Rainy Side Gardeners' Featured Book
Grow Organic
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By Doug Oster and Jessica Walliser
When does a philosophy become mainstream thinking? We’re witnessing the answer today in the skyrocketing number of people in this country and abroad who are adopting organic methods of gardening and landscaping. The organic movement is now a $7 billion-a-year business, increasing at a rate of 20% a year. It is the fastest growing sector in the agriculture economy, with dozens of new non-toxic and non-chemical gardening supplies, seeds, and fertilizers coming to market every year – and more and more research pointing to the direct health and environmental benefits of growing organic.
Co-authors Doug Oster and Jessica Walliser stand at the forefront of these new developments by offering practical and useful information in their new book, Grow Organic, Over 250 Ideas and Tips for Growing Flowers, Veggies, Lawns and More…for first-timers and old-timers alike (St. Lynn’s Press, March 2007).
As organic gardeners with nearly 50 years of “on-the-ground” experience between them, Oster and Walliser give their readers straightforward advice and solutions for gardening with natural methods, introducing hundreds of easy and accessible tips for de-mystifying organic practices. They guide gardeners of all skill levels through the A-to-Z steps of gardening success – without the use of harmful chemicals.
Grow Organic includes nine chapters on composting, companion planting, organic pest control, soil management, lawn care, home grown fruits and veggies and much more – with an invaluable Friends of the Organic Gardener source guide and appendix. Each chapter also includes a quick and easy reference list of how-to tricks and tips the authors have discovered during their four plus decades of gardening experience.
For people looking to use natural fertilizers, attract beneficial insects, cut back on the chemicals in their gardens, and better understand the delicate balance of life in their backyard oasis, this book is a friendly call to action, with safe, simple solutions for gardening cooperatively with nature. Holly H. Shimuzu, the Executive Director of the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. says of Grow Organic, “This book is filled with useful information and is convincing. If one were not an organic gardener before reading it, one will be by the end.”
Written in a witty, straightforward, non-threatening and entertaining way, Oster and Walliser outline exactly what a gardener needs to do to call themselves organic.
About the Authors:
Doug Oster is a garden columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; his herb and cooking column is distributed nationally by the LA Times Syndicate. He is co-host of “The Organic Gardeners” each week on KDKA radio, and is a regular guest on two Pittsburgh television stations. He is a popular lecturer at garden clubs and conferences.
Jessica Walliser has a degree in horticulture and is co-host of “The Organic Gardeners” on KDKA radio. She is a frequent contributor to many national and regional gardening publications including Organic Gardening magazine and Hobby Farm Home magazine. She lectures to groups at various public and private garden facilities across the country.
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