1 comments about Success with Organic Vegetables (Success with Gardening).

1. ok..so i'm not an expert..I got this book from the library and was so impressed I tried to find it online...it is for beginners but everyone has to start somewhere..I used to grow veg with both my grandfathers & wanted to get back to this.. this book gives great little tips...ways to use old newspapers to start seedlings...grow potatoes in a container..i'm excited to start my garden next spring...

5 comments about A Field Guide to Buying Organic.

1. This book has been SO helpful in deciding which foods are worth buying organic and which ones you can safely buy conventional. I was planning on switching to all or mostly organic, but my budget just woulnd't have allowed that, so I picked up this book at the library to help me decide what to buy. For example, I'm going to keep buying regular skim milk because there were nearly no presticide residues found in it, but because pesticides hold in fats, there were a lot found in whole milk, cheese, and butter, because of the fat, so I plan to buy those organic. It also made me realize hormones in milk and meat were probably not as much of a problem as organic advocates would have you believe. I plan to buy organic fruits and veggies, and I'm still deciding on meats. These authors don't recommend all organic, but they don't seem to be in the pocket of the big farms OR the organic growers. They form their own conclusions and opinions. Great and helpful book.



2. Contrary to what the religious wing of the organics movement might want, this book is a balanced, reasoned approach to organics. I checked into author Perry's background (what I could find) and there is no connection to the mega food industry. She's a small farmer with a CSA, organic of course.
   
   The book surveys the broad realm of organic products and offers positive, helpful advice -- what's good to buy, what makes no sense, etc. And book does a great job of covering the history and philosophy of organic agriculture.
   
   Two thumbs up, or three if you're one of those people mutated by all the pesticides floating around.



3. Some of the books about organic foods out there stress the (sometimes unconvincing) benefits of purchasing organic food and dismiss evidence which doesn't back up their claims. I feel that this book gives a more balanced overview. While some sections are more in depth than the average reader would want, I think that it gives a wealth of information and leaves it to the consumer to decide what is most important to them when buying organic and how to choose products which compliment their views.



4. When looking through most of the books about organics here on Amazon, I began to notice just how much information this little book has. It's nearly 400 pages covering the organic industry, pesticides, what to look for and what to avoid, and it covers all of these subjects with a good amount of detail. The other books about organics tend to be smaller, and while they are also good, I liked Buying Organic due to the large amount of information it has. Overall I would highly recommend it!



5. This book is a great debate on the merits of organic food. Should I go organic or not? Why? Which products? Is packaged food truly organic? Pros and cons to both sides of the issue that will give you info to make your decision more informed. Also includes many companies that you can seek for your organic food. Well done.

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5 comments about Sprout It! One Week from Seed to Salad: Grow Organic Food Without Soil... or a Green Thumb!.

1. Full of confusing ideas, all scattered information, guides to nowhere. The auther tries to be witty and funny, but his jokes are nothing but disgusting.



2. I thought this book was terrific! It opened up a whole new world to me. Sprouting makes me feel like I can take part in growing my own food and can control the quality of the food I eat.



3. Yes, as one person noted, the humor is sort of out of place. Bad puns throughout. I'm still giving it a 5 because it's the most helpful sprout book I've seen.

   Friends of mine recommended it to me - they have an attractive set-up of baskets of sprouts growing in little seed-germinator covered plastic trays. They are thrilled with the book, and we are excited about starting to sprout. We did sprouts years ago in jars, but this system is better.

   Though the book could be more condensed, it's still an easy read in a few hours. And where else is this vital information available in such thorough detail? If you are considering sprouting, you will find the information valuable.




4. This is a great book for a person who is interested in sprouting; it is very detailed and is truly full of very interesting and useful information. The book also helps to nullify a lot of the myth about toxins and hidden dangers in sprouts. The real dangers, in actuality, exist in cooked, processed, adulterated, toyed-with, sprayed, chemicalized, distorted foods (which our grocery shelves are full of). I am now 50 years old. Back in my youthful college days, I used to sprout a great deal, eating living foods exclusively. Though I stayed being a vegetarian, I got back into the cooked food craze... eating food like it was a drug for "taste" only. I work with the multiply handicapped and even though I am a teacher I have to do a lot of lifting (of adults who are not at all feather-weight). My arthritis (which runs in the family) was killing me, despite taking all kinds of natural and man made supplements. Getting back to live food was the answer I needed. Steve's book was inspirational and very helpful. I should have never deviated from what was truly the most nutritious way to eat!
   There are many ways of sprouting. I happen to like the sproutpeople.com sprouters best of all. Steve's book is a priceless tool for anyone interested in sprouting... it has all kinds of neat tips and suggestions.
   Also, one suggests doing a web search on Dr. Budwig's Diet... as most people are seriously deficient in essential fatty acids of the proper type. I take my oil with a little bit of live yogurt.
   Anyway... I would not want Steve's book, including his Kitchen Garden book... missing from my shelves!
   As Hippocrates said: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food."



