BOOKreviews

Grow More Food: A Vegetable Gardener’s Guide to Getting the Biggest Harvest Possible from a Space of Any Size Authors: Colin McCrate and Brad Halm Publisher: Storey Publishing List Price: $24.95 Order Link: https://amzn.to/3qrq1vF and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9781635864090 Reviewer: Charlote Crook Grow More Food, the new book from Colin McCrate and Brad Halm, provides a comprehensive guide for food gardeners at any level. McCrate and Halm founded the Seattle Urban Farm Company in 2007, focused on helping and educating gardeners. Although they do not live in the Washington, DC, area, this guide is helpful for all growers, especially beginners. In Grow More Food, McCrate and Halm give interactive tools to help gardeners get their start in growing edibles. I can see the book being incredibly helpful to gardeners, but McCrate and Halm emphasize the process over anything else: “... you should approach gardening with a long view and gradually acquire skills as they become relevant and appropriate for your garden.” The book is five sections that, in themselves, act as a step-by-step guide: “Plan Ahead & Keep Records,” “Build Healthy Soil,” “Get to Know Your Plants,” “Create Efficient Systems,” and “Extend & Expand the Harvest.” Each section provides helpful tips for different aspects of food gardening. In “Plan Ahead & Keep Records,” the authors emphasize organization. “Build Healthy Soil” devotes pages to teaching you how to interpret the results of a soil test. In the section titled, “Get to Know Your Plants,” you can read about different seed treatment and storage methods to increase the longevity of your seeds. “Create Efficient Systems” discusses various methods of irrigation, and “Extend & Expand the Harvest” teaches you how to harvest specific plants. When it comes to obstacles, the authors’ philosophy is preventive measures and continued maintenance. “Weeding will always be part of organic garden maintenance,” McCrate and Halm write. “Your goal is simply to reduce the overall production of weeds in your garden.” Although the book is colorful with many pictures, there’s lots of information packed in to it. Most of the book is text, broken up by photos and charts. The charts are, by far, the most helpful part of the book. Some charts provide information about plants’ preferred harvest methods, and others are about seed lifespan. These serve as a great, quick guide to this information. The book closes with an entire section devoted to the charts throughout the book, compiled in one go-to spot for easy access. There’s even an index. If you need to know what page the instructions for grafting are on, this is a good place to check. Whether you live in Seattle, Washington, or Washington, DC, Grow More Food will be a helpful guide to get you started on your journey growing edibles. o

Charlotte Crook is a senior journalism major minoring in history at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She was an intern during fall 2021 with Washington Gardener and is passionate about raising houseplants (to varying degrees of success).

Note: These book reviews include links to Amazon.com and BookShop.org for ordering them. Washington Gardener Magazine may receive a few cents from each order placed after you click on these links.

Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Revised and Updated Second Edition) Author: Jessica Walliser Publisher: Cool Springs Press List Price: $27.99 Order Link: https://amzn.to/3rm8Evj and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780760371718 Reviewer: Erica H. Smith Gardeners who regularly add to their libraries are always excited by the appearance of a new Jessica Walliser book, but I will admit (echoing Walliser, who includes a list of confessions in her introduction) that I didn’t manage to acquire the original 2014 edition of this guide to beneficial insects. That means I can’t tell you which are revised and updated parts, but if you didn’t buy it before, or if your copy is tattered and worn, it’s worth getting hold of this new edition. Aside from being a knowledgeable horticulturist and experienced gardener who always does her research, Walliser is just an enticing and effective writer. I mean, any book that starts with the sentence “Slug sex is interesting stuff” has to be worth reading, right? And yes, of course she knows that slugs are neither insects nor beneficial, but that lead-in is all about how fascinating the small creatures are that inhabit our gardens. What does Walliser confess to, you may ask? That she used to be a bug hater who wielded pesticide sprays until she belatedly learned better, and that now she finds bugs more interesting than plants. Plants, it turns out, are just matter to

