Appendix B: Further Reading

For some of these books that are now out of print (OP) I have not been able to find a satis­factory equivalent. Try your local library (which can probably find it through interlibrary loan if it’s not in their collection), Flora and Fauna or Shorey Bookstore in Seattle, Powell’s Books in Portland or a book search com­pany such as 100 Fires.com. Another good source is the Elisabeth C. Miller Library at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle. When you visit, allow at least three hours. There is an overwhelming amount of information there; can you imagine, a whole library devoted to botany and horticulture?

For Gardeners in the Maritime Northwest

Bleasdale, J.K.A., D. J. Salter, et al., Know and Grow Vegetables and Know and Grow Vegetables 2, Oxford University Press, 1991. Two fasci­nating volumes jam-packed with basic information, all supported by years of careful research at the National Vegetable Research Station in Warwickshire, England. Very useful for maritime gardeners. (OP)

Deppe, Carol The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, Chelsea Green, 2010. An intriguing book by an experienced plant breeder and homesteader in the Willamette Valley. Covers diet, climate change, healthy working, watering, fertility, egg layers, and potatoes, maize, beans and squash as staples. An enlightening read.

Dowding, Charles, How to Grow Winter Vegetables, Green Books, 2011. This parallel book came to my attention just as I was sending this manuscript to the publishers, so I haven’t fully digested it. Lots of interesting colored photos of his garden through the seasons, clear short sections on looking after year-round production soil and when and what to plant. Glad to see that he is a “no digger,” but interestingly he doesn’t seem to mulch his paths even during the winter, and I notice that they have a serious bird herbivory problem in Devon, and a few pests, such as leek moth, that haven’t gotten here yet.

Elliott, Carl, and Rob Peterson, The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, Seattle Tilth, 2000. This excellent and frequently updated month-to-month guide is useful, fun and attractive. Covers vegetable and flower varieties and when to plant them, various helpful organic practices, cover crops, pest and disease information, a glossary, local resources, and much more. (OP)

Gilkeson, Linda, Backyard Bounty: The Complete Guide to Year-Round Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, 2011, New Society Publishers. Located in British Columbia’s Inside Passage, Gilkeson is a practical gardener who is in tune with her environment and shows her scientific bent and critical sense on every page. Highly recommended for gardeners around Seattle and north. If you are a beginning gardener in this area, this is one of the first books to look into.

_____. West Coast Gardening: Natural Insect, Weed & Disease Control, 2007. From www.lindagilkeson.com

Hills, Lawrence D., Organic Gardening, Penguin Books, 1981. A very good basic book, quite modern, with a minimum of organic “romance” and a maximum of experience. Hills’s 30 years of horticultural experi­ence is abundantly clear. Very usable in the maritime North­west, where crops, pests and diseases are very similar to those of Britain. (OP)

Lavelle, Christine and Michael, Grow Your Own Organic Fruit and Vegetables: An easty-to-follow directory of vegetables, fruit and herbs. Anness Publishing Ltd 2005. Another excellent British book, full of explanatory photos and text. Only the varieties are inappropriate to our area.

Solomon, Steve, Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: the Complete Guide to Organic Gardening, Sixth Edition, Sasquatch Books, 2007. Chock full of information. It is clear that Steve has experimented with almost everything to do with northwest home vegetable production, especially in the Willamette Valley area, and laid his critical eye on it all. If you are just beginning gardening you might want to look into Smith or Gilkeson’s books first, just to get a concise and visual concept. Then, with a summer or two’s worth of gardening experience, you can read and test Steve’s many recommendations.

Editors of Sunset books, Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles, Oxmoor House, 2010. A vegetable and fruit companion to the famed Sunset Western Garden Book, which itself is as of 2011 in its 8th edition.

Tanner, Eddie. The Humboldt Kitchen Gardener: A Concise Guide to Raising Organic Vegetables and Fruits in the Greater Humboldt County Region, 2008. From the bottom of our region. Available from the author at 101 Hill St., Arcata CA 95521, deepseeded@gmail.com

Taylor, Ronald J., Northwest Weeds, Mountain Press Publishing, 1990. Very good pictures of the common Eurasian plant species that cause us problems on both sides of the Cascades. Unfortunately, some native species which are uncommon and not weedy on the west side are included. Index spelling faulty, so refer to text.

General Gardening

Ashworth, Suzanne, Seed to Seed, Seed Savers Exchange, 2002. A pretty complete compendium of garden vegetables and what it takes to save seed from them. Best for gardeners with at least a few years experience who are ready for the discipline of saving specific varieties.

Ball, Jeff, Rodale’s Garden Problem Solver: Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs,Rodale Press, 1996.

Berry, Wendell, Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food, Counterpoint, 2009. A collection of trenchant essays and fiction excerpts by America’s longtime philosopher of sustainable agriculture.

Coleman, Eliot, The New Organic Growers’ Four Season Harvest, Chelsea Green, 1993. Coleman is a commercial farmer in Maine who has been producing food through the winter in polytunnels since the 1970s — quite an achievement. Medium-experienced local gardeners have told me that of his several books on the subject this is the most useful to home gardeners. It has a very thorough coverage of the principles of setting up an organic year-round garden, making compost and using tunnels and frames. He discusses many of the same vegetables that we grow here but the sowing times are mostly different. A bit lacking in the bibliography, but at least this book has one (some of his others didn’t even discuss the European history of year-round cropping). Not the first book you should read as a beginner in the coastal Northwest, but helpful if you are east of the Cascades, or inclined towards starting a CSA.

Creasy, Rosalind, Edible Landscaping, Sierra Club Books, 2010. Focuses on design for mixed food and ornamental gardens and covering species that do well from California to the Pacific Northwest. If you are a city dweller about to trade your front-yard lawn for a food garden, Creasy’s photographs and range of suggestions are an inspiration and a guide to combining beauty and productivity. Growers with more space may find it easier to keep most of their vegetables separate to facilitate crop rotations, green manures and cold frames.

Deppe, Carol, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener’s and Farmer’s Guide to Plant Breeding And Seed Saving, Chelsea Green, 2000. Quite a few steps beyond saving your own seed, but if you have time ahead of you, try reading this some winter to understand more about plant breeding.

Doscher, Paul, Timothy Fisher and Kathleen Kolb, Intensive Gardening Round the Year, The Stephen Greene Press, 1981. A really useful book for would-be year-round gardeners in continental climates. (OP)

Dunnett, Nigel and Nöel Kingsbury, Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, revised and updated, Timber Press. 2008. Another book for people with small spaces, decks and balconies.

Jankowiak, James, The Prosperous Gardener: A Guide to Gardening the Organic Way. Rodale Press, 1978. Focused on coastal northern Califor­nia, the “bottom” of the Maritime Northwest, and well worth reading if you live there and can find a copy. (OP)

Larkcom, Joy, The Organic Salad Garden, Frances Lincoln, 2006. A revised and updated edition of this won­derful book, accurate and beautiful, by a salad fanatic.

Levitan, Lois, Improve Your Garden with Backyard Research, Rodale Press, 1980. The first chapter is the best part of this book, to my mind. Look for it in the library. (OP)

Maas, Cliff, The Weather of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington Press, 2008. This is the local weather book to read.

Smith, E.C., The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible, Storey Publishers, 2009. If you are a beginning home gardener this is a most helpful book to start with. Clear directions and even clearer illustrations, unpretentious and easy to read. Smith gardens in northern New England and favors the wide row/mulched paths system, which I think works well in our West Coast climate. Good coverage of composting, starting seeds, organic pest control, building beds, etc. Just don’t pay too much attention to planting dates and other New England related information. Remember that east of the Mississippi, they get about half their allotted precipitation as rain in their warm summers.

Smith, E C., The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible: How to Grow a Bounty of Food in Pots, Tubs, and Other Containers, Storey Publishers, 2011. If you have limited “dirt” space, this is a well-illustrated and clear exposition of how to produce food and flowers in self-watering (wicking) containers on a deck or balcony.

Solomon, Steve, Gardening When it Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times, New Society Publishers, 2005. Another very interesting and quirky ramble on important issues such as soil fertility, tools, buying starts, seeds, watering or not, and spacing, by the ex-Californian founder of Territorial Seeds, now living in Tasmania. Good winter reading to broaden your concepts.

Tozer, Frank, The Organic Gardeners Handbook, Green Man Publishing, Santa Cruz 2008. Although written for considerably south of our area, this book still has a lot of good straight forward explanations of basic gardening tasks.

Historical Vegetable Gardening Books

Aquatias, P., Intensive Culture of Vegetables on The French System, Gill, L. Upcott 1913. Reprinted 1978 and Applewood Books, 2009 (facsimile edition). A very detailed guide to inten­sive commercial-scale vegetable production under frames. Good photos and drawings in the general chapters, plus an 82-page monthly calendar of planting and other operations. OP

Hills, Lawrence D., Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables, Transatlantic Arts, 1974. For more experienced gardeners. Half of the book is devoted to the organic culture of vegetables in a northern maritime climate.

Pieters, Adrian, Green Manuring: Principles and Practice, John Wiley and Sons, 1927. Out of print, but a most complete and interesting book on green manuring. If interested, get it from your local agricultural library. (OP)

Solly, Cecil, Growing Vegetables in the Pacific Northwest, A self-published classic from the forties, now out of print and available only in libraries.

Vilmorin-Andrieux, M.M., The Vegetable Garden: Illustrations, Descrip­tions, and Culture of the Garden Vegetables of Cold and Temperate Cli­mates, Ten Speed Press, 1981. First published in England in 1885.

Soil Fertility

Gershuny, Grace, Start with the Soil: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Improving Soil for Higher Yields, More Beautiful Flowers, and a Healthy, Easy-Care Garden, Rodale Press, 1993. Recommended by Seattle Tilth. (OP)

Lowenfels, Jeff, and Wayne Lewis, Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition, Timber Press, 2010. I like this the best of the various soil books I have read. Focus on soil life and its role in gardening health. By two Alaskan gardeners.

Pleasant, Barbara, and Deborah Martin, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide, Storey Publishing, 2008. These guys have really thought about composting, tried it and checked out the research. A step above (or rather below) the one-chapter discussion you get in most organic gardening books. Lots of pictures, charts and cute quips. My only criticisms: an East Coast orientation and not enough discussion of ethics (i.e., where does blood or bone meal come from and how come there is enough of it to sell, and do you really want to support killing factories?).

Covers and Greenhouses

Head, William, Gardening Under Cover, Sasquatch Books, 1989. A handy guide to building solar greenhouses, cold frames and cloches. Much good information about our area. Very clear useful illustrations. Good bibliography. (OP)

McKee, Andy, and Mark Gatter, The Polytunnel Handbook, Green Books Limited, 2009. A very interesting and down-to-earth discussion. Despite being oriented to the UK, it has lots of information relevant to the West Coast home gardener.

Salt, Bernard, Gardening Under Plastic: How to Use Fleece, Films, Cloches and Polytunnels, Sterling Publishing, 1999. Lots of good information, although some of it is specific to British conditions and materials.

Taylor, Kathryn S., and Edith Gregg, Winter Flowers in Greenhouse and Sun-Heated Pit, Scribner & Sons, 1969. Covers the pit-style green­house, a less expensive, energy-efficient structure, and the ornamen­tals to grow in them. (OP)

Wolf, Ray, Gardener’s Solar Greenhouse: How to Build and Use a Solar Greenhouse for Year-Round Gardening, Rodale Press, 1984. Very clear and pertinent discussions of how to site your greenhouse, and his research in building and growing winter greens in one. True, it’s for continental climates, but you’ll still learn a lot that transfers to our region. (OP)

Invertebrate Identification, Habits and Sleuthing

Arnett, Ross H., American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico, 2nd edition, CRC Press, 2000. At 1,000 pages plus, the term “hand­book” seems strange, but this is the best book to give you the true scope of the incredible diversity of insects: a total of 87,107 recorded species north of Mexico at the time of writing. As the true numbers of our local species are unknown, due to late settlement and small numbers of entomological taxonomists in the region, we are just at the point of making useful popular guides.

Berenbaum, May R., Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact on Human Affairs, Basic Books, 1996.

_____. Ninety-Nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers, University of Illinois Press, 1989.

_____. Ninety-Nine More Maggots, Mites, and Munchers, University of Illinois Press, 1993. A wonderful series of books by a very eru­dite and funny insect ecologist/evolutionary biologist and member of the National Academy of Scientists.

Bernd, Heinrich, Bumblebee Economics, revised edition, Harvard University Press, 2004. I loved this book, though it’s about East Coast species (with whom I had many encounters at age four). And I especially love the handpainted chart in the back that covers all the identified bumblebees (at time of writing) with names and geographic descriptions. I circled our Northwest species in red and carry it around with me when I’m in the garden or afield.

Borror, Donald J., and Richard E. White, A Field Guide to Insects: Amer­ica North of Mexico, Houghton Mifflin, 1998. I have been told that the Audubon and Simon and Schuster insect guides are the easiest for people to use, however I prefer Borror and White’s approach; it leads me to order, suborder and family, rather than emphasizing species, which might or might not be in our region.

Buchmann, Stephen L., and Gary Paul Nabhan, The Forgotten Pollina­tors, Island Press, 1997. A must read.

Cranshaw, Whitney, Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Back Yard Bugs, Princeton University Press, 2004. This book has excellent photos and a good section on management principles for selected garden pests.

Flint, Mary L., Pests of the Garden and Small Farm: A Grower’s Guide to Using Less Pesticide, 2nd edition, University of California, 1999. For California, but recommended by Seattle Tilth.

Furniss, R.L., and V.M. Carolin, Western Forest Insects, US Forest Service, misc. publication 273, 1952. Out of print, but usually avail­able at your local extension office. Worth copying if you are really inter­ested in knowing regional species and the plants they associate with. (OP)

Gordon, David G., Field Guide to the Slug, Sasquatch Books, 1994. A nice little introduction to the natural history of slugs, but you will need to supple­ment the illustrations with the photos from Kozloff’s Plants and Ani­mals of the Pacific Northwest.

Griffin, Brian, Humblebee Bumblebee: The Life Story of the Friendly Bumblebees & Their Use by the Backyard Gardener, Knox Cellars, 1997. Amusing anecdotal introduction to our native bumblebees. Fortunately for the amateur, the number of bumble species, unlike other bee groups, is limited to approximately 18 here in the Northwest. I am not yet used to Griffin’s sideways views of the species, as I usually look at the backs (I’m not into capture at the moment). Also, there are no size indica­tions. I prefer to use the color chart in Heinrich’s Bumblebee Economics. (OP)

_____. The Orchard Mason Bee, Knox Cellars, 1993. Information about these backyard pollinators and how to house and encourage them. (OP)

Kozloff, Eugene N., Plants and Animals of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Guide to the Natural History of Western Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, University of Washington Press, 2003. Good overview with a habitat approach.

Levi, Herbert W., and Lorna R Levi, Spiders and their Kin, Golden Books,1990. Good coverage of US species. Has good color illustrations. (OP)

Michalak, Patricia S., and Linda Gilkeson, Rodale’s Successful Organic Gardening: Controlling Pests and Diseases, Rodale Press, 1994. (OP)

Milne, Lorus, and Margery Milne, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders, Alfred A. Knopf, 1980. (OP)

Mitchell, Robert T., and Herbert Zim, Butterflies and Moths, rev. ed., Golden Books, 2001. An old classic that I prefer to Robert Michael Pyle’s two books, mostly because we have way more moths than butterflies in the Northwest (including winter flying ones).

Smith, Miranda, and Anna Carr, Rodale’s Garden Insect, Disease & Weed Identification Guide, Rodale Press, 1988.

Landscaping for Winter Aesthetics,Wildlife and Livestock

Bairacli-Levy, Juliette de., Common Herbs for Natural Health, Ashtree Publishing, 1996. Once you have the trees, shrubs and vines of your hedgerow planted, you might want to use this book for groundcover suggestions.

_____. The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable, 4th ed. Faber and Faber, 1991.

Brookes, John, John Brookes’ Natural Landscapes, Dorling Kindersley, 2002. Famous and influential he may be, but Brookes’ idea of “natural” varies from mine a bit. Fabulous photos of hardscaping, though, and really useful for urban gardeners. Oh, all right, I admit I picked up an idea or three ... (OP)

_____. The Small Garden, Dorling Kindersly, 2006. Ditto above.

_____. John Brookes Garden Design Workbook, Dorling Kindersley, 1994. Useful, especially if you are starting from scratch. (OP)

Cooke, Sarah Spear, A Field Guide to the Common Wetland Plants of Western Washington and Northwestern Oregon, Seattle Audubon Society, 2011. If you are attempting to include native trees, shrubs and herbs in your landscape, this is a good book to use to get to know them.

Cox, Jeff, Landscaping with Nature, Rodale Press, 1996. A very useful book, especially for its photographs, which show you native plant asso­ciations (even some West Coast ones) and their landscape “copies.” Plant lists are often heavy on ornamentals, though. You will have to learn to substitute locally appropriate species. (OP)

Dirr, Michael A., and Charles W. Heuser, Jr., The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation: From Seed to Tissue Culture, 2nd ed., Timber Press, 2006.

Erikson, Jonathan, The Homeowners Guide to Drainage Control and Retaining Walls, Tab Books, 1989. Good no-nonsense coverage of how to build terrace walls so they won’t collapse. (OP)

Fitter, Alastair, New Generation Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe, University of Texas Press, 1987. An expanded ver­sion of Fitter’s previous book Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe, it covers sedges and grasses and has interesting evolutionary elements, though the illustrations are small and unclear, even with a lens. I find both books invaluable for identify­ing introduced Eurasian “wildflowers” that are our weeds. (OP)

Howes, F.N., Plants and Beekeeping, Frazer Press, 2008. A revised edition of the 1945 classic. Read this to know what to plant to make your hedges and garden a honeybee’s paradise. Note that if the honeybees like it, usually the native bumble bees, syrphid flies and wasps will too.

Kourik, Robert, Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Nat­urally, Permanent Publications, 2005. Written from the Californian point of view, but still a useful book for all climates, especially the West Coast.

Kruckeberg, Arthur R., Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Guide, rev. ed., University of Wash­ington Press, 1997. Useful for learning which natives to use as speci­men plants. Also covers propagation. (OP)

Link, Russell, Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington Press, 2003. Covers a range of topics for those who want to maintain both their gardens and their relations with the critters in their yard.

Pojar, Jim, and Andy Mackinnon, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, rev. ed., Lone Pine Publishing, 2004. Written from a Canadian point of view, but still useful to Washingtonians for its photographic coverage of species.

Pollard, E., M.D. Hooper and N.W. Moore, Hedges, Taplinger, 1975. Comprehensive European work on the nature and effect of hedges on landscape and farming, including notes on history, flora, fauna, the farmer’s hedge and more. (OP)

Polunin, Oleg, Trees and Bushes of Europe, Oxford University Press, 1976. For those who wish to understand more about introduced European plants. (OP)

Reed, Sue, Energy-Wise Landscape Design: A New Approach for Your Home and Garden, New Society Publishers, 2010. Sierra Magazine says, it “goes beyond the usual turf of ubiquitous green-home guides by detailing low-maintenance landscape designs to keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer. Ideal for people who are seriously committed to lowering their home’s carbon footprint, the book is part science textbook and part how-to guide.”

Thomas, Graham Stuart, Colour in the Winter Garden, Orion, 1998. About ornamentals. Many of the varieties are not available in this country; still, very instructive. (OP)

Thompson, Peter, Creative Propagation: A Grower’s Guide,. Timber Press, 2001. A very handy introduction for the avid nonprofessional. (OP)

Whitler, Jan K., Northwest Garden Style, Sasquatch Books, 1996. A very useful book that addresses problem issues for Northwest gardeners, such as how to plant a natural or water-thrifty garden. Great for those tired of driving by gazillions of rhodies, junipers and painfully bright hybrid azaleas and wondering, “Do we have a Northwest style?” Yes, and it is definitely wilder and more casual than British designer John Brookes likes, but then, England doesn’t have the dramatic geology we do, nor that inef­fable and liberating quality that comes from our odd collection of recent pioneers and indigenous peoples. Video available also. (OP)

Nutrition and the Politics of Healthy Food Production

Duyff, Roberta Lawson, The American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, Chronimed Publishing, 1998. User-friendly, with chapters for vegetarians, ethnic foods and non-dairy calcium sources. But not complete: no chickweed!

Kirschmann, Gayla, and John Kirschmann, The Nutrition Almanac, 4th ed., McGraw Hill, 1996. Provides a good overview of nutrient needs for different life stages and diet orientations, but is sometimes confusing.

Lockeretz, William, ed., Environmentally Sound Agriculture, Praeger Scientific, 1983. Selected papers from the 1982 IFOAM conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Good stuff, even for gardeners. (OP)

National Academy of Sciences, Toxicants Occurring Naturally in Foods, 2nd ed., National Academy of Sciences, 1973. Compiled by the Com­mittee of Food Protection, Food and Nutrition Board and the National Research Council. If you are into the finer points of nutrition, this book will answer questions and lay to rest myths about toxicants in some of the vegetables mentioned in the text. (OP)

Pamphlets

Cooperative Extension, Washington State University, has dozens of pamphlets, DVDs and books covering pest control, manure and fertilizer application, and other topics. Master Gardeners will aid you in pest and dis­ease identification. pubs.wsu.edu

Hills, Lawrence D., The Vegetable Finder, Henry Doubleday Research Association, 1977. A listing of the better-flavored older varieties that are getting hard to find in Britain. Out of date as to availability, but good for names. (OP)

Kourik, Robert, Gray Water Use in the Landscape: How to Use Your Gray Water to Save Your Landscape During the Drought, Edible Landscape Project, 1988. A little encouragement toward doing what you ought to do anyway: water shrubs and flowers with the shower and laundry water. (It saves on the water bill!) Gray water is not encouraged everywhere; get to know your county and state regulations. OP, but Kourik has a website: robertkourik.com, and a mailing address: P.O. Box 412, Occidental, CA 95465.

Schmid, Otto, and Ruedi Khy, Green Manuring: Principles and Practice, Institute of Biological Husbandry, 1981. The first edition of this was published by Faber and Faber in 1976; Dorling Kindersley reprinted it in 1977. A very interesting discussion of the qualities of many green manure species as used in Switzerland. Available from Woods End Agricultural Institute, Old Rome Rd., Box 1850, Mount Vernon, ME 04352.

Weinsteiger, Eileen, Summary of Cool-Weather Crops Tested 1979–80 for Solar Structures, Rodale Press, 1981. Published by the Rodale Institute Experimental Farm (see Appendix A). (OP)

Cookbooks

There are hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks, and lots of good ones. The small number listed here are vegetable-centric, though not all vegetarian, and tend to have a seasonal, farm/garden orientation. This list also skips the most heavily promoted recent books, not because they aren’t good, but because you probably already know about them.

Good vegan cookbooks treat vegetables with special respect, using thoughtful combinations to create a full range of flavor without animal products. Even meat eaters can learn a lot from them. Used book browsers can keep an eye out for small regional cookbooks that focus on produce. In general, look for gardeners’ and farmers market compilations: Territorial Seed Garden Cookbook, City Gardener’s Cookbook (created by Seattle P-Patch growers), the Pike Place Market Cookbook, etc. These may go out of print fairly quickly, but they are usually easy to find.

