Books we have found to be informative for gardening:

On Saturday, March 21, 2009 we hosted an informative and entertaining workshop with Brook Le Van from Sustainable Settings.

Brook talked about soil building, extending the season, choosing seeds and varieties and much more. He is very knowledgeable about growing healthy food in our unpredictable climate. If you want to have a better garden this year (or simply have a garden!) he suggested the following books (for a pdf copy of the book list click here):

Brook’s “Top Three”

The New Organic Grower - Eliot Coleman

Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening - J.I. Rodale
(Newest version: Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, 2009)

How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic Method - J.I. Rodale

Other Recommendations

(Alphabetical by Author’s Last Name)

The Nature and Properties of Soils - Nyle Brady

Let It Rot: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting (3rd ed.) - Stu Campbell

Topsoil and Civilization - Carter & Dale

Four-Season Harvest - Eliot Coleman

Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture - Hemenway & Todd

An Agricultural Testament (Limited Availability at Rodale Press) - Sir Albert Howard

Farmers of Forty Centuries - F.H. King

Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth - William Bryant Logan

A Biodynamic Farm - Hugh Lovel

Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web - Lowenfels & Lewis

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations - David Montgomery

Secrets of Companion Planting - Louise Riotte

Pay Dirt: Farming And Gardening With Composts - J.I. Rodale

Seeds of Deception - Jeffrey Smith

The Profitable Culture of Vegetables - Thomas Smith

Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms - Paul Stamets

Living on a Few Acres - U.S. Dept. of Ag.

Weeds: Control Without Poisons - Charles Walters