The Basic Book Of Organic Gardening 1971

383 Pages·1971·15.71 MB·English

project of Volunteers in Asia

Published
by:
B.alBantine
Books
201 East 50th Stre&
New York,
NY 10022
USA

&qxx! copies
ase $ 2.75.

AvaiLable
from:
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Books
201 Fast 50th Street
New York,
NY 10022
USA

Reproduced by Fermission
of Ballantine
Books.

Reproduction
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document.

-

P gone mad with pesticides, defoliants, herbicides,
(1’or both animals and plsnts j BMI innumerabk
cc~ foad produAcn, there has been a lone voice

OF %l,blt~
’ v *he past thirty years. Famely, Cbbganic Gardesring.
‘“I dl,S -, ihe first mass-market book to appear, campiled 1~
the eC.~-s of that pioneering little magazine . The ti.tle is :
The bol k is bti;k. It tells you what soil is, how to create gL
sod, the !xxlamental
rgles about mulching and compxtiq,
why ~-NJ need bisds and insects, how to grow malv&lous
blh xing and nutAtious fruits and vegetables: it is packed with
ini lrmaeion about organic materials and foods--and where
to g~;t them. It is a veritable cornucopia of facts, ilotes, sugges-
tions, ideas-everything,
as a seasoned gardener, or as a com-
plete beginner, that you neeC to know to rno>Je toward a better
way of living.

ISLAND IN THE SOUND, Hazel Heckman
$1.25
Anderson Island in Puget Sound-The distinction of
this island and its people, its lore and its history, are
what this beautiful book is all about.

A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC,
Aldo Leopold
$ .95 I
F;rst published in 1949, Aldo Leopold’s A SAND
COUNTY ALMANAC
is now an established en-
vironmental classic. Beginning with a beautifully
written description of the seasonal changes in nature
and their elect on the delicate ecological balance,
the book proceeds to examples of man’s destructive
interference and concludes with a plea for a Wlder-
ness esthetic which is even more urgent and timely
today,

MJ%LQMR FARM, Louis Bromf?ehl
$1.25
‘The major part of this book is the story of the
way Louis Bromfreld and his family and helpers
succeeded in rebuilding a house, the soil and all the
accessories of rural liie on a farm in mid-Ohio. It is
a rich and varied description, a testament to the power
of the good eti.“--Commonweal

Fur Q complete list of Bulladne
Book,+, write to
Dept. CS, Ballantine Books, 36 West 20th Street,,
New York, N. Y. 10003

It is difficult for e&ated
organic ga.,. 4en-
ers not to sound inspirational,
but the fact
is, the world we live in is toxic. To be more
specific, there are now manmade poisons in
everything
t at grows-plant,
animal
and
fish ; there is poison in our air and in our
water. The human animal itself now carries
a suBkient
concentration
of DDT so that, in
certain
areas, its milk is actively
dangerous
to its young.
In the circumstances,
if one has even a
.
smalls plot, it makes the utmost
sense to be
doing orga-tic gardening. You might be k&y
enough to own several acres, but if not, even
a pot of herbs on a windowsill
is better than
nothing.
The information
is all here I’M you to use-
for a tiny plot, a suburban
garden,, a small
farm-with
specific details about the value
and the growing
of specific vegetables and
fkuits.
And for those unfortunab
enough not to
be able to’grow
anything
of their own, there
is .a complete lkt,
by area, of sources for
organic foods by mail.
Grow it! Do it!

Edited by

%

Editor,
Organic Gardening
hfagazine

Compiled by

GLENN F. JOHNS

ORGANIC

XEW YORK

The text was written especially for this
edition and is based on material which has
appeared in Organic Gardening
Mugazire,
Rodale Press, Inc.

Copyright @ 1971 by Rodale Press, Im.

SBN 345-23998-9-150

AU rights reserve&

First Printing: January, 1971
Second Printing: March, 197 1
Third Printkg:
June, 1971
Fourth Printing: August, 1971
Fifth Prsng:
Jae, !9?2
Sixth Printing:
May,
1973
Seventh Printing: May, 1974

Cover art by Charles Frac6

Printed ti the United States of America

BALLANTINE
BBOKS
A Division of Rau&z
House, Inc.
201 East 50th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022

c Gardener?
ow to be an Organic Gardener
Organic Living-Why
is it so Vital?
3
7

ecrets of the
t @ygmic Gardeners

Soil
13
compost
59
Mulch
87

art III.
a to Gmw and
The Best-Laid Plans
51:
Starting Plants from Seed
131,
Seeding, Planting and Transplanting Outside 149
Some Basic Vegetable-Growing Advice
166

Part IV.
Protection Against the Bugs-Some
AIternatives
to Insecticides
Recognition and Quarantine
2?0
Safe Insecticides
232
Companion Planting
244
Choose Resistant Varieties
24 “i

Biological Control for the Home Gardener 249
Leave it to the Birds
254
What to do if the Bugs are Already There
265

r-vest
Some Harvesting Hints
279
x-vesting Can Afkct Vitamin Quality 255
al Checklist at Garden Closing Time
291

rganic
ay-Antidote
ollution
Your Garden is on the Front Line
297
:
tivist Organic Gar.dener
the Neighborhood