5. Steve Meyerowitz, a.k.a. Sproutman has been sprouting since the 1970s, and owns a company selling sprouting equipment and seeds. I've read several of his books and chatted with him in person about sprouting. Sproutman knows his stuff, and IMO, anything he writes about sprouting is worth reading. I have grown magnificent sunflower sprouts by using a Sproutman Sprouthouse (a bamboo basket in a plastic house) and following Sproutman's instructions. If you have good sprouting seeds and follow the instructions in this book, I suspect you too will grow awesome sprouts.
   
   Unfortunately, the book is not that well organized and the instructions for sprouting, a fairly simple process, are unnecessarily confusing. There are many methods of growing sprouts, such as baskets, sprouting bags, glass jars, open-ended glass tubes with screens on both ends, trays, etc. This book gives instructions for only 3 methods: baskets, bags, and trays. Sproutman doesn't explain that upfront, however. If you want to use one of those 3 methods, the instructions are knowledgeable and detailed. BUT: I suggest that when you choose one of these methods, you read through the entire chapter first, because if you try to follow along step-by-step, it's easy to mess up.
   
   For example, in the chapter titled, "The Technique", Sproutman launches into instructions for using a sprouting basket, without first explaining that this technique just ONE of many sprouting methods. For this technique he says to soak 5 rounded tablespoons of seeds. He doesn't explain until 7 pages later that you use 5 tablespoons of seed for an 8 inch basket, 6 to 7 tablespoons of seed for a 9 inch basket, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of seed for a 6 inch basket. A beginning basket sprouter who tries to follow his instructions without reading the entire chapter first, could easily make the mistake of using the wrong amount of seeds for the basket size.
   
   In the next chapter, Sproutman gives instructions for how to use a sprout bag, a different technique. The first thing I would want to know about this is, what are the best seeds for growing in a sprout bag? That information is there, along with days 'til maturity-in the middle of the chapter.
   
   Another thing that's important to a good sprout book is information about seeds. What are the varities, the days until harvest, the uses and tastes, etc? There's chart near the end of the book which gives this information, but the seed varities are not in alphabetical order. I can't figure out any logic to the way the chart is sorted, so if you want to look up a seed variety, you have to read down the entire list. Also, there are some types of fairly popular sprouting seeds missing from the chart, for example, broccoli sprouts.
   
   Although I think most of Sproutman's information is excellent, albeit a bit disorganized, one thing I take issue with are his frequent sermons about why sprouting jars should not be used. I first used a sprouting jar in 1984, and my jar sprouts have always turned out just fine, without all those immature yellow sprouts Sproutman warns of. If you are careful not to use too many seeds and to shake your sprouts back and forth so they drain well and lay the jar on its side, your jar-sprouted sprouts will turn out just fine. Also Sproutman says a jar requires cheesecloth, screens and rubberbands. Back in 1984, a decade prior to the book's publication, I used a lid which was a plastic screen and have never had to hassle with cheesecloth, screens and rubberbands. In addition, he says automatic sprouters sell in the range of $450 to $1000. It's somewhat possible that information was accurate in the 1990s, but in the 2000s, one can find new automatic sprouters for a lot less than $450.
   
   Some of the book's strengths include the chapter discussing which type of water to use on sprouts, the nutritional information scattered throughout the books, and the presence of an index. I personally think the book's dumb puns are a strength, but I'm sure the majority of readers will not. :-)
   
   Despite my qualms with this book, Sproutman is outstanding in his field, and I still recommend it to anyone who wants to sprout via vertical sprouter (basket), bag, or tray, or learn about sprouting in general. If you're using either a vertical sprouter or a bag, I suggest first reading the succinct review of instructions on page 173 for the vertical sprouter and p. 175 for the sproutbag.

2 comments about Creating Small Habitats For Wildlife In Your Garden.

1. for someone who wanted to be a gardener but just couldn't get excited about it, this book opened my eyes. I've always been a wildlife and nature nut but for some reason could not find a way to get enthused about doing the gardening thing.

   this book changed all of that. four months after reading this book, I have a yard-full of newly planted native illinois tallgrass prairie plants, two birdbaths, a pond in progress and tons of birds visiting my six birdbaths. my yard is like a whole other world.

   I highly recommend this book to anyone, but most especially to people like myself who need a "reason" to garden.

   Laura




2. This one is terrific! It covers woodlands, grasslands, rocklands, wetlands, container gardens. Pictures are fantastic and information is right on target. The book starts with answering the question Why? Why replace natural habitats in our gardens - talks to the web of life, has a great drawing showing the interconnectedness; talks to "weeds" versus "wildflowers" (yea, they're the same thing), and so much more. Lots of talk about the use of native plants and the benefits as well as the benefits of attracting wildlife to the garden. Throughout the sections there are full page tables of plants, wildlife etc so it breaks up the text. Love this book! I originally got it because we've been planning to put in a frog pond for awhile and there's a great section on that but its giving me lots of great understanding for othergardens and wild areas too. As one writer once stated, "If you want to see wildlife, let your garden be a wild place."

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