1 comments about Ortho's All About Vegetables (Ortho's All About Gardening).

1. While the book has a lot of helpful information, a lot of the basics are left to the imagination. Not a beginners book but very informative!

1 comments about Guide to Growing Delicious Vegetables Fruits & Herbs (Miracle Gro).

1. I usually look in the library to see what books I would like to own. Miracle-Gro Guide to Growing Delicious Vegetables Fruits and Herbs is a book I am going to buy. The pictures are large enough to see what a product will look like. The advice is correct as well. I live in Arizona and these authors are aware that most products in Arizona can get badly sunburned in the summer months without shading. I am glad a publcation has finally come that can give good advice.

2 comments about The New Oxford Book of Food Plants.

1. This book is great for learning to identify food plants from all over the world. The illustrations are realistic and each plant is described. I use it to help my 4-H horticulture judging team prepare for the national judging contest. The plants and illustrations in this new edition are the same as in the original book, however the 1998 edition has an excellent section on phytonutrients.



2. The original edition of this book was out of print for some years and it is delightful to see it out again, and expanded no less. It combines 2 great virtues: highly readable and informative text with illustrations of a quality that are "suitable for framing." It is a great book for anyone who takes an interest in botany, cooking, or gardening and you couldn't go wrong giving it as a gift to one of these types. It's also great for reference. If you're getting it as a gift I suggest ordering 2, because you'll want one for yourself when you see it.

1 comments about Taylor's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables: A Complete Guide to the Best Historic and Ethnic Varieties (Taylor's Gardening Guides).

1. With over 200 color photos (which is very good) and descriptions and history on over 500 varieties of heirloom vegetables, it's a good one to have on hand. Also includes brief sections on how grow, seed saving, pests, etc for each family of vegetable.

5 comments about Paris in a Basket: Markets : The Food and the People (Cookery/Food and Drink).

1. Beautiful photography and lively writing make this a perfect gift this holiday season (or any time) for anyone who likes to eat and loves Paris. Even for a longtime resident of the City of Lights like myself, this book brings another Paris to life, one you will want to explore again and again, in these pages and of course like the authors did themselves, bicycling through every arrodisement, leaving no quartier unvisited, no fromage untasted, no croissant unfinished! A magnificent and original hommage sure to earn its place among the classics of cuisine and travel.



2. I love this book! The cover roped me right in and before I knew it I was buying it. I am so glad I did. The book is organized by arrondissement; each chapter is devoted to one of them. They tend to focus on the biggest or best market in each arrondissement but they devote paragraphs to the others. The text itself is gracefully written and yet very convivial. For each of the main markets, the authors start you out on a typical Parisian morning and gently suggest the path you might want to follow as you navigate that particular market; it is almost as though they are walking along with you. They tell you what's available at each market and what are each market's strengths and weaknesses. You will be introduced to a lot of people - the butcher at the Marché d'Aligre, the poissonier at the Richard Lenoir, the organic farmer at the Batignolles market, the interesting old fellow who hawks bath salts as he soaks his feet in green water... I feel as though I'd be able to walk up to them and say hi. There's some history mixed in there, too, so you'll get to see some nice old photos and learn about everday Parisians of the past. And of course there are the recipes. Most of them appear delicious and a few rather exotic. Many of them come from the very people that you "met" in the chapter preceding, so you know they're authentic and the human element makes you want to try the recipe all the more.

   I love Paris. This book really gives you a sense of what it is like to be there - colorful, vibrant, stately, modern, classic, young, old... Paris is all of these things and more at once. I went there seven years ago and I don't think I hit a single market. This book makes me feel incredibly well-equipped; I think that without it I would feel a bit intimidated. I plan to go back and I'm gonna bring this book with me!




3. A must for anyone seeking out the real Paris, off the beaten track of tourist traps. Even if you can't visit more than two or three markets per visit to this wonderful city, this book will continue to be a major reference for seeking out these fascinating places of food, drink and 'objets'. Happy exploring!



4. Nicolle Aimee Meyer and Amanda Pilar Smith have created a book that is part travel guide, part cookbook, part biography -- and all wonderful! The photographs are terrific. The text brings the markets and their people to life. And I can't wait to try some of the recipes, which are for many classic French favorites. Altogether a complete success! Bravo!!



