http://permaculturenews.org/2012/06/01/zaytuna-farm-video-tour-apr-may-2012-ten-years-of-revolutionary-design/
Bealtaine Cottage, British Isles - http://bealtainecottage.com/before-permaculture/
Agroforestry UK - https://www.agroforestry.co.uk/
It's quite a rabbit hole! Good luck exploring!!
Read this book: Five Acres and Independence.
It gives you all the information you need without unnecessary expenses.
It's Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison.
It's big. It's black. It's expensive.
I would check out David Holmgren and Bill Mollisons Books. They are both co-originator of what we know as permaculture today. Bill's book is more of a reference book, which is what it sounds like your after. Also Gais Garden is generally recommended.
Here's a few of mine that I really like. I have way more than these, but I'm not sure I'd recommend all of them, per se. Anyhow, should give you some ideas.
Security - Talks about small unit tactics with small arms and so forth.
Butchering and cooking wild game - If you hope to hunt for food, you gotta know what to do with it after shooting it.
SAS Survival Guide - Really tiny dimensions that make this easy to toss in my BOB.
Composting - If you plan to garden, you're gonna need to compost. I also have various gardening books such as container gardening, organic gardening, gardening according to the Mormons, etc. The Mormons have a lot of great homesteading-oriented books. Here's one called The Forgotten Skills of Self-Sufficiency Used by the Mormon Pioneers
Bushcraft - Never hurts to learn some knots and be able to make simple things out of natural materials.
Organization and Planning - I'm reading this one now. Touches on a lot of areas of things to think about that you gotta plan for. A good amount of stuff I hadn't really thought about before.
I'd start by reading
https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402/
I second the Monty Don rec, but do you know what aspect of plants you're most interested in?
There's a nice book Botany for Gardeners that goes into the details of how plants work if that's what you want to know, but it isn't going to tell you how to grow plants in your yard.
https://www.amazon.com/Botany-Gardeners-3rd-Brian-Capon/dp/160469095X
It's on sale right now! It's usually $15 (I've had it on my wishlist for a couple of years)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565126831/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_K0JsDbXNJZCDH
For general gardening books, I recommend The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. If you are looking specifically for information on saving seeds and related information, I recommend Seed to Seed.
I've been hoping to find something like that too and haven't found anything yet. I've been looking at these books in the mean time:
http://www.amazon.com/Vegetables-Berries-Thought-Possible-Imagine/dp/1580087965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301142256&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Carrots-Love-Tomatoes-Companion-Successful/dp/1580170277/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301142401&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Companion-Planting--Basics/dp/1601383452/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301142401&sr=1-2
There are also resources at the extension and ag offices. The biggest problem is that different heirloom varieties of the same family (i.e. tomatoes) can have somewhat different needs (different zone / sun needs). That means unless it when down to that level, it would still only be a guide line. Also, check this post out:
http://www.reddit.com/r/SelfSufficiency/comments/g2vt4/some_nice_and_free_ebooks_and_info_about/
They had a good chart on there for companion planting about midway down this page:
http://www.idepfoundation.org/idep_gardens_media.html
Don't forget general skill books with old techniques for many of these areas, like:
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Back to Basics
/u/dave9199 has already recommended "Country Wisdom and Know How" which I second. Really the whole series is great.
This book has a ton of info on a wide range of topics:
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1570618402
plants from test tubes
Not really that hard to get information and there are a plethora of free videos on Youtube that cover everything you need to know.
Some things to get you going on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/permacultureVOICES
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSGEokQQcdAVFuL_Aq8dlg
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_r1ELEvAuN0peKUxI0Umw
https://www.youtube.com/user/urbanfarmercstone
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWccp_i_qzC34-a0tmYoEg
https://www.youtube.com/user/survivalpodcasting
https://www.youtube.com/user/wholesystems
Some good books:
Essentially a textbook: https://www.amazon.com/Permaculture-Designers-Manual-Bill-Mollison/dp/0908228015/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479709226&sr=8-1&keywords=bill+mollison
Cold Climate Info: https://www.amazon.com/Resilient-Farm-Homestead-Innovative-Permaculture/dp/1603584447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479709474&sr=8-1&keywords=ben+falk
Keep in mind that with the move into electronic media, the books and whatnot that had to be paid for, moved as well. I would want to make something for my time and effort as I am sure you would as well.
However, I do disagree with asking money for something someone else came up with if you don't have something significant to add.
I dare say, I hope it is not a fad considering the 40 year history of the system as well as the time and effort I am putting in on my 5 acres.
Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets. Here's my brief review.
Edit: I also really enjoyed The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.
My favorite so far is probably The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour:
http://www.amazon.com/Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=61t6SRQzuNL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR129%2C160_&refRID=19QK02D2JDVH1815J35Y
I've also enjoyed The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery:
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=029NTQA9FBYZB5Z7SDMF
Some of the Storey's Guide books have also been helpful to becoming more self-sufficient (Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, for example). I'm always on the lookout for others! <3
I don't have a favorite, I have a long list of favorites. Listed below is a good starter selection. Lucifer's Hammer is the book that probably most directly led to the path I am on today. I have always liked science fiction and read it long before I would have ever called myself a prepper.
Fiction, to make you think:
Self Defense:
Sustainable Living:
Health and First Aid:
Free Your Mind:
Ray Mears is the man to watch and read if you are thinking about long term sustainable survival.
If you are thinking about eventually getting out of the primitive I would suggest adapting the practices of permaculture for your situation (and the cheaper condensed version though just as good!).
