Rodale Press. - Rodales ultimate encyclopedia of organic gardening: the indispensible green resource for every gardener

Well-worn copies of The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, edited by J. I. Rodale, are part of gardening book collections in libraries, homes, and garden sheds across North America. In the decades since this remarkable book was published in 1959, organic gardening has changed from a fringe movement to mainstream. True to the vision of J. I. and Robert Rodale, organic gardening is now recognized as the safest, most economical, and most practical method for home gardeners.

In 1989, Rodales garden book editors decided to rejuvenate the encyclopedia. We wanted to create a resource book that would reflect gardeners wishes to use organic methods and to learn about new breakthroughs in organic pest control. We laid plans for an encyclopedia that would include not only raising food crops but also maintaining perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and lawns without chemicals.

To follow through on our vision, we gathered ideas from many gardeners, writers, and editors. Robert Rodale also lent his unique insights, one of his last contributions to a Rodale gardening book before his death. Then we called on a broad range of garden experts and writers to draft entries in their areas of interest. A team of editors carefully blended and refined their work to create Rodales All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.

In 2007, Rodale realized that it was time to update this vital reference book yet again, and called together three members of the 1992 editions editorial teamBarbara W. Ellis, Ellen Phillips, and myself. We reread and discussed the entire book, painstakingly choosing outmoded entries to leave out, adding new entries (such as Kitchen Gardening and Gardening Safely), and updating plant and organic pest control information throughout. And in light of the vital issues we face as gardeners in an era of climate change and declining natural resources, we added an all-new section on green gardeninggardening sustainably as a part of reducing our carbon footprint. Our goal with this revised edition, as for all previous editions, was a comprehensive, easy-to-use book that provides practical information on the entire realm of organic gardening.

This book is organized to reflect the way you garden. Weve grouped information into useful, complete entries that will provide all you need to know about a particular topic, rather than spreading out facts in thousands of short entries. For example, the instructions you need to plan, plant, and care for a vegetable garden are in one entry: Vegetable Gardening. The Compost entry tells you everything you need to know to make and use compost (and compost tea). Entries on Annuals, Perennials, and Trees describe how to get started, how to use these plants in your landscape, and how to keep them flourishing. They include lists of specific plants for specific environmental conditions and uses.

Individual food crops and ornamentals entries provide additional specialized information. For example, the Tomato entry offers lots of tips for growing the biggest, best, earliest tomatoes. Dozens of special entriesincluding Cut Flower Gardening, Edible Landscaping, Rock Gardens, Weather and Weather Lore, and Wildlife Gardeningwill stimulate your gardening imagination and curiosity.

Scan the table of contents to get a general picture of the encyclopedias range and focus. Under each letter is a list of the entries that begin with that letter. Its fun and informative to flip to interesting entries that catch your eye. Weve included illustrations as well as lots of tips and unusual entries that we hope will liven up your browsing sessions.

If you want information on a particular subject, such as how to control Japanese beetles, turn to the back pages to a vital, if often unappreciated part of a book: the index. Flip to the Japanese beetle listing in the index, find the subentry for control of, and youll be referred directly to page 459, where youll find a description of the beetles and the damage they cause and a list of the best organic control methods. Youll find the index is an important tool in getting the most from your encyclopedia.

There are other special features that help you find the information you need. Throughout the book, youll find cross-references to other entries that contain information related to the subject youre reading about. You can also flip to the Quick Reference Guide on page 676 for a mini-index of major gardening topics, such as Landscaping or Perennials. For each topic, youll find a list of all entries in the book that include information on that topic.

The Key Words heading in entries is your cue to look for essential gardening terms that will aid in your understanding. More terms are also included in the books glossary, which begins on page 668.

All plants have a botanical name and a common name. Scientists create botanical names, usually derived from Latin words, to help categorize plants. Common names are the ones we use in casual speech or writing about plants.

This book lists food plantsfruits, herbs, nuts, and vegetablesby common name, so you can look up the Apple, Peach, Pepper, or Tomato entries and find just what youre looking for. However, ornamental plant entries are organized by botanical names. This eliminates possible confusion when plants have multiple common names. For example, if you turn to the Heuchera entry, youll learn that these beautiful spring-and summer-blooming perennials have several common names, including heuchera, coral bells, and alumroot. For more information on how plants are named, see the Botanical Nomenclature entry.

If youre not familiar with the botanical names of ornamentals, look in the index for the common name of the plant that interests you. The index listing will refer you to the correct botanical name. Weve also included cross-reference entries with common names of highly popular ornamentals, such as maples and marigolds, right in the body of the encyclopedia. For example, if you turn to Maple on page 372, youll find the instructions to see Acer; Acer is the botanical name for maples.

Twenty-eight of the 296 entries in this book form the core of the encyclopedia. Together, they are a handbook of organic gardening basics. When you read an entry about a specific plant, you may need to refer to core entries, where weve compiled lots of basic information that applies to specific plants. Core entries fall into four categories:

Gardening techniques: Garden Design, Landscaping, Planting, Propagation, Pruning and Training, Seed Starting and Seed Saving

Organic garden management: Animal Pests, Beneficial Insects, Compost, Cover Crops, Fertilizers, Mulch, Pests, Plant Diseases and Disorders, Soil

Food crops: Brambles, Edible Landscaping, Fruit Trees, Herbs, Nut Trees, Vegetable Gardening

Ornamental plants: Annuals, Biennials, Bulbs, Groundcovers, Perennials, Shrubs, Trees

You may find it valuable to read most of these entries soon after getting this book. If youre an experienced gardener, it will be an interesting refresher course. If youre a beginner, the core entries are a great first step to a lifelong enjoyment of your organic garden.

Fern Marshall Bradley