Sunday, November 2, 2008

recommended reading: eliot coleman

Four Season Harvest, by Eliot Coleman
The New Organic Grower, by Eliot Coleman


Eliot Coleman lives in Maine, and grows vegetables year round. In Maine. It gets cold there. This is not an easy thing to do. And, if he can do it there, we can do it pretty much anywhere (I'm assuming none of you live north of Maine.)

The principles of organic gardening are explained beautifully, and he dispenses his wisdom based on years of experience. "The New Organic Grower" (TNOG) is geared more towards market growers - legitimate farmers. "Four Season Harvest" is for the backyard gardener - it is not as comprehensive as TNOG, but stands pretty well by itself. I recommend both, using FSH as a guidebook and TNOG as a reference. These books, more than any others, have dramatically influenced what I am doing in my backyard. They contain a ton of information, which is wonderful, but I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have to try all of it during my first real season of gardening (but definitely in my second.)

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