Reddit mentions: The best regional gardening & horticulture books

Hello! I also am in Dallas and relatively new to gardening at a house.

My recommendations:

• I LOVE LOVE LOVE Easy Gardens for North Central Texas. It was so incredibly helpful to figure out easy-to-grow plants for the various parts of my yard. If you don't want to buy it, go check it out from your library and make photocopies.
  
  
• There are a lot of plants in that book that you won't always see at your local Calloway's or Home Depot. You can shop online for plants. Just shop around, and make sure you google "[online shop] review" and look for the reviews at Dave's Garden. Home Depot has a larger selection online than in its local stores, and shipping is free for orders over $20. I ordered Brilliance Autumn Fern and Kerria from HD, and all the plants were very nice.
  
  
• Shovel, hand trowel, rake, hoses, nozzle sprayer (you can get one with a bunch of different settings at HD), and most importantly good gardening gloves (usually by the garden cash register at Home Depot). Once you get your plants installed, consider buying soaker hoses. You can google about why those can be more effective than your generic sprinkler / sprinkler system.
  
  
• As suggested by others, study the lighting conditions in the various parts of your yard. Lighting conditions make all the difference in what will thrive and what will die. Google more about this - lots to read.
  
  
• Soil preparation is essential, particularly with our clay soil. You likely will need to till the soil and then (depending on your soil) till in compost or other stuff. You can google more about this or read Neil Sperry's book. You can rent a tiller from Home Depot, but I bought this electric tiller. It's $120 on Amazon, but rentals at HD were ~ $80/day, and I had multiple weekends of work to do. Easy to assemble and use.
  
  
• You asked about raised beds. I've always heard that here in N. Texas, you NEED to amend your soil to make it more nutrient rich. You may be adding in other stuff to help it drain better, too. You can google that, but generally what you want is compost, not the "garden soil" you see at HD. Call the nursery nearest you - all of the ones near me deliver for free. Some require a minimum $50 order, some don't.
  
  
• Don't forget mulch! Again, all the local nurseries by me deliver.
  
  Good luck!!
  

The plantsman's bible is Dirr's Manual. It has a very horticultural slant, but is invaluable for someone truly dedicated to plants. It is 1300 pages of comprehensive plant knowledge and will tell you exactly how to germinate seeds of Trochodendron aralioides. The problem for most is that it has no pictures - only line drawings of leaf shapes. This is probably not the book you need, but is a tremendous resource for someone with a thirst for knowledge.

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Woody-Landscape-Plants-Characteristics/dp/1588748685/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1408405815&sr=8-4&keywords=dirr%27s+encyclopedia+of+trees+and+shrubs

My favorite plant book for casual reading is Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs. It has color photos of seemingly every tree and shrub in existence, as well as discussions of their landscape value.

http://www.amazon.com/Dirrs-Encyclopedia-Trees-Shrubs-Michael/dp/0881929018/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408405815&sr=8-1&keywords=dirr%27s+encyclopedia+of+trees+and+shrubs

When I was a budding plantsman, my father gave me a very useful book which I still refer to today. This National Arboretum publication gives a broad overview of all different types of plants(vines, annuals, perennials, evergreens, aquatic plants, shade trees, etc) and is a great way to come up with ideas of what to plant.

http://www.amazon.com/National-Arboretum-Outstanding-Garden-Plants/dp/0671669575

If you are more interested in just selecting plants online, Monrovia has an excellent website that lets you narrow down plants by requirements.

http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/

In Seattle you can direct sow lettuce and greens starting around March 15th, we are after last frost date so beans should be ok, though they would perfer warmer soil. Tomatoes could go out under cover pretty soon, I dont usually actully plant them till May. You will have better growth if you plant your pepper and tomatoes (and squash) in black containers, the black pot will help provide the soil heat that the tropical plants need to thrive.

Your plot looks ok, I would bury the grass clods upside down, also you will probably need to lime the soil. Raising the height of the bed above the surrounding area will increase soil temp and make for better drainage. Soil west of the Cascades are universally acidic and low in phosphorus. A quick soil test will tell you the PH, Dolomite lime and Agricultural lime are what you will need to raise your PH. Further details are in Steve Solomons Growing Vegatables West of the Cascades.
http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-Edition/dp/1570615349

PS,
Plant Peas to improve your soil, Cascadia and Oregon Sugar Pod II are great varieties for our region, you can direct sow around 1 inch apart any time after valentines.