Things like a compost toilet and digesting methane for fuel might be things you'd like. There's the Humanure Handbook which I have read from front to cover several times and I highly recommend it. I also experimented with humanure and have nothing but good things to say about it. Anyway, I don't want to talk to much so Google permaculture, there's a /r/permaculture subreddit, read, research, think a lot about what you're going to do before you do it and good luck.
EDIT: here's a good book about a permanent shelter you might like
Sorry to be a jerk but my lawn tip would be to not get one. A common water-wise plan I've seen in your area is groupings of agaves, aloes or other succulents set against a sharp stone mulch (not the 70s lava rock). It looks really nice, it's low to no maintenance and a responsible use of water. Many people have palms which look fancy/exotic and are appropriate for the area. You could also go with native plants (great on water) to get a nice habitat going and attract birds and pollinators.
I'd recommend getting The Sunset Western Garden Book. It has a really easy way of identifying which plants are suitable to which areas. Even if you decide on a lawn, you might want a decorative border for ascetics or to reduce the lawn size.
EDIT: My bad, I didn't know that thing would pop up. It's a bit unsightly.
5 acres and Independence is a good place to start. Good read. It talks about farm animals, what crops to plant, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741
there is a book on the subject, mycellium running, we have a copy and it is worth reading.
Sign up for free wood chips. They deliver 25 yards at a time, which should be enough to cover your three terraces. Once that's down and weed growth has been stifled, you can plan out what you want to do starting with the terrace closest to the house.
Here's an article about the benefits of wood mulch:https://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/wood-chips.pdf
Here's a place to sign up if you think that might work for you:https://www.chipero.com/free-wood-chips-bay-area
I would also recommend getting a copy of the Sunset Western Garden book for advice about planting a garden in the west:https://www.amazon.com/New-Western-Garden-Book-Gardening/dp/0376039205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1485553079&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=sunset+western+garden+book+2017
There are free copies available at your local library.
Here's one thorough option
I also recommend checking out your local library, they usually have a good selection.
https://www.amazon.ca/Reference-Manual-Woody-Plant-Propagation/dp/1604690046/ref=asc_df_1604690046/?tag=googlemobshop-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=293003695917&amp;hvpos=1o1&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=6732310301403138853&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=m&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=1002265&amp;hvtargid=pla-476646075092&amp;psc=1
The reference manual for woody plant productions by dirr has a good section on grafting and covers all types of woody plant propagation.
https://www.amazon.com/Manual-Plant-Grafting-Techniques-Ornamentals/dp/1604694637
The manual for plant grafting technique also seems good but I do not own it so I'm not 100% on it.
This is where I get my mushroom plug spawn.
There are many others out there but I pretty much stick with Everything Mushrooms.
Here's a good page on how to do the log cultivation.
I used Gulf Wax instead of cheesewax because I wanted the logs to be vegan, turns out cheesewax is still vegan.
It's good to have a second person. My grandfather was a huge help having a lot of experience with torches, tools, and lumber in general. He marked a 5/8" drill for the proper depth and drilled all the holes while I went around with a rubber mallet nailing the plugs in.
Once we finished drilling and hammering we rigged up an old food can with some metal handles and melted the wax in it with a torch. Using some old craft brush, I'd dip the brush in the hot wax and dab it on all the plugs, the g'pa would reheat the wax as needed. Then we stacked the logs. Now, we wait.
It's probably too late to do an outdoor cultivation unless you happen to be in a part of the world that isn't going to go below 50 degrees F for another few months. There is always the PF Tek.
If this stuff fascinates you then you need to do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Paul Stamet's Mycelium Running. It doesn't get into step by steps but covers a wide variety of cultivation methods with lots of pictures of insane outdoor grows.
Breed your own vegetable varieties
&
Seed to seed
Are the two most important books for what you're looking for.
Have fun, and let me know if you have any questions. If folks want I can start a post about the topic sometime
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1570618402/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_FwHhDbCZ82V3E
Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills
Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself
That's a crap ton of knowledge right there. Remember to practice and learn before you need the skills.
Best advice is pick up a copy of Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting. Great information for beginners, lots of different methods to try if you're so inclined.
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, 2nd Edition: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions: Wide Rows, Organic Methods, Raised Beds, Deep Soil https://www.amazon.com/dp/160342475X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vyl7Cb55Z3W69
I’m a new gardener. I love this book. Full of pictures, tips and easy to read format to look up what you want to read about
I keep a copy of Botanical Latin on the shelf. It is pretty useful.
What I really prefer tho is floras that include name meanings. It used to be more common, but some new floras still have them too.
This probably isn't exactly what you are looking for, but I did want to give you my three favorites that relate to self-sufficiency and off grid living.
I really like this book as a sort of "what to expect" instead of "what to do." It chronicles Helen and Scott's decision and life to live a self-sufficient life.
I am not familiar with the books you listed, but I do love the three I mentioned above.
http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Plants-Lincolns-Botanical-Atrocities/dp/1565126831
One of two books I keep on my shelf at all times. The other is this.
Botanical Latin https://www.amazon.com/dp/0881926272/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_RQiODbD6MT818
Extremely helpful to understand the frequently descriptive nature of the plant names.
Try flash cards. Maybe common name on one side Latin on the other. If you run through these flash cards repeatedly you will actually know the common and Latin names of a bunch of trees.
You better have a hook on how you recognize what a leaf/seed/flower/bud looks like. All I can think is that it comes from repeatedly looking at the plant and naming it.
There is not a general rule.
Though conifer's don't really propagate from cuttings.
