Vegetable gardening is fun and rewarding, but it can also be confusing. No vegetable gardener wants to see their hard work wilt away in bad soil, eaten by pesky bugs or wither from a lack of water. Learn to identify the problem so a proper solution can be put into place quickly. Veggie Gardener's Answer Book by Barbara Ellis, answers tough questions fast.
Digging In: Vegetable Gardening & Garden Pest Control
Divided into four chapters, the maintaining-a-vegetable-garden section covers planning and planting a vegetable garden, soil and composting, caring for the garden, as well as garden pest control, diseases and other problems. It's the starting point for a new gardener, and a way to quickly jump into vegetable gardening without knowing the universe of gardening rules. Good stuff in an easy-to-comprehend format.
Gardening Care: Secrets of Success to a Vegetable Garden by Crop
What to do when an artichoke won't produce, cucumber leaves are yellow, or neighborhood bunnies have stolen all the carrots (a situation personally experienced)? Pull out the Veggie Gardener's Answer Book and figure out what's wrong with that particular plant. This chapter offers invaluable advice. While a gardener may some day consider a Master Gardener's degree, there is still plenty of hands-on work to be done meanwhile, and that's the time when a short-answer book is most valuable.
Vegetable Gardening Solutions by Vegetable Type
Individual vegetable chapters cover the following veggies: artichoke, asparagus, beans, beets (radishes & other root crops), broccoli (cauliflower, cabbage, etc.), carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce (spinach & leafy crops), melons, okra, onions & garlic, peas, peppers, potatoes, squash & pumpkins, as well as tomatoes. Check a plant's visible symptoms and refer to the book for a quick solution.
Summary
The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book is useful in several ways. Its compact size makes it easy enough to tote around the garden, and the Q&A approach keeps it from being intimidating to the gardening newbie. Check the index for a particular issue, and get straight to the source without a whole lot of snooty gardening terminology. This is a real-person's gardening book. Small, short, easy solutions to what are sure to become future problems for a new gardener.
Excerpt:
Question: Ouch! I didn't wear gloves! What can I do to stop the burning after I cut up hot peppers?
Answer: If you've ever cut up hot peppers, you've no doubt discovered one important-to-remember fact about capsaicin: It isn't easy to wash off. Here are some home remedies to keep in mind if you forget and cut hot peppers without protection:
- Wash the area with milk
- Try washing with automotive waterless hand cleaner, vegetable oil, or tomato juice
- Dip hands in rubbing alcohol, then coat them with an ointment like Bag Balm
- Some gardeners recommend using evaporated milk, full strength, for washing or drinking to cool internal burns
- Coat burning hands with yogurt
- Wash hands thoroughly with dish soap, dry them, and then rinse with lemon juice
- Soak hands in ice water
Title: Veggie Gardener's Answer Book
Author: Barbara W. Ellis
Publisher: Storey Publishing, 431 pgs., $14.95
ISBN: 978-1-60342-024-2
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