Good luck and happy gardening.
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/38531/em9057.pdf

Plenty of my friends garden here. I think it can be difficult to grow things that need lots of intense sun (tomatoes only do so-so), but lots of other stuff can be grown.

This book:
Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening by Steve Solomon is supposed to be pretty definitive for this area. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570615349)

You can also go to the many farmers markets for fresh produce and advice on growing your own.


As others have said, it's not so much the rain, but the grey. I don't think we get that many inches of rain, but late fall, winter, and early spring can be dreary. But you can drive 80 miles up the gorge and be in sunnier but colder weather.

We get very little snow... maybe one or two days a year where it sticks. A couple years ago, we had snow on the ground for almost a week.

I remember calling my dad (who lived in Wisconsin) one day in the spring. I was out mowing the lawn and he had just shoveled 2 feet of snow off the sidewalks.

I love it here. I'd enjoy living short-term in other places, but of all the places I've already been, this is the one I like the most.

There is no single printed dichotomous key for a region. There are just too many fungi which are too variable but there are several good guides for the PNW. Your best bet for a specific ID is still online resources (especially PNW key council). A larger list of Online resources can be found in the sidebar and here.


Western US

All The Rain Promises and More
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest

Mushrooms Demystified This is an old book, while still an excellent book it definitely needs updating.

The New Savory Wild Mushroom Also dated but made for the PNW

Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fungi of Coastal Northern California

California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide

Hey, Thanks for putting in a thread on this - my original post did come up with some good resources, but I ended up eventually head to my local bookstore. That trip ALSO came up with awesome resources (mainly, this - http://www.amazon.com/Month---Month-Gardening-Mid-Atlantic-Viette/dp/1591863449/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319249777&sr=8-1) It would be awesome if there was an Eastern version of this book that has been praised so highly. I'll try looking into the Southern Living book as well.

If nothing else, I figured out why my Basil wasn't doing well this year :) Good stuff to know for next year.

Gonna jump on your post here if it's ok...?

This guy's book was a really good read (sounds region-specific, but lots of good advice & I like it, at least the old edition I had from him - not my area but was a really good read nonetheless):

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-Anniversary/dp/1570619727/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=61475601532&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIko2K3s_H4wIVkMJkCh2TuQ0uEAAYASAAEgJTbPD_BwE&hvadid=274737938392&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1014167&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3854399460535581594&hvtargid=kwd-307473147769&hydadcr=22602_10370142&keywords=gardening+west+of+the+cascades&qid=1563767514&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Really good author for drilling basics into your head & always seems genuine (in the two books of his I've read in the past)

edit: he talks about soils and spacing quite a bit, at least in the older edition. Newbies would be well advised to check it out; not your garden-variety "more compost + unicorn manure + pretty pictures" gardening book 😉

> Is there a good resource for finding out where the fog is in San Francisco?

Look out the window?

Sorry for the snarky joke. :)

Besides weather forecasts, the prevailing weather patterns in San Francisco are actually pretty interesting.

There is no coincidence that the ancient location of the main Indian village (in what is now San Francisco) is in the Mission District, which is the warmest and sunniest part of the City.

Pam Pierce wrote an interesting book about the microclimates of SF.

The bottom line is that fog is cool air, and cool air likes to sink. Therefore the fog zones all are the lowest pathways for air flow. The Golden Gate is the biggest of these. Also, the low point in the ridgeline near Daly City tends to collect the fog. The converse is that areas protected by high points tend not to be foggy, so therefore the areas with airflow blocked by Twin Peaks tend to be sunny.

It's a very unique environment here with a short growing season. I guarantee this book will set a lot of things straight, just ignore his dogmatism. You can buy it at any nursery, it's basically the bible of veg gardening in the PNW.

Besides reading that book the other thing I strongly anyone to do is use seeds selected for our region. It matters more for tropicals (tomatoes, etc.) but it's always a good idea. Territorial seeds is a good place to start but try to order everything at once, because they criminally overcharge on shipping for small orders. They are also available at most nurseries.

