Read and Seed

I'm pretty sure there are more gardening books than dandelions out there, not that the abundance of either is a bad thing. I say this because once a week I do a volunteer shift checking in library materials, and I always come home with a pile of books about growing food, to read or skim. Just when I think I've seen them all, I find another I've never heard of that intrigues me.

Of all of the reference material for growers that you could spend your time on, there are two books I think are "must haves" for the Olympic Peninsula gardener's personal library shelf.


The first book is Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon, now in its sixth edition. Solomon is the guy who started the Territorial Seed Company in Oregon, and he really knows his stuff. The first edition of his book was published in 1979; the latest edition, which has a major revision of how Solomon recommends growing asparagus, was updated in 2007. Tim says that the fertilizer recipe in this book is the best he has ever used, and I'm excited to try it. For that reason alone, its worth every penny of the $21.95 price, but you don't have to pay that much if you buy it at William James Bookseller in downtown Port Townsend. Right now there's a stack of remainders there selling for $9.95 each. Get 'em while they last.

Solomon's fertilizer recipe is also in The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide produced by Seattle Tilth, the other book I highly recommend. That publication is an easy-to-read, month-by-month manual of gardening tasks, what to plant indoors and out, and other essential information. The April chapter, for example, has a section on how to deal with slugs. Seattle Tilth is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating people on how to grow food organically, conserve natural resources, and support local food systems, so it's best to buy the book directly from them in order for the money to have the most impact.

Two books. That's all you need. Not that I could ever blame you if you brought more into your house. If you can't afford to buy them, remember that the library is always at your service.