Designing And Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally
First published in 1986, this classic is back in print by popular demand. It is the authoritative text on edible landscaping, featuring a step-by-step guide to designing a productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes.\ It includes descriptions of plants for all temperate habitats, methods for improving soil, tree pruning styles, and gourmet recipes using low-maintenance plants. There are sections on attracting...
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First published in 1986, this classic is back in print by popular demand. It is the authoritative text on edible landscaping, featuring a step-by-step guide to designing a productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes.It includes descriptions of plants for all temperate habitats, methods for improving soil, tree pruning styles, and gourmet recipes using low-maintenance plants. There are sections on attracting beneficial insects with companion plants and using planting to shelter your home from erosion, heat, wind, and cold. Publishers Weekly Kourik's color photos and Massion's art effectively illustrate a text that fulfills the title's promise. The author's advice is sound and practical although the reader may bridle at his tone at times. (Attempting a chatty informality, for example, he orders one to ``find a comfortable chair and leaf through the book.'') Otherwise, this is a valuable guide to the holistic approach to gardening, which relies on natural fertilizers and avoids chemicals. The author begins with suggestions for designing plots according to environment, space available, personal preferences. (The pictures prove that areas featuring vegetables, herbs, fruit- and nut-bearing trees and other edibles can be beautiful.) Kourik, who frequently appears on TV and lectures nationally, includes recipes that use the wide variety of foods featured here. (July)
ForewordPt. 1The basics of edible landscapingWhy edible landscaping?1The new approach to edible landscapes : synergy5In praise of the suburbs9The "organic" concept15Of pests and poisons19The climate in your yard23Your soil29Existing vegetation : what it means, what it offers35Pt. 2Designing your edible landscapeBlending aesthetics and function41Defining and planning your goals49Zones of use, multiple use57Making use of local wisdom63Shaping the wind : shelter for the home and garden67Shaping sunlight73Shaping water77Synergy83Creating your design87The golden rules of edible landscaping91Pt. 3Growing vegetablesSheet composting for "wild" and "tame" plants95Sink or swim : self-seeding vegetables101Hay bale vegetables : soil building from the top down105Surface cultivation : good yields without digging107Sod culture : vegetables in the lawn113Double-digging : a balanced review115Soil inoculants125Seedlings the Speedling way127Drip irrigation129Intercropping133Pt. 4Growing the cropsSpecial trees for special climates139Fruit for all seasons147Ensuring good pollination151Disease-resistant trees155Deep-rooted myths161The best rootstocks for your soil165Standard, semi-dwarf, and dwarf trees179Genetic dwarf (miniature) fruit and nut trees183Spacing fruit and nut trees191To amend or not to amend193Preparing the hole, planting the tree197The basics of tree growth and pruning203The no-pruning style211Open center pruning213Central leader pruning217Special effects : espalier, oblique cordon, and miniature trees221Drip irrigation, mulching, and frost protection225Fertilizing tree crops229Pt. 5Biological balance with insectsCompanion planting : sometimes fact, sometimes fiction235Companion plants that repel pests237Nature's balance : good bugs and bad bugs245Attracting good bugs251Integrated pest management255Pt. 6Soil is health - improving soils, free fertilizersFeeding the soil261Nature's nutrients and dynamic accumulators265Grow your own fertilizers : cover crops and green manures273A five-year plan for soil improvement277Pt. 7Mixing trees, lawns flowers, herbs, vines, and vegetablesCompetition for sun, water, and fertilizer283Diversity, pests, and diseases287Finishing touches : perennial legumes, edible flowers, and mulches291Pt. 8The edible landscape cookbookThe golden hits of edible landscaping295App. 1Climate zones311App. 2Solar charts313App. 3Site analysis survey317App. 4Deciduous and evergreen vines321App. 5Carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and the N-P-K of compostable materials325App. 6Liquid measure conversions327App. 7Sizing materials for landscaping329
\ Publishers Weekly\ - Publisher's Weekly\ Kourik's color photos and Massion's art effectively illustrate a text that fulfills the title's promise. The author's advice is sound and practical although the reader may bridle at his tone at times. (Attempting a chatty informality, for example, he orders one to ``find a comfortable chair and leaf through the book.'') Otherwise, this is a valuable guide to the holistic approach to gardening, which relies on natural fertilizers and avoids chemicals. The author begins with suggestions for designing plots according to environment, space available, personal preferences. (The pictures prove that areas featuring vegetables, herbs, fruit- and nut-bearing trees and other edibles can be beautiful.) Kourik, who frequently appears on TV and lectures nationally, includes recipes that use the wide variety of foods featured here. (July)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalKourik espouses organic gardening methods to create beautiful edible landscapes that are compatible with other plantings as well as with the climate, terrain, and the owner's budget. Expanding upon Rosalind Creasy's The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping ( LJ 5/1/82) he makes this gardening fashion seem not only reasonable but easy. From design basics to how to grow specific vegetables, fruits, herbs, he describes his methods and theories and adds lists of books for further reference. Appendixes are voluminous and cover some unusual aids (e.g., estimating amounts of materials needed for landscaping projects). A useful addition. Louise B. Hodges, Amherst County P.L., Va.\ \
