While we are staying home, why not delve into some vegetable gardening? I’ve been a container gardener myself for several years and I grow vegetables, several varieties of tomatoes, and herbs, in addition to saving and storing seeds for the following year. Gardening can as simple as watering some flowers to coordinating a vegetable feast to harvest later in the year. All you need is a few seeds or some beginner plants to get started. Here are some ebooks from hoopla, the Livingston Public Library’s online service that also brings you electronic comics, audiobooks, music, movies and T.V. shows. All you need is your library card.
Grow Great Vegetables In New Jersey by Marie Iannotti
Part of the Regional Vegetable Gardening series
The best gardeners know what and when they can grow is determined by where they are gardening. Our new series goes hyper-local, offering state-by-state vegetable gardening information from a local garden expert. Grow Great Vegetables in New Jersey is the ultimate guide to growing food in the Garden State, with detailed information on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details. Entry-level garden information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, and water.
The Edible Herb Garden by Rosalind Creasy
Part of the Edible Garden series
Learn how to grow hardy and fragrant herbs then use them create delicious meals with this beautifully illustrated herb gardening and cooking book. Author Rosalind Creasy takes you from seeds to stove top, from preparing soil to elegant dining, with easy-to-follow instructions and inspirational, imaginative ideas for every step of the way, with a complete “Resources” section. There’s information on how to design and grow an herb garden just about anywhere-from a spacious country plot to a small city balcony, from California to Maine and anywhere in between. With vivid photographs you’ll tour various gardens Creasy has created, plus the garden of herb luminary Carole Saville, among others. The comprehensive, fully illustrated “Encyclopedia of Culinary Herbs” section illustrates how to grow and use more than two dozen herb varieties. It includes both old favorites-basil, rosemary, sage, and the like-as well as more exotic herbs from around the world, including salad burnet, lemon verbena, and Mexican tarragon. In the “Favorite Herb Recipes” section you’ll find delicious recipes as well as instructions for accompaniments-herb blends and butters, vinegars and teas; main dishes from cuisines around the world; and even cocktails and desserts.
The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible by Edward C. Smith
How to Grow a Bounty of Food in Pots, Tubs, and Other Containers
Harvest tomatoes on a patio, produce a pumpkin in a planter, and grow broccoli on a balcony! Best-selling author Ed Smith shows you everything you need to know to successfully create and care for an edible container garden, from choosing the right plants and selecting appropriate containers through controlling pests without chemicals and harvesting fresh vegetables. You’ll discover that container gardening is an easy and fun way to enjoy summer’s bounty in even the smallest of growing spaces.
New Vegetable Garden Techniques by Joyce Russell
Essential skills and projects for tastier, healthier crops
This book is ideal for beginners, improvers and those serious about growing tasty, healthy organic fruit and vegetables. It will empower readers to grow food for a family, and help work out how to get the best results. Many books give sowing and growing instructions for a multitude of crops, but few give space to the techniques and tips that make gardening easier and that help anyone to grow healthy, sustainable food.
There’s something here for everyone: whether you grow in a small back yard and want to know how to raise salad in buckets, or if you have a large allotment where you want to improve pollination, or make your own liquid feeds.
Find out how to rotate your vegetables so they stay healthy and well-fed, to preserve choice crops for the freshest taste, to improve the soil organically and sustainably, and to produce homemade fertiliser from the leaves of your comfrey crop.
101 Organic Gardening Hacks by Shawna Coronado
Eco-friendly Solutions to Improve Any Garden
Create simple solutions for growing organic gardens! The word “hack” has a multitude of meanings these days, but if you ask garden author Shawna Coronado what a hack is, she might just wave her hand toward her own back yard. She could be pointing at the garden bench she created from leftover wood posts and a few cinder blocks, or the rows of wine bottles buried soldier-style along a winding pathway, or even the garden soil itself, which is blended by hand from an organic soil recipe she devised. A hack is really just a great idea that’s come to life. In 101 Organic Garden Hacks, you’ll find the top tips, tricks, and solutions Shawna has dreamed up in her career as one of America’s most creative gardeners. Some are practical timesavers; others offer clever ways to “upcycle” everyday items in your garden. One characteristic every hack shares is that they are completely organic and unfailingly environmentally friendly. Divided into a dozen different categories for easy reference, each hack is accompanied by a clear photo that shows you exactly how to complete it. If you are looking for resourceful ways to improve your garden and promote green living values right at home, you’ll love paging through this fascinating, eye-catching book.
Epic Tomatoes by Craig LeHoullier
How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time
Savor your best tomato harvest ever! Craig LeHoullier provides everything a tomato enthusiast needs to know about growing more than 200 varieties of tomatoes, from planting to cultivating and collecting seeds at the end of the season. He also offers a comprehensive guide to various pests and tomato diseases, explaining how best to avoid them. With beautiful photographs and intriguing tomato profiles throughout, Epic Tomatoes celebrates one of the most versatile and delicious crops in your garden.
Square Foot Gardening Answer Book by Mel Bartholomew
New Information from the Creator of Square Foot Gardening – the Revolutionary Method
Part of the Square Foot Gardening series
Square Foot Gardening Answer Book is for all of the world’s square foot gardeners. The book shows you ways to get more from your gardening efforts. Using proven techniques, appliances and approaches, this book will put more harvest on your table, with no additional garden beds. For more than 30 years Mel Bartholomew has been answering questions from Square Foot Gardeners, and this book presents the very best of that information. Real solutions to real problems, from the inventor of the Square Foot Gardening method.
From Container to Kitchen by D.J. Herda
Growing Fruits and Vegetables in Pots
More and more people are recognizing the need for nutritious, local, sustainable food, but organic options can be costly, and the produce sections of most supermarkets are packed with fruits and vegetables that have racked up more frequent flier miles than a rock band on world tour. How can urban dwellers without ready access to fertile land enjoy the benefits of traditional gardening? And for those with a yard, how do you maximize the harvest of fresh, healthy edibles? In From Container to Kitchen, D.J. Herda shows that there is a way. Written for the novice home gardener as well as the seasoned pro, this fully illustrated, comprehensive guide will show you how to save up to 70 percent on your produce bill by growing fruits and vegetables in pots. Topics include: Selecting the right container size and location; Optimizing soil composition and nutrients; Managing light, water, and humidity; Choosing the best fruits and vegetables for container gardening; Eliminating pests and plant diseases naturally; Extending the harvest; Dig in to this bumper crop of container gardening tips and techniques and learn how to create your own moveable feast!
Field Guide to Urban Gardening by Kevin Espiritu
How to Grow Plants, No Matter Where You Live
In Field Guide to Urban Gardening, author Kevin Espiritu of Epic Gardening shares the basics of growing plants, offers tips on how to choose the right urban gardening method, and troubleshoots the most common problems you’ll encounter.
Saving Seeds by Marc Rogers
The Gardener’s Guide to Growing and Saving Vegetable and Flower Seeds
Part of the Down-to-Earth Gardening series
Enjoy a delicious bounty of heirloom vegetables every year. Marc Rogers guides you through the time-honored and cost-effective tradition of collecting seeds from this year’s harvest to grow next year’s crop. Learn how to select and store seeds from proven varieties of more than 100 common vegetables and flowers. Through saving seeds and growing heirloom plants you’ll not only have a thriving garden every summer, you’ll be saving money and preserving local flavors at the same time.
-Melisssa Brisbin, Associate Director