Bøker av Rosefiend Cordell

Vegetable gardening is an enterprise fraught with adventure and peril. Well, okay, that's only true when you pull up a weed and a cloud of bumblebees boils up from a nest underground. Otherwise, gardening is a pretty good way to spend your time, and you also get delicious vegetables. Don't Throw In the Trowel! guides the Midwest gardener, month by month, through the many gardening tasks that need to be done. This book helps you be more effective, plots out your month-by-month to-do list, and keeps you up to speed. Melinda R. Cordell has worked in horticulture half her life, including a stint as city horticulturist in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Style: Everybody has it but nobody really knows what it is. And when it comes to garden design, everybody has style. Sometimes, though, they have just haven't figured out what their gardening style is. Some people lean more toward traditional gardens with flowers to cram them into. Other lean more toward the formal gardens and parterres. Or maybe you might prefer a tropical style with all its orange and yellows and cannas and lush leaves. And some like to mix styles in a fun pastiche of plants and colors. What do you like? Maybe at this time you don't know. But you eventually figure out ideas from poking around the world of plants and styles and colors and shapes and forms.This book is written for the do it yourselfers, the DIY folks, who like to be puttering around in a garden and have dirt under their fingernails that won't entirely go away even when they scrub and scrub. These folks have rough, chapped skin along the outside of their index finger from pulling weeds - though this probably doesn't go so much for those of you with sense enough to keep your gloves on while you're gardening.This is also for the gardeners who have smaller budgets. Times are tough, and the hell of it is, times going to get even tougher. So if you can't afford a huge garden, I'm going to talk about ways to design a garden that doesn't take a lot of money and time (especially if you're working a full-time job with a side gig to make ends meet). This book is also for those with means, since there will be plenty of good suggestions for you guys to play with as well.And this book is especially for those gardeners who take an earth-friendly approach, those who are a little more laid-back in the garden, and gardeners who are a little more informal in their approach to plants and design. My style tends to be natural, organic, and forgiving. If things get messy once in a while, it's okay, because we're all human.

Perennials are the backbone of the garden -- a low-maintenance, long-growing mainstay that the garden revolves around. I've worked with perennials for 20 years, as a manager in the perennials section at the local nursery, and then as a municipal horticulturist in charge of over 20 gardens around the city. I've grown perennials from seed, potted them bare-rooted, divided them, deadheaded them, treated them for diseases and pests. Everything I've learned over the years I share here in this book -- Perennial Classics.

This book gives you ways to beat insect infestations on your houseplants, tips on preparing plants for winter, how to raise orchids, African violets, grow a Christmas cactus the way your grandma did, and make poinsettias rebloom. You can learn how to make a dish garden and terrarium. You learn about the right way to water your houseplants, ways to fight back against aphids, mealybugs, spider mites on your English ivy, and fungus gnats (when I worked in the greenhouse, they always flew straight at my eyes and I mastered how to kill them in mid-flight). When insects afflict your houseplants, consult this book. I've worked over 20 years in horticulture, and before then, I was reading all of my grandma's houseplant books and getting plant starts from her, and had two tables of houseplants when I was in junior high and high school. These days I'm raising Phalaenopsis orchids (butterfly orchids) and other fussbudget plants. I've learned things through long experience. I share them all in this book to make your time with your houseplants fun and easy.

Roses are the Queen of Flowers. They're beautiful, fragrant, and elegant - and roses require all the pampering of a real Queen, don't they? Actually, they don't! Rose gardening can be easy and pleasant. I've worked 25 years in horticulture and cared for over 300 roses in a public rose garden when I was municipal horticulturist. I found ways to keep rose gardening fussbudgetry to a minimum while growing vigorous roses that bloomed their heads off. Rose to the Occasion: An Easy-Growing Guide to Rose Gardening shares tricks and shortcuts that rosarians use, plus simple ways you can keep up with your to-do list in the rose garden. Gardeners of all skill levels will find this book helpful, whether they be beginning gardeners or old rosarians, whether they have a green thumb or a brown thumb. Rose to the Occasion includes* old illustrations of roses in bloom, plus historical background on each flower * down-to-earth wisdom on how to plant, grow, and prune roses* the in and out of fertilizing roses to get the lushest foliage and best blooms * advice on choosing the right rose for your garden, as well as many easy-growing varieties * the latest on organic pest control and fungicide use in the rose garden * hardy, tough old roses that can take whatever Mother Nature throws at them * and general garden maintenance help that you can use anywhere in the garden.If you love The Rose Bible by Rayford Clayton Reddell, or books by David Austin, or books like Right Rose, Right Place; or Everyday Roses: How to Grow Knock Out(R) and Other Easy-Care Garden Roses; or The Organic Rose Garden, and if you like garden books leavened with humor -- then this book is for you. Rose to the Occasion is the ultimate resource for any rose gardener, or anybody in need of good gardening advice. Roses are filled with romance, history, color, and fragrance. Grow some. It is worth it.

How do I make my lawn look like a golf course without all those chemicals? How do I keep up with all the lawn care when I have a million things to do? Leave Me A Lawn is packed with clear, concise information on yard care that is written with a sense of humor, classy illustrations, and a lot of helpful information on lawn maintenance from a former horticulturist with a trick back. Discover timesaving secrets for better fertilizing, watering, and mowing, and helpful hints for those of you who already have too much on your plate. This book also contains advice for those lawn maniacs out there who want that green, lush grass but want to cut back on chemicals and water. You can grow lean and mean grass that fights off insect pests and diseases and take drought with aplomb.

The National Gardening Association has found that, among vegetable gardeners, tomatoes are their favorite plant to grow. One in three Americans have a vegetable garden, and 9 out of 10 of those gardens have tomatoes in them. Tomatoes range in size from gigantic beefsteak tomatoes that can weigh up to a half-pound, to the smallest cherry tomato about the size of a marble. You can grow heavy-yielding hybrids or open-pollinated heirloom varieties in different colors, shades, and sizes. You can choose early varieties that set fruit when it's cool outside, mid-season varieties, and late-maturing varieties that will give you the biggest fruits but take 80 to 90 days to do it. Sometimes you'll need about 120 days to get a decent harvest, but hey, at least you get tomatoes! Tomatoes are so versatile and so good. You can cook them a million different ways or you can eat them, sun-warmed and delicious, straight off the vine. Some people grab a cherry tomato, a leaf of basil, and a slice of mozzarella cheese, and eat them like that. Welcome to the world of tomato gardening. There's nothing as sweet and good as a sun-warmed tomato fresh from the garden on a hot summer afternoon. It's no wonder that tomatoes are the most popular vegetable in America (though botanically, tomatoes are a fruit). Cordell's book walks you through the steps in raising tomatoes - through starting tomato seeds, planting (and tricks for planting tomatoes early), and staking and caging tomatoes. Readers learn how to fight off diseases and insect pests, decipher the mysterious letters on a tomato tag, how to harvest tomatoes, and how to dry, can, or freeze tomatoes for next year. With plenty of information for advanced gardeners, ready help for beginning gardeners, lots of expert knowledge, and a smidgeon of wit, If You're a Tomato will guide you in the ways of the vegetable garden with a minimum of fuss and feathers. And also with a minimum of weeding. Nobody likes weeding.Table of Contents: Tomato Varieties Determinate vs. Indeterminate Starting Tomatoes from Seed Planting Tomatoes! Planting Early BECAUSE YOU JUST CAN'T WAIT Growing Tomatoes in Containers Location, Location, Location Soil Building - Make Your Dirt Work For You Staking, Caging, Propping 'Em Up A Rogue's Gallery of Garden Pests Whiteflies Spider Mites Flea Beetles Stink Bugs Tomato Hornworms Aphids Kaolin Clay for Pest Control Diseases and General Afflictions The Mysterious Letters On the Tag Sunscald Tobacco Mosaic Blossom End Rot Late Blight and Early Blight Fusarium Wilt Heat Will Stop Tomato Production Harvesting Tomatoes Food Pantry Plea Getting Tomatoes Ready for Harvest The Truth About Green Tomatoes Canning and Preserving Canning Tomatoes Freezing Tomatoes How to Sun-Dry Tomatoes How to Save Seeds From Tomatoe

