Vegetables from your own farm to your own table
We all love good food, and the fresher it is, the better! And what could be fresher than farm-to-table terms than vegetables you've grown at home? The new edition of Vegetable Gardening For Dummies puts you in touch with your roots in a thousands of years old farming tradition by demonstrating how easy it is to grow your own. And there's no need to buy a farm: all you need to become a successful cultivator of the land is this book and a small plot of soil in the yard, or a container set aside for some tasty natural edibles. Add water and some care, love, and attention--et voila!
In a friendly, come-relax-in-my-garden style Charlie Nardozzi--leading horticultural writer and guest expert on shows such as Martha Stewart Living Radio--shares the nutritious results of a lifetime of vegetable-growing experience to delve into the nitty-gritty of micro-farming. It's not rocket science--quite the opposite--but you do need a bit of patience before you can reap your first glorious harvest. This book shows you how to master that, as you get down and dirty with the enjoyable work of building soil, starting seeds, controlling pests, and maintaining your garden. And as your early efforts turn to green shoots, you can dig deeper into information on special tips and tricks, as well as hundreds of vegetable varieties--many of which are beautiful to behold as well as tasty to eat!
* Plan out your garden
* Know your veggies, from tomatoes to chard
* Keep your plants happy and healthy
* Harvest, store, and preserve your crops
Whether your thumb is a fertile green or you've never put plant-to-pot before, this book will bring out your inner farmer: you'll find everything required to transform your garden into a self-renewing larder--and complement every meal with a crisp, healthy, home-grown treat.
Autorentext
The National Gardening Association is the leading garden-based educational organization in the United States. Visit http//:garden.org.
Charlie Nardozzi is a nationally recognized garden writer, radio and TV show host, consultant, and speaker. Charlie delights in making gardening information simple, easy, fun, and accessible to everyone.
Klappentext
Yummy food, straight from your patch of dirt!
From asparagus to zucchini, you can grow your own vegetables. For the total beginner and the veggie initiate alike, this new edition of Vegetable Gardening For Dummies is the how-to-grow guide that helps you bring delicious and nutritious food to your tablewithout ever setting foot in a grocery store! Cultivate soil that veggies will love, choose seeds and starts that are primed to thrive, and harvest when your food is at its best. Plus, this book is full of pro tips that can help you extend your growing season, control pests, make your own compost, and so much more. Dig in!
Inside...
Zusammenfassung
Vegetables from your own farm to your own table
We all love good food, and the fresher it is, the better! And what could be fresher than farm-to-table terms than vegetables you've grown at home? The new edition of Vegetable Gardening For Dummies puts you in touch with your roots in a thousands of years old farming tradition by demonstrating how easy it is to grow your own. And there's no need to buy a farm: all you need to become a successful cultivator of the land is this book and a small plot of soil in the yard, or a container set aside for some tasty natural edibles. Add water and some care, love, and attentionet voila!
In a friendly, come-relax-in-my-garden style Charlie Nardozzileading horticultural writer and guest expert on shows such as Martha Stewart Living Radioshares the nutritious results of a lifetime of vegetable-growing experience to delve into the nitty-gritty of micro-farming. It's not rocket sciencequite the oppositebut you do need a bit of patience before you can reap your first glorious harvest. This book shows you how to master that, as you get down and dirty with the enjoyable work of building soil, starting seeds, controlling pests, and maintaining your garden. And as your early efforts turn to green shoots, you can dig deeper into information on special tips and tricks, as well as hundreds of vegetable varietiesmany of which are beautiful to behold as well as tasty to eat!
- Plan out your garden
- Know your veggies, from tomatoes to chard
- Keep your plants happy and healthy
- Harvest, store, and preserve your crops
Whether your thumb is a fertile green or you've never put plant-to-pot before, this book will bring out your inner farmer: you'll find everything required to transform your garden into a self-renewing larderand complement every meal with a crisp, healthy, home-grown treat.
Inhalt
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Digging Into the Basics of Vegetable Gardening 5
Chapter 1: Vegetable Gardening 101 7
Having a Garden: Yes or No 7
Planning a Veggie Garden 8
Growing a Cornucopia of Vegetables 9
Tomatoes 9
Peppers and eggplants 9
Carrots, onions, and potatoes 10
Peas and beans 10
Cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and squash 11
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower 11
Lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and specialty greens 12
An array of other great veggies 12
Non-vegetable edibles 12
Getting Down to Growing 13
Choosing between seeds and transplants 13
Working the soil 13
Keeping your garden growing and enjoying the rewards 14
Trying for a bigger bounty 14
Chapter 2: Eyeing the Popularity and Benefits of Vegetable Gardening 15
Food Gardening: It's Popping Up Everywhere 15
Identifying a Few Good Reasons to Grow Your Own Food 17
Better tasting and higher quality food 17
Improve your health 18
Save some cash 18
Help the environment 20
Increase your quality of life 21
Self-reliance 21
Chapter 3: Planning Your Veggie Garden 23
Deciding Where to Put Your Vegetable Garden 23
Considering different sites 24
Letting the sun shine 26
Checking your soil's drainage 27
Understanding Veggie Varieties 28
Timing Your Planting Wisely 30
Some like it cool, some like it hot 30
Frost dates and the length of the growing season 31
Your local forecast trumps frost dates 33
Designing Your Garden 33
Deciding on hills, rows, or raised beds 34
Spacing your plantings properly 36
Following the paths 37
Sketching it out 37
Part 2: Focusing on All Things Veggies 43
Chapter 4: Tomatoes: The King of Veggies 45
Checking Out Tomato Varieties 46
Categorizing tomatoes 46
Classifying tomatoes by their appearance 48
Enjoying classic red, round tomatoes 48
Surveying all the other colors of tomatoes 50
Sweetening the pot with cherry, grape, and pear tomatoes 51
Considering some saucy tomatoes 52
Introducing the tomato's relatives 53
Growing Tomatoes with Ease 54
Jump-starting tomatoes 54
Planting, trellising, and pruning 55
Fertilizing and maintaining your plants 57
E…