Organic gardening contributing editor, Geoff Hamilton

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This is a practical guide to creating a safe and productive garden using organic methods. The text outlines the basic principles of organic gardening, with sections on how to improve the fertility of the soil and how to control the garden pests and diseases by natural methods. A plant guide illustrates all the flowers and plants commonly found in gardens and gives useful advice about their cultivation. It includes step-by-step illustrations of gardening techniques and different types of plants. Geoff Hamilton is the presenter of the BBC television series Gardener's World.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

The late nesting instinct of the baby boomers has proven a boon to the gardening industry. Hence, it comes as no surprise that this generation would espouse organic cultivation, described as working with, not against, Mother Nature. Such a bias means spending a great deal of time and effort in learning and practicing ancient techniques (the hoe and the spade) as well as farmers' "tricks of the trade"--i.e., companion planting, mulching, and crop rotation, among others. Reader's Digest editors prefer minimal text, leading novice planters through the how-tos of planning and sowing via pictures. Brief descriptions accompany the first glimpses of herbs, vegetables, and fruit; in later chapters, all information is expanded to include exact parameters for siting, soil type, sowing and planting, maintenance, harvesting, and pests and diseases. For rank beginners, however, the choices may be too numerous; three or four recommended "all in one" plots would be far easier for a first-time green-thumber to handle. ~--Barbara Jacobs