Guides for the Prairie Gardener
2 primary works
Book 1
The Prairie Gardener's Go-To for Vegetables
by Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau
All the most common questions about growing vegetables in the prairies are answered in this first installation of the new gardening series, Guides for the Prairie Gardener.
Too often people think of vegetable gardening in the prairies as challenging, but certified master gardeners Sheryl and Janet are here to show you how rewarding it can really be.
From planning to planting, they encourage you to take a hands-on approach with your prairie garden. They let you know when--and how!--to transplant your carefully nurtured seedlings in the spring, ways to shelter your plants from that inevitable July hailstorm, and how to determine how much irrigation is necessary in the arid prairie climate. They help you figure out if you should prune your tomatoes, how to hold up your pumpkins off the ground, and maximizing your harvest by planting in succession. And they show you how you can directly influence the quality of your produce, minimizing problems such as woody radishes, buttoning cauliflower, and split cabbage heads.
They cover all your most common questions about cultivation practices, preventing damage from frost, flood, and drought, harvest and storage, and they cover your questions about the veggies you love to grow:
- Garlic, Onions, and Leeks
- Lettuce
- Brassicas
- Carrots, Celery, and Beets
- Legumes, Corn and Other Warm Season Edibles
- Tomatoes and Peppers
- Potatoes
- Squash, Pumpkins, and Cucumbers
Whether you've just acquired your first garden space, or you've been growing vegetables for decades, gardeners are always learning and experimenting, building on the wisdom gained on their own or from others. With Sheryl and Janet on your team you're that much closer to achieving success in your prairie garden!
Book 2
The Prairie Gardener's Go-To for Pests and Diseases
by Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau
Your guide to trouble-shooting weeds, pests, diseases, molds, critters, and other common prairie gardener's problems in this second title in the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series.
Whether you're an experienced prairie gardener or have just a few weeks under your belt, chances are you've come to know at least a couple of pesky insects, moulds, or much larger lurkers on a first-name basis. But what to do about these interlopers who can seem hell-bent on ruining your hard work?
Lifelong gardeners Janet and Sheryl are here to help. In this second installment in the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series, the authors tackle the full range of suspects, including weeds, insects, microorganisms, rodents, birds, deer and even other people's pets. Premised on a respect for the natural world and using an integrated pest management approach, they'll show you how to identify the culprit and how to deter it, while respecting the broader environment.
Should I use landscape fabric? Does vinegar work? What do I do about tent caterpillars? Why are my potatoes scabby? Why does it look like my cabbages have been attacked by miniature buckshot? And the recurring What is this thing?! Janet and Sheryl take your most pressing questions in this Q&A-style resource on all the prairie gardener's most common pests, including thistle, dandelion, crabgrass, slugs, aphids, beetles, moths, mildew, fungus, rust, deer, rabbits, and porcupines. With elegance and a sense of humour, their solutions reveal their fascination with the natural world and belief in your ability to garden well in its midst.