Slugs are inevitable and need to be treated with Sluggo or some (organic?) alternative. Make sure to do a dose in the fall to get the f*ckers before they reproduce. Consider indoor/hydroponic gardening if a short, rainy, sluggy season isn't your thing. Or to supplement to your outdoor garden (it's cheap to grow salad greens indoors, tropicals are another matter).

Lastly some years are "cabbage years", so no matter what you do, we won't get enough sun to get a good crop. Therefore, if you like cabbage you're in luck, because cabbage always produces year after year.

I haven't had luck with onions in Alameda, for what that's worth. I got some nice green onions out of it, but not much else. Onions are so cheap at the store that it seems more worthwhile to grow something more expensive, like squash or kale. I've had good results with peppers, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, radishes, eggplant and cauliflower.

What helped for me the first year of gardening was growing everything I thought I'd want, keeping track of seed varieties, sprouting dates and weighing my yield, and then using that information to figure out what I wanted to plant the following year. It's by no means foolproof, but better than going in blind for the second year in a row. I also recommend the book Golden Gate Gardening for more information about vegetables in the bay area.

For mushrooms in general (not specifically psychedelic ones) I recommend All That the Rain Promises and More by David Arora. If you like that then check out Mushrooms Demystified which is his famous tome. Two newer books with beautiful color photographs are Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast by Noah Siegel and Christian Schwarz, and California Mushrooms by Desjardin, Wood, and Stevens.

The best way though is to go foraging with someone who knows what they're doing. Check out MSSF or one of the other clubs in the area. If you join MSSF now, you can still get a spot on the Mendocino Woodlands camping trip, which is an absolute blast.

These two books helped me a ton! We have a fairly unique climate here that can be difficult at times. Basically sets you up for the best success each year. I love gardening! Happy to have another in our ranks!

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-Anniversary/dp/1570619727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493331258&sr=8-1&keywords=west+of+the+cascades+gardening

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-Anniversary/dp/1570619727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493331258&sr=8-1&keywords=west+of+the+cascades+gardening

Then go for it.

If it seems uncommon here, probably most people here are just too lazy, as it takes time to maintain a veggie garden, so easier for them to go to the store. Also, since we are pretty far north on the globe, our growing season won't be as long as what you might be used to in Turkey, and different kinds of produce might be better for our climate and growing season.

If you really want to get into it, there is a great book written by a guy that founded a great seed company (Territorial Seed Company).

This is his book : https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-6th/dp/1570615349

I had a huge garden in my yard one year, based on this book. It was amazing, but it took up a lot of my free time so I scaled back to just a single container to grow a few tomatoes. I'll probably do a large garden again someday -- after I retire.

I did too! But, "urban gardening" is becoming a big thing in Miami. Organic Methods for Vegetable Gardening in Florida is a great book I found on amazon. Also, this guy on Youtube did a bunch of great videos about what grows in south florida and when…he has a lot of…enthusiasm and some of the videos are a little long…but he knows his stuff. He was very helpful.

If in the US, I highly recommend America's Botanical Beauty by James Reveal. It is a great history of botany in America. It won't teach you how to identify plants, but is a great overview of the botanical process and the contributions of the major botanists.

I have not seen that book, but if i understand correctly it is a plant selection guide for the West Coast? If so, the Book of Lists is great. This and this are good depending on what part of the coast you are looking for.

The local library is always a good place to start. Also Amazon has great selection of gardening books for Ohio like this:https://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Book-Ohio-Denny-McKeown/dp/1591860474

Yeah the month by month book is great.

Right now I have some pepper plants that I'm hoping to get produce from before we get our first freeze (I'm further north and the peppers are in the ground so I can't really bring them in for the night). Coming up soon: peas, carrots, shallots/onions, spinach, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, a bunch of lettuce (both leaf type and heads), cabbages ... that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

I'm sorry, I saw your title in /r/gardening and thought what a great topic!! I couldn't wait to share how important I thought it was for a book to be targeted at a reader's local climate/soil conditions were, and I wanted to share what I had found for the Portland area in "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" . Then I saw the "perennial flowers" and I'm a bit confused. Find a local nursery they and will sell what will grow in your area and since you aren't going to eat it, feed it with miracle grow or what ever you want to.