5. Although this book was written in 2000, when I saw it at a book boutique I bought it immediately...a fabulous book on a unique culinary culture for those who love to delve into french cooking recipes. I highly recommend it! The photos transport you back there and it has made me so homesick to return to Paris again even though I return there every year when I can to visit family there and have always made it a pilgrimmage to go to the Marches a few times a week, especially to the 'Richard Lenoir Marche at Place de La Bastille in the 11th arrondisement...you can spend the entire morning (they close at 1PM) there perusing from table to table and end your day walking home in the streets of Paris with a tote-ful of delicacies to prepare the sumptious evening 'repas'
   The varieties of each food are endless and fabulous and fresh, the colors of the fruits and vegetables are brilliant, the energy at the marches are exhuberant, and venders are so proud of their products...This book really does take you back to feeling like you are there in the midst of a culinary feast; the recipes are easy and with US measurements, and the descriptions of each arrondisement gives you such a personal tour that you feel akin to each personality they present you with. This is really the true colloquial joie de vivre experience in Paris-a way to commune with nature's bounty. I highly recommend this book; 5 stars!! a true feast for the eyes!!

5 comments about Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening.

1. This is a well put together volume of information. Companion planting is the way to go for better yields, and natural insect control.



2. So much information in this little book. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone with a garden!



3. This is a very informational book. I bought two, gave one to my 73 year old mother who just planted her first successful garden!



4. This book has been great with helping to plant my garden using natural methods of pesticides. This is done by planting plants that repel insects and diseases next to each other. It is a very good way to keep from using chemical pesticides, and to get optimal yields of vegetables and fruits. I highly recomend it for the orgainic gardener or the beginning gardener. It is an exellant guide for all.



5. The book has some great information in it, the thing I like most about the book is how it tells you what the different companions benefit are and why to avoid planting some plants together, This is the information that most of my other books don't have. Some of the content is just enough to wet your appetite and leaves you wanting more information. All in all I am happy to have this book in my library. it is an easy read, and has garden plans to look at and implement. The one thing I wish that this book had, had is a "Companion Planting Chart" for quick reference instead of having to read the whole section over again.

5 comments about Backyard Giants: The Passionate, Heartbreaking, and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever.

1. Who says gardening is a gentle hobby? In "Backyard Giants," Ms. Warren takes us on a journey through the passionate and far-from-gentle world of competitive pumpkin growing. With a masterful eye for the telling detail and a narrative voice that sweeps the reader into this unusual world from the very first page, this is delightful and eye-opening read -- especially for those who've never wielded pruning shears or pored through garden catalogues at night.



2. Backyard Giants is a fascinating and informative book on the art, science, competition and reward of growing giant pumpkins. The author depicts the trials and tribulations of growers in Rhode Island, Ohio, the West Coast and Canada. A close-knit group of growers in Rhode Island are followed for an entire year as they prepare, plant, harvest and competitively show their giant fruits. The growers are depicted as compassionate, committed, scientific in their own right, and competitive. Through the author's creative writing style the reader is compelled through each stage of the giant pumpkin process. The pictures are an added bonus - driving home the amazing undertaking of growing something over 1,000 pounds in just four months. The joys and heartbreaks of this sport are well described, and leave the reader with respect and in awe of the growers.
   
   The author did an excellent job researching all aspects of growing giant pumpkins. I found myself with numerous questions as I read the book and inevitably the author answered every question I had. The author writes for those having no prior knowledge of pumpkin growing - but would also likely interest those who were knowledgeable in the field. She has a creative use of vocabulary and story telling. I was sorry to see the book come to an end, but also very content with the ending. This book is well worth the reader's investment.



3. 
   Bill Clinton was quoted in the "Washington Post" a few weeks ago: "That's the biggest pumpkin I've ever seen. It looks like we need a steroid inspection here." I googled " Big Pumpkins " and found lots of information, including this charming and fascinating book.
   
   Susan Warren is a gardener. She Googled a personal gardening question one day, and incidentally found guys that were obsessed with creating monster pumpkins. She wrote a front page story about them for the "Wall Street Journal", and this book grew out of that article.
   
   Warren describes the pumpkins, of course, but her book is much more about those obsessed guys. She grew a giant pumpkin (240 pounds) as a research project, but both she and her architect husband "got sucked in ... this is a very dangerous book. It sucks in people who like a challenge."
   
   She is amazed at the diversity of growers: airline pilots, engineers, Wall Street analysts, bankers, truck drivers, country club managers and "your mom could be a giant pumpkin grower." They live in a number of countries: the US, England, Germany, Australia, and elsewhere. She believes they are all overachievers, the kind of people who work all day and then come home and put in a few more hours in the garden.
   
   There is a bit of pathos in this book: Ron Wallace, the featured grower, loses one of his pumpkins: "Ron's disappointment was sharp and deep and all too familiar. He cracked the rotting skin open in hopes of recovering some seeds. But the seeds swimming in a fetid pool of neon-orange slime were limp and lifeless. Disgusted, he left the broken shards of giant pumpkin lying in the grass next to the garden, an organic monument to disappointment."
   
