Digging The Learning Curve: Resources

In general, I've scoured used books stores and found many useful texts. Some of the most helpful things have been small non-descript pamphlets found tucked between showy gardening books with little substance.

	Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener This is one of the books my mother gave me when I acquired the garden. If I can know the question, this book usually has an answer. It's not filled with fancy photos, but the drawings are clear, the descriptions have helped me, and the author's advice is sound.
	Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis I've always known that there was more than meets the eye in all that dirt, and now I know what it is. It's life. Between the tiny pieces of rock (minerals) and the decaying plant matter, right next to the roots of plants and the above the clay level, lives billions of organisms. Each one, be it bacteria, fungi, nematodes, protozoa, worms, grubs or rodents, has a function in the soil. This book is bursting with information helpful to gardeners. Using a science-based approach they characterize the roll of each inhabitant and component of soil and explain its contribution to the "soil food web." They even include 19 helpful rules to keep your soil fertile without fertilizers and to recover the life in damaged soil. I loved their thorough approach and because I've only been gardening for a few years, I finally feel like I have a place to go for definitive answers that eluded me before.
	Weeds of the Northeast, by Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal & Joseph M. DiTomaso What convinced me to buy this book was my ongoing battle with certain weeds. My struggle with them was epic (at least in my head), but my enemies were still mostly nameless. When I found the Curly Dock pictured on one of the pages, I slapped my money down and have been happy ever since.
	The New York Times 1000 Gardening Questions & Answers This was a gift from my mother-in-law and it's been very helpful. Unlike Jeopardy I don't have to have my problem in the form of a question--but it never hurts. Inside is an excellent index, good drawings and decent categories. I occasionally thumb through it during the winter months.
	Old Herbaceous: A Novel of the Garden, by Reginald Arkell I bought this book at a small store in Callicoon, NY. It's a British novel about boy who becomes a classic English gardener on an 19th century estate. It perfectly describes Old Herbaceouses indispensable "I'm in charge here" attitude, his brilliant flower sense, and the occasional delight he provides with a bowl of early strawberries. It's part of the Modern Library Gardening Series.
	Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden, by Eleanor Perenyi A friend loaned this one to me after she read some early pages of "Digging the Learning Curve." It's a combination memoir, garden advice, and social commentary. I enjoyed t so much, I bought my own copy. It's also part of the Modern Library Gardening Series.