Unlock the Secrets of a Bountiful Food Forest! Are you ready to embark on an extraordinary journey into the world of sustainable, self-sufficient gardening? Look no further than "Growing a Food Forest: Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials That'll Feed Ya!" This groundbreaking book is your ticket to designing a lush food paradise that will provide fresh, healthy nourishment for years to come.Embrace the Organic Gardening Renaissance: Transport yourself back to the golden age of the 1960s and 1970s organic gardening movement. With a relaxed approach to permaculture and gardening ethics, this book rejuvenates the spirit of natural systems and guides you towards creating your very own food forest sanctuary.Nurturing Nature's Bounty: From soil preparation and improvement to selecting the perfect edible native plants for your region, you'll gain the knowledge and confidence to design and cultivate a thriving food forest. Explore the secrets of building and maintaining soil health using perennial wonders, propagate plants, and seamlessly integrate annual crops into your system.A Cornucopia of Perennial Delights: Delve into detailed profiles of an abundance of perennial crops, including apples, stone fruits, pawpaws, shrubs, and brambles. Uncover the ideal varieties for your food forest, with insights into cultural requirements, common pests and diseases, and expert tips on proper plant care to ensure a harvest of abundance.Cultivate with Confidence: Whether you're an experienced gardener or just beginning your green-thumb journey, "Growing a Food Forest" is your ultimate companion. This comprehensive resource equips you with the knowledge and techniques to create a sustainable, low-maintenance food source. Embrace gardening made easier and more productive than ever before, and savor the fruits of your labor for years to come.Plant the Seeds of Change Today: Don't wait another moment to transform your gardening dreams into a reality. Order your copy of "Growing a Food Forest" and embark on a remarkable journey towards self-sufficiency. Discover the joy of cultivating your own nourishing paradise and feast on the abundance of your very own food forest!

Hello, fellow gardeners! Are you ready to get your hands dirty and cultivate the soil of your dreams? Then you need "Stay Grounded: Soil Building for Sustainable Gardens," the comprehensive guidebook that will help you grow a thriving, healthy garden that nourishes both your body and soul.As a lifelong gardener and sustainability advocate, I've spent years perfecting my approach to soil building. In this book, I share my tried-and-true techniques for assessing soil health, choosing natural amendments, and nurturing a healthy ecosystem that supports a wide variety of plants and animals.From composting to cover cropping, this book covers all the essential topics that will help you create a rich, fertile soil that produces abundant, delicious crops. You'll also find practical advice on companion planting, seed starting, and other key skills that will help you maximize your garden's potential.But "Stay Grounded" is more than just a guidebook - it's a call to action. With our planet facing unprecedented environmental challenges, we need sustainable gardening practices now more than ever. By cultivating healthy soil and reducing our reliance on harmful chemicals and practices, we can create a better ecosystem and better world.So join me on this journey towards sustainable, nourishing gardening. Together, we can make a difference - one garden at a time.

Book 3 of the Hungry Garden series talks about the other hungry species dwelling in your garden - insects! Whether they're eating your plants - or eating the insects that are eating your plants - insects are fascinating to learn about, even the garden-wreckers.Learn to observe what lives on your roses, what's laying eggs on the underside of your tomato leaves, and what insects are lying in ambush for pests. This book will help you tell the helpful bugs from the harmful ones, and walk you through ways to encourage beneficial insects while discouraging the pests and helping you to limit pest damage.This volume covers a plethora of beneficial insects, including damselflies, lacewings, ladybugs, wheel bugs and assassin bugs, praying mantis, big-eyed bugs, wasps, cicada killers, and leaf-cutter bees. It also has a rouge's gallery of pest insects: mealybugs, whiteflies, scale, stink bugs, fungus gnats, flea beetles, tomato hornworms, aphids, spotted cucumber beetles, spider mites, thrips, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, grasshoppers, and emerald ash borers. We also have ways you can control pests without harmful chemicals and sprays, and ways to attract your insect friends, create a habitat for beneficial insects, and make them happy in your garden.Beneficial and Pest Insects is a little handy-dandy manual that walks you through the pest insects that might be in your garden and thebeneficial insects that you would like to see more of. Focusing on a plant-positive approach - in which the health of the plants is considered over the random eradication of random insects - this book is a naturalist's/gardener's look at the fascinating and busy world of insects in the garden.

Roses are the Queen of Flowers. They're beautiful, fragrant, and elegant - and roses require all the pampering of a real Queen, don't they?Actually, they don't!Rose gardening can be easy and pleasant. I've worked 25 years in horticulture and cared for over 300 roses in a public rose garden when I was municipal horticulturist. I found ways to keep rose gardening fussbudgetry to a minimum while growing vigorous roses that bloomed their heads off. Rose to the Occasion: An Easy-Growing Guide to Rose Gardening shares tricks and shortcuts that rosarians use, plus simple ways you can keep up with your to-do list in the rose garden.Gardeners of all skill levels will find this book helpful, whether they be beginning gardeners or old rosarians, whether they have a green thumb or a brown thumb.Rose to the Occasion includes* old illustrations of roses in bloom, plus historical background on each flower* down-to-earth wisdom on how to plant, grow, and prune roses* the in and out of fertilizing roses to get the lushest foliage and best blooms* advice on choosing the right rose for your garden, as well as many easy-growing varieties* the latest on organic pest control and fungicide use in the rose garden* hardy, tough old roses that can take whatever Mother Nature throws at them* and general garden maintenance help that you can use anywhere in the garden.If you love The Rose Bible by Rayford Clayton Reddell, or books by David Austin, or books like Right Rose, Right Place; or Everyday Roses: How to Grow Knock Out® and Other Easy-Care Garden Roses; or The Organic Rose Garden, and if you like garden books leavened with humor -- then this book is for you.

Liberate your food plants from the vegetable garden! Landscape your living space so it offers food for the eyes, heart, and stomach.With lots of good information, Edible Landscaping: Foodscaping and Permaculture for Urban Gardeners is a how-to gardening manual written by a hard-boiled former horticulturist. Rosefiend Cordell takes the budding gardener on a step-by-step process to transform their sad yard into a merry garden full of ornamental flowers linking arms with tomatoes, herbs, and edible flowers, as well as good fruit and nut trees.This gardening book features practical gardening methods that help you create a design to build the outdoor living space you want.This book is crammed full of information on foodscaping and permaculture, and how these techniques can help you to build the soil, prepare a garden design, and choose the plants you want. Create a mixed border that cuddles herbs, edible flowers, vegetables, ornamental plants, and fruits together in harmony.It doesn't matter if you have a brown thumb or a green thumb. Whether you live in the city, the suburbs, or way out in the sticks, this handy-dandy manual will teach you how to make the best use of the space you have while opening your eyes to a great old way of gardening that's beautiful, tasty, and deeply satisfying.