feed insects, who then feed on each other. But if you’re all about the plants nonetheless, you still need to learn about insects. Most of us who began gardening some decades ago never thought we’d be looking for ways to attract more bugs, but if we want to control the undesirable insects who eat our plants kept, the best and most ecologically friendly method is to invite insects who will prey on them. Those may chow down directly, or they may be parasitoids who supply their children with easy meals by laying eggs in insects or their eggs and larvae. The best way to entice good bugs, Walliser tells us, is to let the bad bugs hang around long enough to be lunch, which means holding back on pesticides (with some exceptions, such as infestations of invasives lacking natural predators). We also need to plant lots of flowers for the beneficial insects that like to feed on nectar and pollen, and provide lots of nesting and hiding spaces. We need busy, colorful gardens with a high proportion of native plants. One chapter provides a list with descriptions of some of the best plants to add to an insect-friendly landscape, some native and some non-native, and that’s great to have, but probably the least important section. More intriguing are the profiles of beneficials, from assassin bugs to tachinid flies, and the general information about how these insects go about their lives, how they find and attack their prey, and what features in your garden they find attractive. (Extrafloral nectar! I had no idea.) The book also features interviews with research entomologists around the country, including Doug Tallamy and the University of Maryland’s own Paula Shrewsbury. This is the rare gardening book that you just want to sit down and read straight through, including all the details about big-eyed bugs and mountain mint, phenology, and farmscaping, and then study the handy chart about what eats what and what you should plant to attract them. And then start ordering seeds. Maybe it’s even the book that will convince your insectphobic neighbor to stop spraying and start planting, but at the very least, it will help you serve as a good example of how gardens can be beautiful, healthy, and full of bugs, at the same time. o

Home Hydroponics: Small-Space DIY Growing Systems Author: Tyler Baras Publisher: Cool Springs Press List Price: $26.99 Order Link: https://amzn.to/3numwCJ and https://bookshop.org/ a/79479/9780760370384 Reviewer: Erica H. Smith Hydroponic gardening allows anyone to grow plants for food or beauty without the mess of soil or potting mixes, by water and nutrients in a system controlled for optimum production. Most indoor hydroponic setups don’t really take human aesthetic preferences into consideration, however. In fact, they tend to feature lots of PVC pipes and plastic boxes, which don’t fit attractively into the typical living space. This book presents creations that will allow you to not only grow hydroponically in any room, but work with your home’s interior design. The projects range from a simple planter box on a suction-cup shelf, to be mounted in a sunny window, to some pretty complicated constructions like a coffee table with plants growing underneath and a vertical farm built into a locker, with pumping systems and ventilation. I would recommend this book primarily for those with DIY experience in carpentry and even plumbing, who have a good set of basic tools already on hand and know how to use them. For most projects, you’ll need a drill, a saw, maybe a pipe cutter, hardware, and a set of hand tools, and the patience to measure carefully and follow the clear and detailed instructions to the letter. You may also have to adjust measurements and materials to your own space and taste. You’ll also have to purchase lots of items, including hydroponic supplies like net pots, clay pebbles, stone wool, and pond liners. I am not much of a builder, nor do I have hydroponics experience, so it all looks a bit intimidating to me, but if you’ve made some shelves or nonfancy furniture, connected a few pipes, and can do a little math, you’re probably set. From the photos, the results look great. How about an herb garden nestled into a hand-built picture frame, or an end table made of a carved redwood block that sprouts plants? Or, more practically, a wooden planting box for salad greens and herbs for your dining room table or bar cart? We all need more plants in our lives. This book also has tons of useful information about light needs and how to measure available light, nutrient management, effects of indoor climates, and appropriate plants. (Hint: You’re not going to be growing vining squash, tall okra, or lemon trees, but you can produce plenty of salads and discover the pleasures of microgreens. Flowers and foliage plants are also possible, along with miniature tomatoes.) Maintenance and troubleshooting are also covered. And Baras has many more resources online. If you need support for your dream hydroponics project, you can find it. Dive in; water gives you what you need to grow, and so does this book. o

Erica H. Smith is a Montgomery County Master Gardener whose volunteer activities include the MG Demonstration Garden, the Grow It Eat It program, and speaking engagements on food-growing topics. She is the author of several novels; visit her website at ericahsmith.wordpress.com.