If she want's to grow organic perennial's for some reason. The vegtable books should work too.

> ...with some of our plants like peppers and zuchinni, I feel like we could've done better.

I’m a little further north from you (Cascade foothills, NE of Seattle) but the best twenty or so bucks I ever spent was on a copy of Steve Solomon’s Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades (Amazon link.) Peppers can be tough in our climate (not enough heat units) but if you’re struggling with zucchini you might need to up your game.

I don’t recollect how much Solomon delves into raised beds, but most of the concepts can be applicable to most gardening methods, if you’re OK with reading.

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades has been an extremely valuable resource for me. This year is my first doing serious gardening (in Portland) and having region-specific advice is great.
https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-6th/dp/1570615349

It may seem "mainstream" but I have learned so much from my Western Garden book. It is not only an encyclopedia of plants but a guide to growing, pruning, pests/pest control, and even bed design. As a beginner, it will give you plenty of info on what you want to plant and probably inspiration to plant a few things you didn't even know existed! (amazon not necessary, you can find it at any bookstore/nursery)

Yeah it’s great! You want this particular book though. https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Gate-Gardening-3rd-Year-Round/dp/1570616175

Yes! We have a few different ones we've collected over the last couple of years. The one she uses most often is an animal track one we picked up at a state park's gift shop. We also have this and this.

Can't vouch for it yet but am very impressed with the reviews on this book. http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-6th/dp/1570615349/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345180353&sr=1-1&keywords=steve+solomon

Check out
Hartmann & Kester's Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices. Some of the older editions are pretty cheap.

>So all the stuff you mention about how bad it is comes from where exactly? Do you have sources for all your claims?

An education and reading. I won't do your homework for you, but I will leave you with this:

This is getting downvoted. Look, nutrition science and human physiology aren't something I can explain in 140 characters or less and I'm the furthest thing from a good teacher. If I'm the jerk because I'm not providing you with an education in why the medical professionals chose to nourish this patient during this experiment, meet me halfway at least.

The patient had no ill-effects because he was medically attended to and his most basic nutritional needs were met. Why do you think those medical professionals were providing him with those very basic nutrients during the experiment? Was he at risk of causing illness or death without those nutrients? Is it possible that any of the claims in my response are what happens when the most basic of nutritional needs aren't met? The answer is emphatically yes.

The internet is a beautiful and fascinating wonderland filled with empirical data waiting for young minds to unlock the powers of a search engine and empower themselves with a way to know.



In the paragraph below I've provided a link to a book that is exhaustively excellent and well-substantiated in the area of nutrition science, metabolism and human physiology as pertains to why we get sick or die when we don't eat.




If you've not been to university yet, or aren't planning on it, an excellent place to start is a book authored by David Greenwalt called The Leanness Lifestyle. Begin there. You can ignore his subscription services as they're not highly reviewed, and on a personal level he's anecdotally been referred to as a dick. But the data in his book is well substantiated.

If memory serves, he was the first to put together something so comprehensive given the science that was becoming available in the early 2000s re: nutrition and fitness. There have been a few advances since but nothing that would require any significant change to his last revision. Happy learning.

Edit: Words and clarify some thoughts.

I'm from southern California and gardening here is a bit different from gardening in the rest of the US. My two favorite books are California specific:
52 Weeks in the California Garden
and
Pat Welsh's Southern California Organic Gardening

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Natural Gardening: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1570612404

This may be a useful resource:

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Gate-Gardening-3rd-Year-Round/dp/1570616175

Dude you really need to get a tree ID book. Here's a good one: LINK. In fact, it was the textbook for my dendrology course at UGA. (I noticed your locations are mostly Georgia.)

I would wait. I read that holding off just a bit longer for peppers is usually better for them. Source: Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades. https://www.amazon.ca/Growing-Vegetables-West-Cascades-6th/dp/1570615349
Edit: I am in the Lower Mainland

This is the book that got me into gardening way back in the early 90s. Probably quite a bit updated by now. Steve Solomon is the guy that started Territorial Seed Company.

Hartmann and Kester's Plant Propagation Principles and Practices (8th Edition)