Here's a good reference:
The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation: From Seed to Tissue Culture
https://www.amazon.com/Reference-Manual-Woody-Plant-Propagation/dp/1604690046
Is the other SF civilized? Is that where they are setting up? That might determine the things I'd most want to have.
That said, if I could only have one book, it would be The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery: http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451333303&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+encyclopedia+of+country+living
It is big, though. But I'd still want it.
The Mushroom Life Cycle
An Easy Wild Bird Seed Tek
Building A Fruiting Chamber
Easy Bulk Substrate
Edit: If you are really interested in mycology all Paul Stamets books are must reads
Mycelium Running is a good start
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith
I amazed no one has mentioned 5 acres and independence yet.
Edit: Also, check our /r/backyardorchard. Tons of fruit/nut hobbiest info there.
I was asking a similar question not that long ago. One thing I realized is that it's a difficult question to answer. "Homesteading" describes an incredibly diverse range of activities: planting and gardening, livestock, building, repair, assessing land and soil quality, cooking, canning, bee hives... The list goes on and on. I'd recommend a couple of general books to start with, picking up books on each specific topic as you go. Pick one new thing to add to your homestead at whatever pace feels right.
I purchased both of these books based on numerous recommendations. They fit the "general homesteading" label rather well, and I think they're probably a good place to start.
The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour
and
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery.
They both cover a broad range of topics with enough depth to get an idea of what is involved with a project, though I'd probably suggest more in-depth material for really diving in to something.
http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Kuo/e/B001ILI9G2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603582142/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/The-Mushroom-Cultivator-Practical-Mushrooms/dp/0961079800/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=0V56Q93CSRKQYV2W1C0B http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-Help-World/dp/1580085792/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=0V56Q93CSRKQYV2W1C0B http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0472030361/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0472031260/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394519922/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580085792/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i03?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
I'm a bit of a generalist. I always have lots of projects going on at once, each in a different state of completion. The books I have listed I do own, and read and pick through the most often.
The first two are generalist books. I say that because they both have such a breadth of information it's hard to describe them. The third is more specialist in that it covers only a single subject, but does so in such detail and in a recipe type format that it's easy to follow along. It starts with how to build a blacksmith shop, what tools you need, and how to use tools you make to build bigger tools to help build other, bigger tools.
https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402
https://www.amazon.com/Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=FR7BRBKJ9CA3XRWW1N8H
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473081102&amp;sr=1-15&amp;keywords=blacksmithing
http://www.amazon.com/Permaculture-Designers-Manual-Bill-Mollison/dp/0908228015
It's this one.
I suggest you to read "Botany for gardeners" by Brian Capon (https://www.amazon.com/Botany-Gardeners-3rd-Brian-Capon/dp/160469095X). It's a good book to start learning botany.
Everyone has different preferences but I bought a houseplant care book (specifically How Not To Kill Your Houseplant ) and maybe I just didn’t buy the right one but I didn’t really care for it. It was cute, I flipped through it once or twice, and then I literally never touched it again. There’s so much information available on plants online, specifically with regards to care instructions, that I find the book unnecessary. You can easily post to r/whatisthisplant or use a plant ID app (much less reliable but works somewhat) to identify plants. If you’re just trying to familiarize yourself with different species of plants, browsing plant subreddits is a good way to go.
If you want to be better at caring for plants in general, I’d highly recommend Botany for Gardeners. I haven’t finished it yet, but it really breaks down how plants work in a way that’s easy to understand but still highly scientific and in-depth. From plant anatomy, to how they grow and reproduce, this book will help you better understand your plants. It doesn’t give specific care tips, but I feel like I’ve gotten much better at caring for my plants since reading it. Far too often we’re told what to do or how to do it, rather than why we should be doing it. If you learn the way plants work, you’ll have a much better idea of how to help them when they start struggling!
From A Complete Guide to Companion Planting by Dale Mayer:
> Tomatoes do well with carrots but the carrot's growth may be stunted. However, the carrots will have a sweet flavor when planted with tomatoes. You can plant a few close to the tomatoes then plant rows of carrots elsewhere for harvesting.
I'd recommend Let It Rot! also.
Love Mike McG and didn't know he had a composting book. Will have to check it out. Thanks for posting.
Well, four that I can think of off the top of my head would have to be:
Also, here's a channel on YouTube that has an ENDLESS amount of organic gardening information. GrowingYourGreens
My suggestion would be to start very small and learn all the core gardening principles -- soil, maintenance, harvesting, weed/pest control, etc. -- and then expand what you grow in your second year. The more manageable it is, the more likely you are to stick with it. Perhaps you could start with an herb garden with basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, cilantro, a few of those, then a tomato or two and maybe some bush beans or peppers. Maybe even less than that. You will get a ton of value and a lot of different flavors from just growing that little bit.
Your zone just tells you how hot/cold your area is. You are in a medium US climate so mostly this means you have a decently long season for growing, meaning you can grow the plants that need hot temps for a longer period of time - some plants need it to be 80deg for several months, while others can only be grown at the beginning and end of the season when it's coldest. Right now, you might be able to plant cold weather stuff like spinach and kale. When it warms up a bit more, you can start doing hot weather stuff like tomatoes. Look up the last frost dates for your area and it will help you know when to plant what. The zone can also inform what varieties of plants to grow - some are better for colder areas and other hot, etc. - but if I were you, as a new gardener, I'd just stick to growing the larger plants (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) that have already been started from a local nursery. They'll have stuff suitable for your zone and growing from seeds is often the hardest part for plants like tomatoes, so getting a baby tomato plant rather than the seeds can give you a better chance of success overall. it's just one less thing as Forrest Gump would say.
