Christy Wilhelmi - Gardening for geeks: DIY tests, gadgets, and techniques that utilize microbiology, mathematics, and ecology to exponentially maximize the yield of your garden

There are so many geeks to thank, and numerous shoulders I leaned on throughout the process of writing this book. First and foremost, my patient and marvelous husband Andrew Cheeseman, who put up with months of neglect and take-out food while I threw myself headlong into this project. His well-trained grammar-geek eyes and physicist/math brain helped hone these pages. To Hexie Cheeseman and Suzy Wright, for being two more sets of eyes proofing my work, thanks so much for your invaluable help. To the ladies of my writers group, all unwavering cheerleaders, your encouragement and knowledge of the writing world made this much easier. To Jonathan Blank, who knows a thing or two about book publishing and willingly spent time sharing it with me, I cannot thank you enough.

I must draw particular attention to the garden geeks who have inspired my gardening exploits throughout the years (in no particular order): John Jeavons, Mel Bartholomew, the late Geoff Hamilton, Rosalind Creasy, Michael Pollen, David King, Jere Gettle, Louise Riotte, Barbara Kingsolver, and everyone at Ocean View Farms organic community garden. To those who helped clarify the material for this book, I appreciate the access you afforded me: Victoria Boudman of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation, Eben Fodor of SunWorks, master preserver Rose Lawrence of Red Bread Bakery, irrigation wunderkind Russell Ackerman, and again, John Jeavons of Ecology Action.

Special thanks to Martha Brown at UC Santa Cruz and David Rosenstein of EVO Farm for taking the time to show me around their fabulously geeky gardens. Last but never least I must thank my parents, Frank and Jo Wilhelmi, for being the engineer/carpenter and nurse/wonder-cook geeks who begat this geek.

INTRODUCTION

When garden geeks get excited about a subject, they want to know everything. Gardening is an exciting topica vast world of soil biology, botany, and horticulture. It cross-pollinates with the insect world, meteorology, and nutrition. The more we learn about gardening, the more we realize there is to learn. Its a wonderfully addictive passion to have.

Do you want to know everything? This is a great place to start, but keep in mind that gardening knowledge doesnt arrive in a specific sequence. With the exception of the seasonal calendar or a planting schedule, gardening is not linear. It shifts each year, challenging us to figure out natures next step. It tests our instincts as much as our knowledge, and in the end nature always wins. Most of the time we benefit from natures triumph, but just like Olympic athletes, garden geeks experience both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

This book is meant to be a geeky gateway into all things cool about gardening. It gives you the basics to start designing and building the garden of your dreams. It also will lead you to bigger concepts to explore later, when youre ready. It delves into the science of how plants work, how soil lives, and how bugs help. Even though it takes you step by step through the process, I encourage you to jump around through the book. Early on, youll notice references to later chapters. If you cant wait, feel free to jump forward and read. Whatever floats your boat!

The information in this book is compiled from several classes I teach, with extra-added nerdy details that dont fit into the confines of the classroom. Students have been asking me to put it all down in one place. Well, here it is. Have at it. I hope you enjoy this journey into the geeky side of gardening. Put on your gloves and lets get started.

Happy gardening!