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Live a more sustainable lifestyle Historically referred to as a government program for revitalizing undesirable living areas, «homesteading» today has come to mean the pursuit of a self-sufficient lifestyle. Homesteading can include everything from keeping bees, growing vegetables, and composting to installing solar panels, creating a rain barrel, and canning your own food,—plus much more. Backyard Homesteading All-in-One For Dummies has a little bit of everything for the homesteader in all of us. It walks you through the basics of creating your own sustainable homestead and offers expert tips and tricks for making it as easy and successful as possible. Raise chickens Keep bees Compost Can and preserve This book gives you everything you need to embark on your own homesteading adventure.

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Eager to wear gardening gloves but feel lost in the garden? Full of practical tips and detailed step-by step instructions, The First-Time Gardener is the beginner's guide to gardening. Kim Wilde turned from show biz to gardening and learned from scratch to become a recognised expert in the field.Beautifully illustrated throughout this one-stop guide will teach you the very basics of what gardening is about.Introduction:• Why gardening can be so rewarding• Why it’s important not to expect too much too soon• Why planning is the keyDetails of each essential garden technique:• Main soil types and the benefits/drawbacks of each• Fundamental tools• Guide to plant terms – demystifying words such as perennial, biennial, bulbs, rhizomes and many moreThe book assumes no prior knowledge and takes you through the basics of planning a garden, choosing plants and turning your ideas into reality – including how to make the most of climbers, containers, and hanging baskets. But it will also help you assess what you've already got in your garden. Not all gardens should be created from scratch, as per the TV makeovers. In fact, if you can wait a while to see what happens in your new garden, then you may find you've inherited some weird and wonderful plants.Contents include:• Planning a garden• Tips on planting, pruning and propagation• Hard landscaping• Choosing plants• Taking care of your garden – digging, weeding, watering and feeding• Gardening techniques• Green gardening• Growing fruit, vegetables and herbs• Trouble shooting and pest control• The possible pitfalls and helping you to identifywhat’s gone wrong and how to resolve it

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You’re now officially out of excuses for not planting the garden of your dreams. Even if you’ve never sowed a seed nor pulled a weed, Gardening Basics For Dummies contains everything you need to know about flowers, beds, borders, trees, shrubs, and lawns to create your own private paradise. This friendly and informative guide also covers all of the tools and additives available to make gardening easier. You’ll discover: Clear definitions and descriptions of the different types of plants Tips on choosing the type of garden you want How to create a garden plan Easy-to-follow instructions for soil preparation Advice on planting, growing and caring for annuals and perennials Step-by-step plans for organic and edible gardens Plans for butterfly and children's gardens Packed with helpful tips on controlling pests safely, managing weeds, and correcting common gardening problems, Gardening for Dummies turns your brown thumb green in a hurry.

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Rain pounds the Pacific Northwest, gushing through dirty downspouts, across chemically treated lawns, over oily streets and through public storm drains into bays, rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands where nature struggles to survive among the pollutants. It’s a problem caused by population density and it’s one that you can help solve. Rain Gardens for the Pacific Northwest</i> shows you how to trap and filter dirty water safely in your yard—and how to do that with a beautiful addition to your home. Zsofia Pasztor, a Certified Professional Horticulturalist, shares what she’s learned over the years experimenting with rain gardens in the challenging clay and hardpan soils of the region. The book answers questions that Zsofia regularly encounters in her workshops, including: • Can I build a rain garden myself? • Can a rain garden be too big or too small? • Can I create a low-maintenance rain garden? • Will my rain garden attract mosquitos? • How do you know if your infiltration system is in a “safe” location? • If my rain garden isn’t working (e.g., not draining), how can I fix it without starting over?
With photos and illustrations throughout, lists of best plants, and a comprehensive resources section, this easy-to-use guide shows Northwest gardeners, homeowners, and DIY-ers how to plan, design, install, and maintain their own healthy, natural, and beautiful rain garden.