Geiskopf-Hadler, Susann and Mindy Toomay, The Complete Vegan Cookbook, Prima Health, 2001. An excellent introduction to vegan cooking, with lots of fresh vegetable dishes and a minimum of the kind of highly specialized ingredients that can be tough for rural dwellers to find.

Ingram, Christine, The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Vegetables, Anness, 2000. Compact book with clear photographs, including unfamiliar varieties such as Good King Henry and scorzonera. Terminology is British, which makes the photos especially helpful for American readers. Includes a selection of international recipes, with photos of preparation. A fun, helpful book.

Kornfeld, Myra, The Voluptuous Vegan, Clarkson Potter, 2000. Organized by menu and oriented toward company dinners and special occasions, this book is proof that vegans need not be ascetics. The recipes tend toward the time-consuming, but they are delicious and clearly described.

Morash, Marian, The Victory Garden Cookbook, Knopf, 1982. Recipes and cultural directions, from the television show The Victory Garden. Good for learning how to prepare unfamiliar winter vegetables and for finding new ways to serve familiar ones.

Morgan, Lane, Winter Harvest Cookbook, New Society Publishers, 2010. An omnivore’s cookbook, though it also includes many vegetarian and vegan recipes, focusing on fresh cool season produce and a few storage crops such as potatoes and sweet potatoes. It includes gardener-oriented descriptions and ideas for ethnic menus using winter vegetables.

Scaravelli, Paola, and Jon Cohen, A Mediterranean Harvest, Plume, 1988. Not specifically a winter produce book, but an accessible introduction to a variety of vegetable-based cuisines — Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Greek, North African. Seafood recipes are included, but no other meat. (OP)

Zeller, Debra, The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook, Timber Press, 2010. Mixes 200 recipes for Northwest produce with essays and interviews celebrating local food and farmers. The mostly simple recipes span the seasons and many require only cool season produce. This is a fine introduction to both the flavors and politics of regional small farms.

Videos

Dirt! The Movie, DVD, directed by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow, Common Ground Media, 2009. A funny, inspiring and frightening discussion of our general treatment of soil (the skin of the earth).

Four Season Harvest, Eliot Coleman, 2008. Very interesting lecture,oriented towards farmers rather than home gardeners. Available atthe Bellingham, Washington, Public Library, among others. You canwatch it online at chelseagreen.com/content/video-four-Season-farming-with-eliot-coleman

From Laundry to Landscape, produced by Art Ludwig, Oasis Designs, 2010. This shows you how to convert your washing machine to irrigate your landscape plants. A simple, economical easy-to-use greywater system, focused on dry summer climates.

Good Food, DVD, directed by Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young, Bullfrog Films, 2008. A rare feel-good movie about our current food system, this focuses on successful, sustainable family farms around the Northwest. Expensive to buy or rent, but many libraries carry it. It is worth checking out for a chance to hear the farmer’s point of view.

Periodicals

The Cultivar. Information on small-scale organic farming and gardening techniques, research on alternative pest con­trol methods and social issues in sustainable agriculture. Though a bit out of our area, it’s worth examining for the quality of the thinking behind the activities — it could serve as a model for efforts in our rainy and cooler northern clime. No longer published, but back issues are available online from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems: casfs.ucsc.edu/publications/videos

Hortideas. A monthly online peri­odical abstracting horticultural information of interest to horticultur­ists at all levels. Highly recommended. Subscriptions: $15 for 12 PDFs. users.mikrotec.com/~gwill/hi-index

Mother Earth News. A bimonthly from the heartland of America focusing on living more sustainably with less cash. Available online and in libraries as well as through subscription.

Wings: Essays on Invertebrate Conservation. From the Xerces Society; membership dues are $30 and include a year’s subscription. xerces.org.