Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

Spring has sprung - think perennials for less work and more variety in our
eating

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
---------------

Uncommon Fruits for Every Gardener, Lee Reich
http://www.sustainable.ie/resources/bookreviews/gardening_books.htm
Timber Press 2004

Lee Reich is an avid gardener who, after more than a decade in research
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cornell University, has turned
to writing, lecturing, and consulting.

Reich provides a valuable guide to fruits and berries that add an
adventurous flavour to any garden. Though names like jujube, juneberry,
mayop, and shiova may seem exotic at first glance, these fruits offer
delectable rewards to the gardener willing to go only slightly off the
beaten path when thinking of purchasing.   Reliable even in the toughest
garden situations, cold-hardy and pest-resistant, they are as enticing to
the beginner as well as the more experienced gardener.  

This volume emphasises the practicalities of plant selection, cultivation,
propagation, and maintenance.   Taking the environment into consideration,
it shows that good harvests are possible from these tough plants without
the rigorous spraying or fussy pruning required of more familiar fruit
trees.  Nearly all the fruits in this book offer year-round ornamental
interest even when not in fruit or flower.

Only a few pages into this book I knew that it was one I wanted to add to
my collection.   It really is inspiring and greatly motivating to just try
something different and unusual that will yield so many rewards - from
beauty to tasty edible treats.

The index was concise and clear, and the book was really pleasurable to
read.   I thought the appendices were a great idea; they meant that when
reading the book and confronted with talk of pruning and propagation, you
can then flick to the back to see exactly what is being implied. And my
ultimate favourite part was when I saw that Lee Reich had included a list
of sources where you might order your plants.   So in my experience this is
a really wonderful, simple, informative book that isn't at all
intimidating, and offers really clear interesting knowledge and advice on
growing your own fruit crops.

Reviewed by Kathleen Clark
book available from:
http://www.timberpress.com/books/isbn.cfm/0-88192-623-X