Page 12 RAIN March/April 1985 The Community Garden Book: New Directions for Creating and Managing Neighborhood Food Gardens in Your Town, by Larry Sommers, 1984, 121 pp., inquire for price from: Gardens for All/The National Association for Gardening 180 Flynn Avenue Burlington, VT Q5401 The focus of The Community Garden Book is cooperative ventures-their budgeting, planning, and management. The solo urban gardener will also benefit from this guide. A typical chapter describes a. problem in the process of urban gardening, suggests time-tested solutions, and provides a list of further references. Most of this attractive guide is·devoted to discussing complications not always considered when first thinking of a cooperative garden project Examples of five budgets emphasize the need for financial planning facing a neighborhood ACCESS: Gardening venture. Initial planning and procuring of land are well discussed. This book even indulges in some ambitious thinking such as community managed orchards, greenhouses, and nurseries. The Community Garden Book is a great help for people starting a neighborhood garden. It is also a useful tool for any type of cooperative venture. _,...MD Your Nutritious Garden: A Guide to Growing Your Own Fresher, Better Tasting, More Nutritious Vegetables, by Dick Ramond and Gardens for All, 1984, . 44 pp., $3.95 from: Gardens for All/The National Association for Gardening 180 Flynn Avenue Burlington, VT 05401 Ari excellent guide for novice gardeners. In 44 pages this charming, easy-to-read (or skim) book has practically everything an aspiring gardener needs to produce a Who says a garden has to be rectangular? This sample layout includes both vegetables and flowers (FROM: Anything Grows!) nutritious, bountiful harvest by uncomplicated, practical techniques. This is not an exhaustive reference, but a concise guide for starting a 'garden. A key to this book's success is that only the 10 most · planted garden favorites are detailed. Plants high in vitamins A and Care encouraged for a "cancer-fighting gar- ~en." Ramonds provides ample information on choosing a garden location, tools, plant care, cultivation, and varieties appropriate to various situations. This book contains attractive illustrations and readable charts of pertinent ' information. Common pests are described and sometjmes illustrated. Of special appeal is the unpretentious emphasis on preventative techniques for thwarting weeds, insect pests, and diseases. "Commercially available controls" are discussed along with ecological and common sense cautions of. their usage. Both conventional and organic gardeners will find this guide very useful. -MD Anything Grows!, by Sheryl London, 1984, 246 pp., $9.95 from: Rodale Press Inc. · Organic Park Emmaus, PA 18049 This is the book to get if you always wanted to grow edibles, but thought you didn't ha\:'e the space. Anything Grows! is full of creative, workable ideas for pl.aces in which to grow garden plants. The book highlights individual examples of unique ga~dening from many different situations: sand dunes, parking lots, roof tops, and-oh yes-even the ground. The book is geared for the beginner, and covers a broad range of subjects. The basics of soil needs (chemistry), composting, mulching, watering, fertilizers are discussed. Charts help you choose plants, cultivation, containers and locations, and more. London even includes a section on warm-up exercises for stiff gardeners. This book caters to the uninitiated gardener, and encourages them with reassuring phrases such as "small time commitment." The discussions of naturally occuring pesticides are enjoyable. London writes on how to entice the help of insect-feeding birds, toads, lizards, and turtles. She also suggests ways to discourage visits of pesky birds such as pigeons. A lot of experience from many different types of gardening is written into this book. This is not a quickly read pamphlet, but a book to.contemplate and plan by. It is perfect for peopl~ with space limitations but ample interest. -MD
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz