Read more
Informationen zum Autor Certified master gardener and horticulturist Geri Galian Miller is the founder of Home Grown Edible Landscapes. She is also a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and author of her own blog, GroEdibles. Klappentext Crisp cucumbers, leafy greens, fresh snap peas, and vine-ripened melons are just a few of the delights awaiting gardeners in Southern California. While the climate can present gardeners with challenges, there are many ways to have a productive garden and an ever-changing menu of seasonal food. How do you use the summer heat to grow the most delicious tomatoes? Which months are the best for sowing carrot or beet seeds? How can you make the most of your bountiful harvest during the winter months? Geri Miller answers all these questions and more. Monthly planning guides show exactly what you can do in the garden from January through December, and you’ll learn skills that go beyond the basics with tutorials on overwintering, making seed pots, drying herbs, and building cold frames. Also included are a comprehensive gardening primer and an A to Z of edibles—a detailed, invaluable source for the region’s tried-and-tested varieties. Whether you are just starting your season or looking for ways to extend it, this is your guide to producing a bountiful, year-round harvest in Southern California. Vorwort This Timber Press Guide features an A–Z section that profiles the 50 vegetables, fruits, and herbs that grow best in Southern California and provides basic care and maintenance for each. Preface If you’re reading this book, you’ve been blessed to live in the southern part of the Golden State. As diverse a map of topography as it is a map of humanity, Southern California provides vastly different gardening experiences for all 16.5 million of us (that’s 43% of the population of the entire state). From the beautiful inland valleys, with their blistering summer heat and potential winter frosts, to the glorious coastal plains, where temperatures rarely reach the extremes of the thermometer, we relish gardening here in USDA zones 9 to 11, and all the a’s and b’s in between. This book will cover our territory and its various growing regions, starting with the Pacific Coast north of Santa Barbara, at San Luis Obispo, east to just south of Bakersfield, then along the San Gabriel Mountains to San Bernardino and south into San Diego. Yes, SoCal has it all. Sun and surf, heat and freezes, wind, snow and—well, just a little rain thrown in here and there. Most wonderful of all, though, is that most of us can grow something edible in our gardens 365 glorious days a year! This isn’t to say that this near gardening nirvana isn’t without its challenges, however. We gardeners still need to develop skills beyond composting. We need to learn how to take our cues from the increasingly unpredictable seasonal shifts that occur here, and be ready to anticipate and deal with the impact of drought and periodic heavy rain on the way we grow food. And what food it is! Our cultural diversity allows us each to share the uniquely personal experience of growing what was familiar to us and our parents and grandparents with our neighbors or fellow community gardeners, and vice versa. It is no surprise then that edible gardens bring people together around food. Whether you are brand new to gardening or just in need of a refresher, the format of this book makes it easy for you to learn about our unique SoCal growing region, and how climate zones, topography, and changing weather patterns affect our gardening experiences. Included are a primer on the basic tenets of organic gardening, with tips and tricks about planning and planting; a month-to-month guide that delivers practical advice about what you can expect—and do—each month; and, the heart of the matter, Edibles A to Z. A seasoned gardener’s mantra is “know what y...