Check out gardenweb.com. They have a ton of good info. My new gardening book this year is The Vegetable Gardener's Bible and it's a really great book for new gardeners.
Local extension office and the farmer's almanac are also great resources. Also, check out Pinterest. There are a ton of ideas on there.
This book is green AND it's about plants I've been intrigued by this book for a while haha ;)
Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management : http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319032710&amp;sr=8-1
Lots of great advice below, but I would start by finding someone when a rodatiller if you can and turn under everything. Or, get out a shovel/hoe to turn over the soil and burry the weeds and start doing a little bit every night this week (you will probably want to go about 8-12 inches down). Then go to the library and get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Gardeners-Bible-High-Yield-R-D/dp/1580172121. Start reading at the beginning and you will get lots of great ideas to prepare your soil for next year and then a play by play for each crop you may want to grow next year and how to do everything for each one (seed to harvest.) Then, try to find some manure and spread it all over the soil in the next week or 2 and use your shovel/hoe to work it into the top layer of soil a bit. You should be good to go for the winter and ready to get going in the spring!
There's many good books on the subject - this one is my favorite.
Where are you posted? I'm curious if the seasons would be applicable enough for a homesteading book or something.
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1570618402
Otherwise, if you're more tropical.... hm... I don't know, actually...
And if you're posted in SSA... African Friends and Money Matters. 100% effective.
The Vegetable Gardeners Bible
It is the only bible I own. It includes everything from preparing the soil to working with compost. It includes sections about common plants and specific ailments and solutions. I heartily recommend this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Gardeners-Bible-High-Yield-Gardening/dp/1580172121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1251859999&amp;sr=8-1
I've also heard great things about the square foot gardening method.
Plants from test tubes is a great book
www.amazon.com/Plants-Test-Tubes-Introduction-Micropropogation/dp/1604692065/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=plants+from+test+tubes&qid=1567294752&s=gateway&sr=8-1
You're looking for "The Encyclopedia of Country Living", by Carla Emery.
https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402
Paul Stamets - Mycelium Running
Book on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-Help-World/dp/1580085792
Paul Stamets TED talk:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXHDoROh2hA
This is a good reference book for plants https://www.amazon.com/New-Western-Garden-Book-Gardening/dp/0376039205, as far contactors go it will depend on what you want you want to do. Astro turf one contractor flower beds another.
Botanical Latin is my first go-to reference for explanations of Latin epithets. One way of thinking about scientific names is that Genus is generally considered a noun and species an adjective. For example Ulmus alata, or winged elm has the specific epithet of alata, which is derived from the Latin word for wings. It's called winged elm because the stems have corky protruberances on the stems that look like wings.
For a definition for a specific word or sets of words, just do a search for the word using Google. In my professional opinion, that's the fastest way to figure things out.
Well, I have this excellent book, which I was roughly using as a guide. The root (ha!) problem I think, is that I didn't have the balls to do it last year, when I planted it. It was a gift when we bought our house, and it's the first thing I've ever stuck in the ground and didn't want to hurt it. I've since planted a bunch of stuff, and I'm a bit less timid. I figured that even if I killed it, I can learn from my failure and do better next time.
My goals, though, were several. Trying to encourage the open-center shape, for one; hopefully strengthening those two thin branches (as I said in my other comment, those were the only two on that side of the tree even before the massacre); plus the general advantages of pruning.
As for next time, I have no intention of ever having to do anything this dramatic in the future. Here's hoping I didn't fuck it up too bad. Thanks for the input, and I hope I get better at it.
edit- I've made some modifications to this post for educational purposes since I usually don't talk about far red light
Yes but that is 735nm LEDs being sold and you don't use 735nm for the Emerson effect to increase photosynthesis. That's simply not how the photosystem works in higher land plants.
Some types of algae or photosynthetic bacteria can have more than just chlorophyll types A and B found in higher land plants which can be far red sensitive. Chlorophyll F was recently discovered, for example, that will work with far red light. Chlorophyll D is also far red sensitive. Chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B are not far red sensitive in a solvent or have very limited sensitivity in a lattice. This can cause a lot of confusion.
Increased photosynthesis rate is a product claim and the burden of proof is always upon the person making the claim.
As for rooting, my claim that far red can be different for different plants comes from studies found in this book (I have the 1996 1st edition):
https://www.amazon.com/Plants-Test-Tubes-Introduction-Micropropogation/dp/1604692065
I also work with far red light. You need a specific far red light meter or a spectrometer to even make a simple measurement as even the $800 LiCor quantum light meters won't work with far red light. I don't recall him having either but I could be wrong here (I require a spectrometer for my work). This is important since some of the far red sensitive phytochrome proteins can work at different far red light intensities.
edit- clarification and you can see in this spectrometer shot that far red light is mostly just reflected off a leaf:
http://i.imgur.com/tdKIr.jpg
And 1 puck per 9 square feet? No, I'm calling that out after looking at the LED data sheet. I had some minor inside information under NDA from a subcontractor on the $4.88 million LED study by Purdue and MSU and they were using much higher far red lighting levels to elicit a response.
One can get a UFO light with a far red LED or two in a 5 gallon bucket and that will put close to the same far red light per square foot as that puck if only one puck is needed per 9 square feet.
Example of what I use which puts out more far red light than that puck:
http://imgur.com/a/cCHrN
I recently bought this Book as I became quite interested in Mycorrhizae in general. Its a good read I'd recommend it.
https://www.amazon.com/Permaculture-Designers-Manual-Bill-Mollison/dp/0908228015
Ultimately trial and error will be your best friend. Don't be afraid to experiment. You will know your land better than anyone else. It truly is rewarding.