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• Author Dave Hunter is at the leading edge of bee and pollinator issues • Mason bees are part of the solution to honeybees’ decline • No other bee book addresses the topic with such depth and interest • Includes useful information about leafcutter bees too! The national media regularly features dire stories on honeybee colony collapse and its danger to our food supply. But there's another, unsung bee that has the potential to save the planet—the mason bee. Mason Bee Revolution explains how docile, hard-working, solitary mason bees (and their compatriots, the leafcutter bees) are even more productive pollinators than honeybees, and keeping them can be a fun, easy, backyard hobby for gardeners, conservationists, foodies, and families everywhere. Why these bees? Bee pollination is critical for about 80 percent of US agricultural crops, increasing crop value by an estimated $15 billion annually. Since 2006, nearly a third of all honeybee hives have been lost each year, due to parasites, pesticides, habitat loss, climate change, and a newer malady called Colony Collapse Disorder. While scientists search for answers to save the honeybee, Dave Hunter and his company, Crown Bees, are leading the effort to increase the population of other highly efficient pollinators: One mason bee can produce twelve pounds of cherries, via pollination, where it would take sixty honey bees to achieve the same. Mason Bee Revolution is an easy-to-follow guide to keeping both mason and leafcutter bees. It tells you how to set up, care for, and harvest your own bees and what types of plants and habitat encourage mason and leafcutter bees, as well as provides general information on other common pollinators and bee-related facts, projects, and personalities.

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The Informed Gardener Blooms Again picks up where The Informed Gardener left off, using scientific literature to debunk a new set of common gardening myths. Once again, Linda Chalker-Scott investigates the science behind each myth, reminding us that urban and suburban landscapes are ecosystems requiring their own particular set of management practices. The Informed Gardener Blooms Again provides answers to questions such as:Does using drought-tolerant plants reduce water consumption?Is it more effective to spray fertilizers on the leaves of trees and shrubs than to apply it to the soil?Will cedar wood chips kill landscape plants?Should I use ladybugs in my garden as a form of pest control?Does aerobically brewed compost tea suppress disease?Every year Chalker-Scott receives hundreds of e-mails from around the world on these and related topics. Her advice, based on more than twenty years of experience in the field of plant physiology, has helped home gardeners, landscape architects, and nursery and landscape professionals to develop scientifically based sustainable landscaping practices.Watch the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWrk2894iyA

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Susannah Seton reminds us in Every Garden Is a Story that reader and gardener alike have much to learn from their gardens. The poignant and touching stories – from her father's quest for a seven-headed sweet pea to cancer survival and magical portraits of moon gardens –take readers on a journey through garden beds, along the way reinforcing how to care for themselves and their loved ones by caring for the Earth.From the book: Some of the most touching stories remind us that we don't have to have a big yard or a lot of money to have a garden.Every Garden Is a Story is a thoughtful and inspiring gift for any gardener. Did you know you can grow your own luffa sponges? * Contains dozens of recipes, tips, crafts and an extensive resource section of garden centers, online seed catalogs, and recommended reading.* Appeals to burgeoning eco-conscious readers with a desire to get back to basics.

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In order to be a successful gardener you have to know how to prune—whether to improve growth, increase fruiting qualities or to enable the plant to grow in space-restricted areas or cold environments. This practical book provides advice on pruning garden plants, from infancy to maturity. Included is detailed advice on renovating neglected plants, from shrubs and climbers to fruit trees and bushes. There is also a fun element, with instructions for creating topiary in the garden.

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Superb new gardening series, at a low $9.99 price point and attractive point-of-purchase display options. Concise, easy-to-use reference guides on all aspects of gardening. Each title is packed with expert advice, prepared by leading cultivation specialists. Gardening enthusiasts will find a wealth of practical information at their fingertips. Step-by-step instructions, clear color photographs and illustrations, and DIY projects.

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Keeping garden soil in good health is an essential part of gardening, and compost is the home gardener’s most effective way to maintain fertile, well aerated, and moisture-retentive soil. This abundantly illustrated book gives gardeners all the guidance they need to start making, storing, and using their own compost. It offers information on the different types of compost and their ingredients, advice on constructing a compost bin, and detailed explanations of wormeries, green manuring, and seed and potting composts. There’s no better or easier-to-follow guide for anyone wanting to make and use their own compost.

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