As essential to the success of the garden as viable seed, healthy soil and quality tools is a select library of books — honest, credible, based-in-personal-experience books written by practicing gardeners.

Two that meet all those criteria have been released this spring. The first is “Compost, the natural way to make food for your garden” by British plant ecologist, senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield, England and garden writer, Ken Thompson.

This is one of the best books on the how, why and what-in-the-world-are-you-doing of compost that I have read. The science is there in abundance; the C:N ratio, the importance of fungus and bacteria, the water content of grass and kitchen waste, the importance of worms and microorganisms, the compelling eco-values for learning and practicing composting on a home-by-home basis.

Aside from writing from a sound factual base, two additional aspects make the book compelling. The first is that every topic — understanding compost, making compost, constructing compost bins (or not), using compost and troubleshooting — ends with the reassuring (and truthful) summary that no matter what you do, compost will happen.

The second is that the design of the book makes it an absolute delight to read. Every other page is a different color, or a full-page color photo, or embellished with charming sketches.

I was particularly delighted with Thompson’s out-of-the-box thinking about the business of constructing compost bins. As a gardener who has seen far too many gardeners frustrated by their apparent inability “to do composting right,” I was pleased at Thompson’s frequent and correct reminders that all living things ultimately rot.

References to large-scale composting projects in England that use redworms might not work with the same degree of success here. Our harsh winters, when they come, would have the worms looking for wool sweaters, which they would consume, of course, when the weather warmed.

The tone of the book is relaxed, neighborly, over-the-fence chatty and absolutely accurate. This is the book for the compost-challenged. This is the book for those of us who know that compost and mulch are what’s for dinner in the garden. It’s a reminder of the importance of compost and mulch, not only for the soil but also for wildlife, for community waste systems and for the importance of individual positive action.

Buy this book. Do not put it on the bookshelf. Include it with your tools in the bucket, the wheelbarrow. When you take a break, open it and read a page … any page. It’s great.

While we are speaking about the value of an experience-based book as a guide, a mentor, a step-by-step guide to better gardening, consider “Grow Organic” by Doug Oster and Jessica Walliser.

Oster is a garden writer, co-host of a radio garden show and frequent lecturer. Walliser is a horticulturist and Oster’s co-host on the radio.

This is the most gentle, sane, persuasive discussion of the advantages and disadvantages (yes, one will have to learn to live with less-than-flawless fruit, veggies, the occasional gnawed leaf and lots of beneficial insects) of organic management strategies in the garden.

Let’s be very clear: the authors are discussing with passion and experience how to restore health to the soil and ultimately to the plants. They describe and define healthy, robust, productive soil, how to keep it healthy and productive so it will produce sustaining harvests and be a haven for an active community of insects.

The text is almost conversational in tone, broken by bold-face attention-getting headings such as — “Bring on the Bugs!” and “Here Fishy-Fishy” (an encouragement to use fish emulsion for an instant boost for container plants).

Just as Oster and Walliser are co-hosts on their radio program, the text of the book is also co-hosted, with each author contributing personal anecdotes and comments, which I found reassuring and encouraging in my own efforts to remove myself as an impediment to the garden’s natural, healthful rhythm.

The book is filled with great hints, encouragement to practice patience, wonderful, almost inspirational photographs of the authors’ gardens with rain barrels, chickens, compost bins, mulched beds, insects and frogs and toads, mixed beds of veggies and flowers, and happy children gardening.

This is a feel-good, friendly book to own simply because you deserve it. It’s a reward for those of us who try to practice soil-friendly gardening. It is an encouragement for those wanting to try new practices.

It is an easy-to-follow roadmap to more satisfaction and success in the garden. The bonus is that the authors speak from the best kind of experience, their own.

Now is a good time to give these two books a quick read. There is much of value to remember or learn anew. Books like these are the best possible tools. They will keep your brain and judgment sharp all season long.

Learn more

- “Compost, a natural way to make food for your garden,” Ken Thompson, DK Publishing, New York, New York, 2007.

- “Grow Organic,” Doug Oster, Jessica Walliser, St. Lynn’s Press, Pittsburgh, Pa., 2007. The authors have a Web site, www.theorganicgardeners.com/

Cathie Draine is a member of the South Dakota State University Co-operative Extension Master Gardeners and the Garden Writers’ Association. She lives and gardens in Black Hawk. She may be contacted at cathiedraine@rap.midco.net.

source : rapidcityjournal.com