Baker Creek Herloom seeds has a very useful website. Under all of their plants they have reviews. Also if you go to their Facebook page they have a guy named Matt that teaches a lot about gardening on their live feeds. Also a good starter book that I enjoyed just staring out was [square foot gardening ](All New Square Foot Gardening II: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More in Less Space https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591865484/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xoHRybVDJT2Y6)
And The [Vegetable Gardener's Bible ](The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, 2nd Edition: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions: Wide Rows, Organic Methods, Raised Beds, Deep Soil https://www.amazon.com/dp/160342475X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fpHRybBXSA45A) if you have any gardening questions you can PM if you would like and I would love to help.
Also I'll compile a list of my favorite resources for gardening.
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741
Thanks! This is really helpful advice. I'll look into "forest gardening."
Is this the book you mean? http://www.amazon.com/Permaculture-Designers-Manual-Bill-Mollison/dp/0908228015
Country Living is a good one too - it has lots of sections on gardening, homesteading, etc. https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1496664896&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=country+living
The Backyard Homestead is a good one for when you have limited space for your garden, too: https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Homestead-Produce-food-quarter/dp/1603421386/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1496664924&amp;sr=8-6&amp;keywords=homesteading
And then we LOVE this cookbook. It's a bit basic, but I use the recipes in it over and over and over again - her Herbed Biscuit recipe is my go-to now for biscuits, dumplings in chicken and dumplings, that sort of thing. If you don't live in the NOrtheast, though, you'll have to adjust the months for when stuff becomes available in the garden: https://www.amazon.com/Farmers-Cookbook-Preserving-Fermenting-Handbook/dp/1616083808/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1496664947&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=farmer%27s+cookbook
It’s not really how to care for plants, but I’m reading Botany for Gardeners that shows the scientific aspects of plants if you’re interested in that type of thing.
I've found this book to be a very good reference.
American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789441160/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jhgZCbGDR8N9C
If you want to see for yourself, give it a shot. Take a cutting, dip in rooting hormone, stick in well draining substrate, increase humidity and light for 2 weeks. Check to see for roots. Best of luck.
Look into local chapters of the mycological society or mushroom hunting groups/clubs in your area. This site lists a few options. Looks like the one in Albion may be near-ish to you.
I've also found many of the links in the sidebar helpful, especially mushroom observer and the mushroom hunting and identification forum on The Shroomery. The Shroomery's ID forum is where I go to confirm my suspected ID's after keying out specimens on my own.
I use Mushrooms Demystified, by David Arora, as a my post collection ID book. It's both huge and dated (i think it's latest edition is from the early or mid 80's) so it's functionality as a field guide or the final word in ID is lacking. Even so, it is good to learn to work through dichotomous keys like the ones that it employs and it usually gets you headed in the right direction. Other guides like Rogers Mushrooms, All the Rain Promises and More, and The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms are good resources, too (I'm sure other folks can add to this list, I'm just dropping the names that first come to mind).
As much as I clash with some of his professional/ethical decisions, Paul Stamets has contributed a ton to the accessibility of Mycology to the masses. Check out Mycelium Running and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms as introductions to the Fifth Kingdom.
I'm also really enjoying Tradd Cotter's new book, Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Fungi for the People and The Radical Mycology Collective have also been hugely influential in my personal growth as an amateur mycologist. If you ever get a chance to attend any of their events, I would recommend doing it.
Best of luck and enjoy your journey!
It was written 50+ years ago, so a large part of the advice on farming is very low-tech.
That's both informative and kind of a drawback at the same time.
here's a link on Amazon
For kitchen waste, a vermicomposter is ideal. I built an OSCR jr from these plans I found online and it lasted for about a decade and a half before the plastic became brittle from exposure to sun/elements. I'm in the process of building a new one (pay attention when drilling the holes, one of the three bins is done differently). The worm castings and the tea that drains into the bottom bin are excellent fertilizers and maintaining the bin is a cinch.
Having a pair of bricks to place in the bottom/drainage bin is helpful to keep the worm bin from sitting in liquid.
I'm going to either install a stop-cock or at least drill a hole and keep a rubber plug in it to make draining the bottom bin easier.
----------------------------------------
For yard/garden or any other bulk/high volume a larger compost bin will be necessary. I find the commercially available ones to be too small. I built the three bin system detailed in the book "Let it Rot!" which is also an excellent resource if you want to understand these processes a little better. The three bin system works fairly well at handling grass and hedge clippings, leaves, old pine shavings from inside the chicken coop, etc.
___
I almost exclusively use the worm casting tea for watering my houseplants and plants in containers, likewise the worm castings get spread primarily as a top dressing for the same containers and the surplus then goes to the garden and landscape plants.
The compost from the big triple bin gets used throughout the yard as mulch or to till in with new plants.
HAHA yea man, this Hemlock tree was totally put here for you - Wicked Plants
I love this one, especially if you want to know about gardening and horticulture.
If you want to know about plant physiology, phylogenies and ecology, I recommend this one.
Botany for Gardeners
> I don't just leave them locked outside all day.
Doggie door. Cutting a hole in the side of my house is the absolute best life enhancement in terms of bang for buck.
Best of luck on moving to the country. This link and most of the recommended books at the bottom of the page are awesome.
Is it? Hm, I never noticed. I mean: I do have a significant interest in the current state (and direction) of agriculture so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise. >shrug<
Pretty cool to share your rationale for why you subbed to this sub.
