AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: The self-sufficient gardener by John Seymour ISBN: 0-571-11212-9 Publisher: Faber and Faber Pub. Date: 1978 Format: Unknown Binding

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: This Book should still be in print!
Comment: I've checked this book out of my library so many times I've lost count. It is absolutely the best book on gardening I've ever read.

Gardening: The introdution explains the fundamentals of nature's cycles and the ecology of gardening. The edible parts of plants are explained. There are then several pages of (beautiful!) illustrations of vegetables, fruits & herbs. The cycle of seasons is discussed in the next chapter and it shows illustrations of what your garden might look like during each season and what gardening chores you perform during the different seasons. The essentials of good gardening are discussed in depth in the fourth chapter, such as soil treatment, composting, propagation, grafting & pruning, controlling pests, harvesting & storing, and the deep bed method of gardening.

Growing: Chapters 5-7 describe how to grow vegetables, fruits & herbs. What I like most is that in addition to explaining a little of the history of the plants, and how to grow them and propagate them, it also explains how to harvest and preserve the food that results. It also explains how to grow unusual food, like kumquats and quince, in addition to all the usual things you'd expect. Greenhouse growing is discussed in chapter 8.

Preserving: Chapter 9 describes how to preserve all the food that results from your garden. It explains the fundamentals of why food rots and the basic methods of preserving (salting, drying, pickling, canning, jamming, freezing). When making jam, this book assumes you get pectin by adding lemons or apples, not by running to the store to buy a packet of it. It shows how to make a solar dehydrator to dry your food, and which foods are best preserved using each method. It also goes into details on how to make wine, cider, and mead (honey wine).

Miscellaneous: The tenth chapter describes a miscellany of self-sufficient gardening topics, such as raising animals like chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, rabbits, and bees. Water drainage, terracing, garden paths, hedges, fences, sheds, and caring for tools are all discussed briefly.

If you can get a copy of this book, keep it! It's a jewel.

Rating: 5
Summary: All your needs in one handy place!
Comment: This book has something about everything! Want to raise poultry or rabbits? Want to know which plants to grow year round? How about building a greenhouse? It's all in here! The only problem that I can see is that a truly self-sufficient gardener is going to want some grains for bread... if that is in your sights, you may want to add one more book to your library.