Herb Gardens

I am a big fan of organic gardening, that’s how I grow all my herbs, vegetables and butterfly plants. My husband always threatens to go out and buy a big jug of Roundup, to spray all over the yard to kill the weeds. I don’t mind a few weeds, as long as I know that anything I pick from my yard is safe to eat. Leave the stinking chemicals for someone else.

I am also a big fan of Eliot Coleman. Eliot, along with his wife Barbara Damrosch, used to host the TV show, Gardening Naturally, on the Learning Channel. Eliot, with over 30 years of organic gardening experience, is the author of 3 books, and has contributed chapters to many other gardening books.

I own a copy of Eliot’s book The New Organic Grower; A Master Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener. The book, which was first published in 1989, was revised and expanded in 1995. The New Organic Grower, at 340 pages long, contains TONS of fantastic information on all aspects of organic gardening. Although parts of the book go into a bit too much detail for the average home gardener, there is still quite a bit of information that can be incorporated into your own organic garden.

I found the chapters on crop rotation, green manures, direct seeding and season extension to be particularily helpful. If I ever decided to start a small farm, the chapters on part-time help, marketing strategy and livestock will certainly be of interest. Don’t laugh, I have contemplated having a small farm for many years. We own 4 1/2 acres of virgin land in western North Carolina. A couple of goats to keep the weeds at bay, a couple of chickens for fresh eggs, a couple of guinea hens for pest control, maybe a donkey to be the guard dog/farm mascot - who knows!?!

I highly recommend getting a copy of The New Organic Grower for your own bookshelf. I also own a copy of Eliot’s book Four Season Harvest, which I will review in a future post to the Herb Gardens site.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe

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