books and other resources for a new, incompetent gardener.
August 18, 2015 3:40 PM Subscribe
I've been neglecting my garden. Requesting your recommendations for basic books (or other resources) for learning gardeners.
Our house has a beautiful perennial garden. I'm not doing a very good job of maintaining it, and of course I have grandiose ambitions of expanding it and putting in awesome vegetable gardens, etc., etc. But for starters I need to know very basic things -- keeping the soil healthy, splitting/trimming plants, all of those sorts of things that I have a vague inkling I am supposed to do but have no idea how. My skill level at this point is basically pulling weeds + watering.
I found a few previous AskMes but they were mainly specific to other locations. I'm in southern Wisconsin, if that's relevant. Zone 4/5.
Thank you!
Our house has a beautiful perennial garden. I'm not doing a very good job of maintaining it, and of course I have grandiose ambitions of expanding it and putting in awesome vegetable gardens, etc., etc. But for starters I need to know very basic things -- keeping the soil healthy, splitting/trimming plants, all of those sorts of things that I have a vague inkling I am supposed to do but have no idea how. My skill level at this point is basically pulling weeds + watering.
I found a few previous AskMes but they were mainly specific to other locations. I'm in southern Wisconsin, if that's relevant. Zone 4/5.
Thank you!
Best answer: You want and need and will love The Garden Primer, by Barbara Damrosch. It's exactly what you're looking for.
posted by missmary6 at 7:31 PM on August 18, 2015
posted by missmary6 at 7:31 PM on August 18, 2015
It's not a how-to by any means but I found American Eden incredibly fascinating and inspirational to read as an amateur, somewhat lackadaisical gardener. Perhaps you will, too!
Have you considered joining a Master Gardener program? It'd be a great way to learn more. Regardless, a Master Gardener might come visit your garden and give you some free advice, should you be interested.
posted by smorgasbord at 7:57 PM on August 18, 2015
Have you considered joining a Master Gardener program? It'd be a great way to learn more. Regardless, a Master Gardener might come visit your garden and give you some free advice, should you be interested.
posted by smorgasbord at 7:57 PM on August 18, 2015
Search "Weekend Gardner" for short, easy to tackle projects and tips on having a low maintenance garden. For example if you want to have grass and flower or vegetable beds putting in a row of sunken bricks to separate the two means that mowing becomes way easier.
Keep in mind all the uses that your garden will be used for. If you have kids playing there it is very different than if you don't.
Start a project book and come up with 365 special small projects for your garden. Often being pro-active rather than waiting until the garden is showing neglect makes a huge difference, so making a habit of getting out each day to do something different will help you keep looking at your garden as something to enjoy rather than something that should have been watered the day before yesterday.
posted by Jane the Brown at 4:14 AM on August 19, 2015
Keep in mind all the uses that your garden will be used for. If you have kids playing there it is very different than if you don't.
Start a project book and come up with 365 special small projects for your garden. Often being pro-active rather than waiting until the garden is showing neglect makes a huge difference, so making a habit of getting out each day to do something different will help you keep looking at your garden as something to enjoy rather than something that should have been watered the day before yesterday.
posted by Jane the Brown at 4:14 AM on August 19, 2015
For helping deal with pests, necrosis, diseases, nutrient issues etc, I really like Ed Rosenthal's Protect Your Garden. It's not all that often that you get useful text in garden books and useful photos. Usually it's one or the other. Other folks like the book too.
Protect Your Garden also offers a lot of different solutions for dealing with whatever you diagnose, including IPM, organic, and inorganic methods, so it's pretty flexible. And at some point, all gardens get issues.
Full disclosure, Rosenthal comes from a marijuana cultivation background.
posted by migrantology at 7:54 AM on August 19, 2015
Protect Your Garden also offers a lot of different solutions for dealing with whatever you diagnose, including IPM, organic, and inorganic methods, so it's pretty flexible. And at some point, all gardens get issues.
Full disclosure, Rosenthal comes from a marijuana cultivation background.
posted by migrantology at 7:54 AM on August 19, 2015
Gardening is location-specific, so contact your local Cooperative Extension Service office. Your library may have gardening books that are targeted to your climate. Generally, The Readers Digest Gardening books are pretty good.
Maybe get the soil tested. Soil improvement is relative, so figure out if it's sandy, clay or poor, and address any issues. In my old house, one garden area had truly awful soil, and years of compost totally made it bloom. The only sunny area for tomatoes was next to the house and soil testing found lead, so I removed and replaced the soil down a foot. Current house has very sandy soil, so I'm growing tomatoes and basil in pots and building a raised bed for convenience and just having better soil.
Not sure what you're growing, but I recommend putting in some perennials, if you like flowers. We moved tons of daylilies, and in June, I have a daylily hedge that is so pretty. And my peonies and irises are getting established, which is great. Homegrown tomatoes are the best, as is homemade basil pesto, which freezes well, so those are my priorities.
posted by theora55 at 8:53 AM on August 19, 2015
Maybe get the soil tested. Soil improvement is relative, so figure out if it's sandy, clay or poor, and address any issues. In my old house, one garden area had truly awful soil, and years of compost totally made it bloom. The only sunny area for tomatoes was next to the house and soil testing found lead, so I removed and replaced the soil down a foot. Current house has very sandy soil, so I'm growing tomatoes and basil in pots and building a raised bed for convenience and just having better soil.
Not sure what you're growing, but I recommend putting in some perennials, if you like flowers. We moved tons of daylilies, and in June, I have a daylily hedge that is so pretty. And my peonies and irises are getting established, which is great. Homegrown tomatoes are the best, as is homemade basil pesto, which freezes well, so those are my priorities.
posted by theora55 at 8:53 AM on August 19, 2015
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posted by MonkeyToes at 5:19 PM on August 18, 2015