Have you read Mycorrhizal Planet by Michael Phillips yet? It was a nice late winter read for me; marked my copy up pretty good with notes for later reference.
I did Elaine Ingham's "Life in Soil Class" recently too; and while I didn't agree with her position on a couple of things, I found it to be very interesting and have some different approaches I'll be implementing on my acreage.
I've also done significant soil-biology testing this spring with A&L Canada (think: Solvita test on steroids), to develop a baseline for levels/populations of my soil life. I'm taking bi-weekly tests of the same type now that I've applied my glyphosate/atrazine/isoxaflutole so that I can see soil population response and recovery. It's going to be a pretty cool experiment. The same fields will be getting randomized cover crops (some that will over-winter and some that will not); and we'll see how my soil life (along with farm ROI) changes.
Thanks for showing an interest, too bad you banned me from /r/Organic; because we could have had some great discussions in that sub as well.
When I first became interested in gardening, my mom recommended the Sunset Western Garden Book. She said everything she knows about plants she learned from that book.
Yes, they appear after a branch has established itself. You just wanna gently pinch them off as they appear. Think of it as, "No two branches can be in the same space at the same time." Like a physics lesson n shit. Don't let your starters get too tall before you plant them, this is called "leggy" and a leggy tomato plant will not be able to support itself, tomatoes need a lot of nutrients from the soil and they can't get that if they are all plant and not enough root.
Definitely get a book! The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is kind of as good as it gets. It is important to put some thought into gardening and I like learning about stuff, but I think that over thinking it can end up making it feel like more work than it is.
Good luck with your garden!!
I think you could do it on less than 5, provided that you did not raise meat, or very little. Provided that you lived in a climate the produced most of the year, and ate only veggies and fruit I think it could be done.
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1347587158&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=5+acres+and+independence
Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart is a good popular science read about toxic/illegal/invasive plant species and breifly covers the history, medicine, science, and myths & legends pertaining to each specimen. The mythology/legends of plants are in no way the focus of the book, but are sprinkled in here and there for them when it applies.
A quick amazon search led me to Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics : Embracing the Myths, Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-Lore of the Plant Kingdom. It was written in 1884, so is likely outdated but from the title it seems interesting at least.
I also came across this book that, according to its description, is an "entertaining and enlightening one-of-a-kind compendium of the world’s most amazing and bizarre plants, their history, and their lore"
I've heard great things about this one, but haven't purchased it for myself yet. It's one of those old-school "pass thing down the way they used to do them" books. http://amzn.com/1570618402
I've never dealt with such a problem. But my gut tells me to throw a bunch of carbon and nitrogen at it to make it really hot and that should kill anything bad in there with a high nitrogen for a while. You'll also want to add sod as it's a starter. But I think hit it hard with the grass trimmings for the nitrogen to run it hot.
Almost everything I've learned about composting came from this book, that I LOVE.
https://www.amazon.com/Let-Rot-Composting-Down-Earth/dp/1580170234/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1484012881&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=composting+book
Yep. The reason you will find so much conflicting data is because plants grow different in different places. Like, drastically differently, in some cases.
Your local extension will most likely have things most relevant to your area. Otherwise, I have really enjoyed this book because it gives good data, including soil temp and several different methods of plant spacing, trellising, etc. It may not be as detailed as you'd like because it often doesn't give root depth, but it will tell you the best soils, pH, and other helpful information in a well-organized format.
The pods are seed pods. You will want to let it completely ripen on the shrub, it will dry and begin to dehisce (begin to open) at which point seeds would be ready to harvest. Lilac seeds will sprout best after "moist cold stratification" which helps them initiate spring germination. This is botanical speak for "simulated winter." Seeds can be placed in a ziplock bag with a 50:50 mix of coir and vermiculite that is moist but not wet then stored in the fridge for 1-3 months before sowing. Lilac is definitely not a species I would consider an easy candidate for beginning foray into seed propagation, but a lot has been written about it. Perhaps check out Michael Dirr's really comprehensive guide to shrub propagation if your interest level is strong:
( https://www.amazon.com/Reference-Manual-Woody-Plant-Propagation/dp/1604690046 )
Top priority: http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1570618402
edit: someone already said my suggestion
Randomly picked up this book from the Uni bookstore, short, to the point, and focused on agriculture/gardening (as opposed to natural history). But I do not know how much it focuses on breeding though (not that far into it yet)
Botany for Gardeners: Third Edition
Mycelium Running: How mushrooms can help save the world is a good read. Furthermore, Paul Stamets is the man; a myco-champion on a mission.
Here are a couple of good reference books:
-The Better Homes & Garden Complete Guide to Gardening Basically, this is a gardening encyclopedia, and it has good, basic information for the beginner gardener.
-Garden Wisdom and Know-How Pretty interesting book with a lot of excellent planting and pest control techniques.
Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities
I bet this is SO GOOD!!
If you're after something affordable and practical (for your purposes of gardening), then I'd recommend Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon.
I hope you find it useful!
[Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565126831/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.Rt0AbEYEHBHQ) (under coffee table books...which I am obsessed with!)
Oh man, sorry for the lag. I kept meaning to reply, but always got sidetracked.
Purple basil is tasty, and if I remember correctly, has a slightly more astringent flavor than sweet basil. It's great if you're making Asian dishes with it. If you're just growing it for Italian food and gimlets (basil gimlets are fantastic) plain old sweet basil with the big rounded leaves is where it's at.
As for rooting plant cuttings in water, sometimes it works. You end up with a stronger root system if you use substrate though, and I'm a little surprised that you got rosemary to root that way. I've used a 50/50 mixture of perlite and vermiculite with good success, and if you've got something stubborn there are rooting hormone powders available in various strengths.
