cover image Great Garden Formulas: The Ultimate Book of Mix-It-Yourself Concoctions for Gardeners

Great Garden Formulas: The Ultimate Book of Mix-It-Yourself Concoctions for Gardeners

. Rodale Press, $27.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-87596-798-1

Gardening books don't come more hands-on than this thorough guide for organic gardeners, which offers practical information provided by real gardeners from all over the country. For every gardening situation, there is a natural solution. An easy Swiss chard cocktail will add zest to plants, while rhubarb spray will put a rout to fungal diseases, aphids and June bugs. Included also are innovative death traps for slugs (burlap laid on the beds or upside-down clay-pot traps lining a raised bed) for gardeners tired of the beer-in-the-saucer treatment, as well as deer deterrents (e.g., a fish emulsion and soap spray) and squirrel solutions (cayenne pepper spray). Slightly more complex are instructions for making herbal remedies and homespun crafts. It's all rounded out nicely with planting guides for various garden designs, sources for materials and information, zone maps, a metric conversion table and an intriguing reading list. (July)