Are you ready to discover the secret to bountiful harvests, even if you have limited space? Look no further than "Big Yields, Little Pots: Container Gardening for the Creative Gardener." In this book, gardening expert and horticulturist extraordinaire Rosefiend Cordell shares her insider knowledge on how to create a thriving container garden that will provide you with fresh, home-grown vegetables, herbs, berries, and edible flowers.Don't let limited space stop you from experiencing the joy of growing your own food in containers of every size. With "Big Yields, Little Pots," you'll learn everything you need to know to turn even the smallest patio or balcony into a verdant oasis crammed with food plants.But this book isn't just about the basics of container gardening. It's for the creative gardener who wants to take their gardening game to the next level. You'll discover innovative techniques for maximizing yields in minimal space, as well as tips for designing container gardens that will grow the heck out of your tomatoes.Whether you're an experienced gardener or just starting out, "Big Yields, Little Pots" has something for you. With step-by-step instructions, beautiful photographs, and detailed plant profiles, this book is a must-have resource for anyone looking to grow a bountiful container garden.So why wait? Start growing your own fresh produce today with "Big Yields, Little Pots." With this book as your guide, you'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in just a few square feet of space. Don't let limited space hold you back any longer - the world of container gardening is waiting for you!This book covers:Choosing the right containerHow to start seeds (and combat damping-off disease)Soilless mixes and their elementsFertilizer, watering, climate, trellisingAnd this book will dig into the different kinds of vegetables that grow best in pots - best methods for each crop - best varieties for containers.This book is the essential guide to container gardening for beginners and also for seasoned gardeners who have been around the block a few times.Start your gardening fun today!

Japanese beetles arrived in America in 1916. Since then, the beetle has cut a destructive swath across a great portion of the United States.Japanese Beetles and Grubs: Trap, Spray, and Control Them is an indispensable guide for home gardeners, landscape professionals, and farmers. This Japanese beetle book is your secret weapon to help you control the beetles and safeguard your trees, roses, and vegetables.This book walks you through many methods for stopping Japanese beetles, whether through organic means or (in some cases) chemical means. The book relies mainly on eco-friendly ways to control these garden pests so you don't have to rely on harsh chemicals.In researching this book, I read through agricultural bulletins from the past and today. I've gleaned information from many University Extension sources and scientific studies, as well as good old-fashioned field work, to find out which control methods work (and which don't). I've put every control method I could find into this book, in order to give the gardener as many options as possible in vanquishing these pests. In short, in this book I have compiled as many weapons for your Japanese beetle arsenal as possible, where these weapons can be effectively used in the beetle's life cycle, and how they can be deployed. The Japanese beetle likely won't be eradicated. Great entomological minds have been working on this problem for a solid century now, using extremely lethal chemicals and other means to try and stop the infestation, and they were doing this way back in the days when Japanese beetle numbers were far, far smaller than they are now. However, there are ways that we can mitigate the damage the beetles do, and you might be able to bring down the scores of unwanted visitors to your roses, and kill off a number of the unwanted residents in your lawn. I hope to do this in a way that's interesting and amusing for you to read, because if there's anything I hate, it's the idea of my readers falling into a coma halfway through a paragraph. So I'll do my best to keep that from happening. It's only fair.Contents:Know Thy EnemyDamage Caused by Beetles and their GrubsJapanese beetle look-alikesControl of Japanese BeetlesControl of White GrubsNatural predators, parasites, and diseases

Many of you like to spend your Saturday evenings rolling around your lawn on your 327-horsepower John Deere Lawninator, enjoying the evening breeze while you mow, and maybe ruminating about the philosophical problems of the ages and even solving some of them while you work. And when you're done, you can look across the work of art that is your green, shiny lawn with the geometrically perfect lawnmower stripes, and say, "See what I hath wrought!" And that's cool too. Raising a lawn has its challenges, just as everything else does. You'll see yards everywhere with rough spots, uneven, or with bare patches. Or, as happened to some unfortunate homeowners while we were having a drought, somebody threw a still-burning cigarette out a car window and started a fire that burned its way across several yards before it was extinguished. So remember: Maybe your lawn doesn't look the best right now, but things could always be worse. A lot of folks who are juggling kids, work, household maintenance, and side jobs don't exactly have all the time in the world to sit down and study the fine points of lawn maintenance. I totally get that. This is why my lawn is a wreck. Also, chickens. So I'm making this book short and sweet, and I hope reader-friendly, though occasionally I'll throw a little science your way. Because it's SCIENCE. I'm going to lay out the best ways to make a great lawn without having to buy hundreds of dollars worth of chemicals and supplies. I'll talk about how to add fertility to the soil, how to water to keep the grass growing up and the water bill down, and how to keep your lawn mower serviced and working. And we'll pick up a lot of other helpful tips along the way.