If this is something that really appeals to you, and you'd like to learn more, this was used as a textbook in my plant prop. class last year.
http://www.amazon.com/American-Horticultural-Society-Propagation-Plant-/dp/0789441160/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1331662223&amp;sr=1-1
It's a good book, and not so intense that it's difficult to understand.
You are not going to find a single source for this. It's trivia and not something anyone usually cares about. For some plant names there's this, but it would only provide minor insights.
Stern's Botanical Latin
Now if you're looking for an explanation of how things are classified or arranged evolutionarily, that's something all together different.
Hello, Kimbal! Have you read this book: Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility https://www.amazon.com/dp/160358658X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_oKyLAb8VD8DXM
If yes, did it teach you anything useful for growing healthy food?
If i were you i could buy this book. I got this book for christmas this year and was impressed with the amount of information in it. There are entire sections of cycling plants as to no deplete nutrients from the soil. Plants to plant with and near one another so they can help combat each other's possible insect problems. It is worth picking up!
Fellow Minnesotan and Seed Analyst (Plant Biology degree) here!
I recommend having this book on hand for all of your greenhouse adventures: American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789441160/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_F8qQybT9GQCE7
It's full of photos and will provide you with endless practical advice as you're starting planties. I'm so excited for you and your students!
Resources to educate yourself
https://books.google.com/books/about/Psilocybin_Mushrooms_of_the_World.html?id=36oG8Wh8mI4C&amp;source=kp_book_description
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1580085792/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_xZO6Cb0KY73AK
https://books.google.com/books/about/Decomposing_The_Shadow.html?id=Q53PBgAAQBAJ&amp;source=kp_book_description
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Psilocybin_Mushroom_Bible.html?id=ZLksjwEACAAJ&amp;source=kp_book_description
This is an excellent book for those wanting to dip their toes into the botany pool: https://www.amazon.com/Botany-Gardeners-3rd-Science/dp/160469095X
I'm going to second all the book recommendations, especially the encyclopedia of country living. I'd like to add:
https://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1499822776&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=5+acres+and+independence
and
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Life-Nearings-Self-Sufficient-Living/dp/0805209700/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1499822872&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+good+life+nearing
Peace
edit:
totally forgot the most important book I own: https://www.amazon.com/Public-Works-Handbook-Self-Reliant-Construction/dp/082563041X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1499823155&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=public+works
Was a gift from my FIL when we told him what we were planning on doing (moving out to nowhere and living as self-sufficiently as possible).
I really enjoyed Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets. Not exactly what you seem to be looking for but it certainly would be of value if you have not read it.
Mycology Running has a great science focused breakdown of proven medical benefits of certain species.
This one?
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World
http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-Help-World/dp/1580085792
thanks for the recommendation, going to read it!
This might be a cool book for her. I have a few books like this, it's handy to have a good reference like this to consult.
The strains are different due to different genetics which in turn means different ratios of cannabinoids and different high/effect. It's like all the various types of tomatoes out there, different sizes/tastes but still tomatoes.
Basically the plants have been 'modified' by people through selective breeding. Certain genetics/plants are native to certain areas, people started coming in, taking those plants and crossing them with plants from other areas to create hybrids. This process has been ongoing for a long time and thus we have thousands of hybrids of marijuana which means thousands of different combinations of the cannabinoids.
Selective breeding is not at all unique with just marijuana as well, can be done with all kinds of plants to make your own seeds:
https://www.amazon.com/Breed-Your-Own-Vegetable-Varieties/dp/1890132721
https://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Gardening-Pacific-Northwest-Regional/dp/1604693517/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1481756834&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=pacific+northwest+gardening
I recommend giving this book a look. It is broken down into sections for each month and lists what you could direct sow, start indoors, or transplant. It has a wealth of information and is local to the Pacific Northwest.
I would recommend you only plant one summer squash. Two if you really want to push it. I could have built a house out of all of the summer squash I got from two plants last year. It definitely makes you feel like a real gardener but soon you'll find your 4 year old buried in a stack of summer squash.
If you ever want a bigger garden plot and don't mind driving out to Redmond I just want to let you know about the community garden at Marymoor, where I garden. http://marymoorgarden.org/ Their standard plots are 400 square feet so you'll get quite a bit more space than you have now.
A good overview of mushrooms is Mycelium Running. If you are interested in cultivation other Stamet's books are also useful.
There are a lot of great online references if you are willing to sit down, do some research, and map things out. As far as books go this one is pretty thorough and this book (I have heard) gives a more basic introduction. I've actually found the wikipedia chart on companion planting to be a really useful quick reference as well.
Here is the only book you will need.
Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets
http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-Help-World/dp/1580085792
My partner and I are embarking upon a similar journey. My advice is to read a lot, before buying land.
This book has been VERY informative, and remains practical despite its copyright date. Just keep in mind that there may be a more modern methods available, and you'll be in great shape.
As always I recommend referencing multiple sources for all important info, but Five Acres and Independence is an excellent one to start from.
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741
If you're interested in a fun read on the topic, check out Wicked Plants
book suggestion: plants from test tubes
Check out Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets. He also has a great Ted Talk.
I'm a huge myco-nerd.
I'm in the same boat as you and just started reading a lot of science stuff.
It might be a good idea to pick up an edition of The Best American Science [and Nature] Writing for lots of topics all at once.
I also second the Brian Greene books, early Dawkins, and The Red Queen. But I don't really understand all the Hofstadter hype... I really didn't like I Am a Strange Loop--I found it extremely poorly written, off-topic, at times pretentious, poorly constructed, and overall not a very pleasant experience.
