I got a new book today. Choosing it wasn't easy. I was in Barnes and Noble for over an hour and it felt like 15 minutes. I sat with several gardening books looking through and reading bits and pieces to see which one was going to be going home with me with my gift card purchase. I always have a more difficult time choosing something when I am using a gift card, because just like gifts, I want it to be the right one.
The other books I looked at were just as tempting to buy. The information in them was so good but I wanted something to add to my "reference" library.
There were several books on urban gardening which included raising livestock and/or poultry in your backyard as well. Very intriguing information but I think I am a year away from considering chickens. I think I need to run that one past my husband before moving forward on that also. I will never forget the time we were trying to patch up the winter dead spots from the dog's urine and we cordoned off the worst area with chicken wire to keep the dog from digging it up. With the straw inside this fenced area, it looked like we were getting ready to add baby chicks (Easter was two days away). My oldest was a freshman in high school at the time. When she came home and asked about what was in the backyard, we had some fun with her and told her we were getting chickens. It was fun to let her run off on the phone with her friends telling them how her parents were really loosing it. Her friends thought it was cool (mostly because it wasn't their parents getting chickens). Urban beekeeping is also interesting to me. The opportunity to do either is now legal in our city limits. I'm sure one of these will find their way into my backyard yet.
The second book I bought was a smaller paper back and a condensed version of In Defense of Food. Michael Pollan has several good book out there about how we eat has dramatically changed and not for the better. Try reading at least one of his books. Other choices include The Botany of Desire and Omnivore's Dilemma. His basic mantra is "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants". Food Rules only set me back $10 and most of the other books are available at the library. If you have a card, it costs you nothing.
Start a garden reference library for yourself. It is nice to be able to take a book out in the yard and compare pictures with what you are looking at out there (sorry, I don't find the same allure with laptops as others might). It can get a little dirty, you can stick leaves and petals between the pages, and you can make notes in the margins for yourself. Used book stores have plenty good books to start with. Researching on-line is good. I do it when I have an idea what I am looking for. Books have given me a starting point from which other research stems off from. Allow yourself to page through a book to really get into gardening more. Happy reading!
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