   As the extract shows, Warren is particularly good at describing the depth and complexity of the obsession these competitors. If that human element appeals to you, you'll enjoy this book.
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008



4. I had a great time reading this book. I too grow pumpkins and had a hard time setting this book down. Easy to read and gives a real behind the scenes on this sport, showing that growers have lives outside of pumpkin growing as well. If you want to grow a giant pumpkin yourself this book won't give you much for information on that topic. It is meant for more the humanity side of things.



5. I loved this book! I laughed, I cried, I cheered (well, not really-I was on a plane and didn't want to create a ruckus, but in my mind I was standing up and cheering!). This book offered a lot of interesting information-who knew pumpkins could grow up to 40 lbs. A DAY??-while following the attempts of various growers to reach the ultimate goal in giant pumpkin growing, a 1500 lb. pumpkin. Easy reading, informative, and a good conversation starter when you need to make small talk.

2 comments about Edible French Garden (Edible Garden Series, 3).

1. I bought this book for my husband because of the beautiful photos of preciously landscaped French vegetable gardens. But he says this is the most useful garden book we have, with more good, helpful information on the types of vegetables we grow (squash, eggplant, lettuces, etc.) than any other.
   Now that I've read it myself, I can see the author offers good advice on growing most types of vegetables, from soil preparation to pest control. I'd highly recommend this book for home vegetable gardeners (even if you don't surround your vegetable beds with clipped boxwood hedges.)



2. If you're in need of ideas on how to design a French style kitchen garden, a potager, this book provides many beautiful color pictures of home and professional gardens, as well as the vegetables, herbs, and flowers typically grown by the French. A helpful encyclopedia of vegatables and herbs is provided along with the author's favorite recipes that highlight the garden's produce, again all beautifully photographs. This title is one in a series by Rosalind Creasy. Others, The Edible Italian Garden and The Edible Heirloom Garden are equally as delightful. Experienced gardeners may find the book geared more to the beginner, but it's a great resource to get those creative gardening ideas flowing.

1 comments about The Children's Kitchen Garden: A Book of Gardening, Cooking, and Learning.

1. This delightful book is an especially helpful tool for the beginning gardener. It will guide you and your children through all the basics of creating your very own garden. What a wonderful project for a toddler! Based on a gardening project started at the French-American School in Berkeley, California, this book will take you from planning and planting to harvesting and cooking delicious herbs and vegetables. The recipes are almost entirely vegetarian; including Herb Mayonnaise, Corn, Rice and Tomato Salad with Basil, and Snap Bean and Potato Soup with Pasta, just to name a few. Also includes a resource section for seed suppliers and more.

4 comments about The Vegetable & Herb Expert.

1. I found the information in the book clearly presented and in a good format. I found the book interesting reading and informative. However, it was written in Britian and some information as far as varieties, dates and insects may not apply to United States. I'm not sure, which creates doubt about the accuracy for us.



2. Lots of information, but none of the information I wanted. This book is a good reference for Great Britian but for the US it is kind of obsolete.



3. I'm not an expert gardener, so I found this book to be a great quick reference to problems that my vegetable plants were having.



4. This beautifully illustrated and photographed book is a very informative and easy to use reference for anyone who wants authentic expert advice on how to grow and maintain a vegetable and/or herb garden. This practically organized book is divided into ten readily accessible sections:
   * Getting Started: serves as an introduction to the book and gives some advice on buying seeds, rotating crops, digging and preparing the seed bed, and sowing the seeds.
   * Where to Grow Vegetables: discusses the pros and cons of growing vegetables in different environments, including the greenhouse, the border, the potager, beds, containers, traditional plots and windowsills.
   * Looking After Vegetables: presents invaluable advice on thinning, transplanting, weeding, feeding, watering, mulching, spraying, harvesting and storing vegetables, as well as clear instructions on how to deal with protected cropping and how to get the most from your plot.
   * Home-Grown Vegetables, Unusual Vegetables, Baby Vegetables and Herbs: these four sections are presented as alphabetized guides in which each vegetable's or herb's entry includes its image and/or picture, a description of its common varieties, details on how to sow, keep, harvest and eat it, and a list of the ordinary problems that affect it.
   * Vegetable Trouble: explains how to speedily and correctly prevent each specific trouble before it starts and how to deal with it after it appears.
   * Shop-Bought Vegetables: is an illustrated listing intended to help you recognize a selected group of vegetables available at the market, and includes many tips on how to buy, preserve, ripen and eat them.
   * An Index.
   The information given in this book for the herbs and vegetables that are listed is very thorough. However, this book was oriented towards a British public and only lists temperate climate vegetables and herbs, ignoring many varieties of tropical ones. Still, I recommend buying this book to those interested in knowing how to make and maintain a comprehensive and convenient vegetable and/or herb garden.
   --Reviewed by Maritza Volmar