Most of my interest is in biology and evolution, so my recommendations would be:
My favorite animal rights book: Created From Animals - Rachels
A really fun read about poisonous plants: Wicked Plants - Stewart
Another Stewart book about earthworms: The Earth Moved - Stewart
Also anything by Michael Pollan, and to complement that, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
I always like DK books for learning things because they tend to provide good intro info (it won't be super in depth) and they're very visual so enjoyable to look through and read. But honestly I recommend just going to your library and browsing what they have on this topic before buying anything so you can look inside the books.
what about this?
For composting, I would look at Let it Rot and the Rodale Book of Composting. The second is more detailed and is my choice for "if I had to choose just one."
It's not a field guide, but the Sunset Western Garden Book is pretty good for the west. I think there are versions of Sunset for the different regions, like East Coast Living and Southern Living. I'm sure they have a similar book that corresponds to wherever you live. And in case you happen to be in the Pacific Northwest, Pojar is pretty much the plant id bible, but it's not for gardens.
This may be something worth looking into.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1604692065?cache=16deecde5dcee98386fe864cd778457f&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;qid=1405176619&amp;sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1
I just bought this book specifically for our area. It has a breakdown of what to plant and do in your garden month by month.
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/1604693517
I am interested to read anything related to it, which novel was it?
It is a pretty prevalent concept.
The foresight came to me after careful reflection of the smurfs and their intricate little dwellings..
Also, data, garbage disposal and soil health, electricity could one day be transported by GMO [mycelea](
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1580085792?vs=1)
The fruit that is on there is probably fine for this year. In future years when it sets heavier you will want to thin the clusters to 1-3 each (rather than the typical 3-5).
You should NOT prune your trees now unless there is a diseased or damaged branch. Pruning on apples and pears is done in the late fall and winter when the tree is dormant.
You can read this for some basics. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/22166/pnw400.pdf
Better bet is to buy a pruning book and learn about the basics. Couple great examples here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1564583317/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
or here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780192703/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
Sweet, haven't seen that. He is a seller of his own books on AZ... found it!
Honestly you've already found a great source of good information and discussion:) I use the search bar in this sub more than any other, but I still refer regularly to my Grandma's favorite: Western Garden. It's a time-tested and comprehensive run-down of theory and method, as well as an encyclopedia of plants that are easily cultivated/common in the western hemisphere, but is mostly geared to the continental US.
The wonderful thing about plants is that they want to grow, and if you can just create the right conditions they will reward you in many ways. Some are waaay more forgiving than others, so don't just jump into orchid cultivars and other exotic specimens. Start composting, plant the veggies you like to eat (and maybe some luffa gourds for your shower time) and be proud of your harvest, you will never taste better food :)
I am currently reading "5 acres and Independence" which I am enjoying, its fairly old but still very applicable, i think his anecdotes and way of thinking are very inspiring. Lots of nice little tips and observations.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486209741/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
At the same time I got "Handy Farm Devices and How to Make Them" haven't delved into it too much, but I am less excited about it now that I've thumbed through it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604595868/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
I've heard the "Raising Chickens for Dummies" book is actually worthwhile, so I'm thinking of picking that up next.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1564583317/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=1372706208&amp;sr=8-6&amp;pi=SL75
That's a good one.
How long before that's book is banned like the Anarchist Cookbook?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/160342475X/ref=mp_s_a_2?qid=1289331777&amp;sr=8-2ow
He's named after a real mycologist who has made the cheeky prediction that there will be an Interplanetary Journal of Astromycology when fungi are discovered in outer space. I just started reading the excerpt from Mycelium Running inside the Amazon Description, and it sounds really fascinating. He's even talking about mycelial mats as neurological networks!
>http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741
I'd suggest to get a jist either buy or borrow from a library. Yes there are more marijuana based books but learning some basic botany will help. Botany for Gardeners, 3rd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/160469095X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5QWZCbX98MJZV
So we are taught to laugh at anything called a cure for cancer, but ...
Well here it is since the early 1900's more than 100 natural cures for cancer have been found.
One of the simplest:
ESSIAC, you can buy it for around $20 a pound .. that is enough to make a couple months of the 'tea'. Depending upon the severity and type it may take up to a year to be sure it is completely gone. Some have found that over a period of a half a year or so skin tags shrink and vanish. Others have found that if you take the tea for a few months the tumors will shrink, but if you stop before all traces are gone then it usually comes back very very fast and kills .. a lot like not finishing ones antibiotics, but worse.
Another, Red Reishi, is recognized by the Japanese government as a treatment for cancer. Many mushrooms have strong anti-cancer and anti viral properties. (see Paul Stamets' book "Mycelium Running").
I have a very skeptical co-worker, and I drop small hints every now and again because otherwise he gets grumpy and thinks I'm a nut job. He is becoming more curious on his own now and he's learning what I have come to realize over the years .. we are systematically lied to about everything.
I haven't even brought up the cancer stuff yet.
Edit: For the downvoters, you can read the whole story here. Basically Rene Caisse ran a clinic as a charity, supervised and backed by 8 reputable doctors, for many years before the Canadian government got tired of due process and legality and just shut her down. Rene was only allowed to treat patients that the medical industry could not cure. She was harassed by the medical industry and the police the entire time. She made no money from this and in fact spent her own money curing people with Essiac tea. Anyone who thinks there is a ritual involved is full of shit.
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Amazon Smile Link: (see Paul Stamets' book "Mycelium Running").
|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|
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