Ever Curious Gardener

Lee Reich, PhD, dove into gardening decades ago, initially with one foot in academia as an agricultural scientist with the USDA and then Cornell University, and one foot in the field, the organic field. He eventually expanded his field to a "farmden" (more than a garden, less than a farm) and left academia to lecture, consult, and write. He is author of many books including Weedless Gardening, The Pruning Book, and Landscaping with Fruit, as well as a syndicated column for Associated Press. In addition to providing a year-round supply of fruits and vegetables, the farmden has an educational mission and is a test site for innovative growing techniques. Science and an appreciation of natural systems underpin his work, and Lee's goal is to get more people to grow more food sustainably and organically. He has a PhD in Horticulture from the University of Maryland, an MS in Soil Science, and a BA in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. He blogs at leereich.com/blog from his farmden in New Paltz, NY

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPropagation and Planting• A bit of deception helps me get some seeds to sprout that under natural conditions would wisely stay asleep• Burial in tundra might be ideal for seed storage but I choose more practical storage for my vegetable and flower seeds• Electricity temporarily suffices when access to sunlight is lacking• In which the pre-plant toughening up of seedlings is shown to be necessary, but with a gentle touch• Plants exhibit all sorts of changes, some sought after, some not, as they go through puberty• A recommendation to plant citrus from seed even if fruit is improbable or not worth eating• Containing some of the ways in which I use a few or many plant cells to conjure up whole new plants• I revisit totipotence, using stems again, this time joining them to existing roots• Neither monstrous nor scary, but often beautiful - yes, real chimeras may be in our midst• Knowing that a bulb is, essentially, a stem lets me multiply them with the same "pinch" that makes stems branchSoil• In which we watch the progress of water traveling through soil, with methods to, at the same time, speed it up and slow it down• A common sense recommendation that turns out not to make sense• Contains a description and an opinion of hydroponics• In which I pay homage to humus, even though it may be a misnomer• Wherein I check my ground's acidity and then tweak it, as needed• On my ostensibly occult practice which turns out to be good gardening• How I manage to tame nitrogen's comings and goings for my plants• Even without squealing like hungry pigs, my plants can tell me if they're hungry, and for whatFlowering and Fruiting• Sex is introduced and its sometime importance is emphasized• In which I make right the products of plants' sexual excesses• Describing the importance of night for coaxing blossoms, and a gardener's trickery• In which a small gas molecule has a big effect on flavor• Contains a question and an answer: is hybrid always high-bred?Stems and Leaves• In which my thumbnails, pruning shears, and branch bending coax plants into bushiness, lankiness, or anything betwixt• Wherein I make designs with the traceries of my fruit plants' branches• Questioning the advice to put the brakes on tree growth with summer pruning• On the genesis, reason for, and propagation of weeping trees    • A comfortable seat in a sunny spot gets trees and shrubs ready for winter...• In which it is demonstrated that buds are not boring• How buds become burls and witches' brooms• On entreating and helping trees to stay asleep• About a quick and easy way to hasten spring • Sunlight is important but sometimes shade offers improvementOrganizations• Wherein families migrate together around my garden, and for good reason• How plant families got put in order• On Latin being a foreign tongue but providing a useful understanding of plant relationships• Making up a new category name, fortunately, does not ruin flavor or appearance• Relating a true story about how my plants broke the lawStress• On steps, human and otherwise, to avoid the havoc of icy cells during frigid temperatures• In which hot days bring on a tug of war between hunger and thirst, in plants• No water, no matter - because I take these steps for drought• A very local search for congenial weather• Seedlings' transition to the garden is helped along with tough love, timely and not in excess• Unwanted plants - that is, weeds - are best understood before they are outwitted• A sometime threat that straddles the fence between living and nonliving• In which is clarified a name as a sign, rather than a symptom, of disease• Fire blight, first noted not far from my home over 200 years ago, has the honor of being the first plant disease to be caused by bacteriaSenses• In which I elucidate, abet, and alter the color of leaves, vegetables, and flowers• An Italian who tied together plant growth, art, and other things too innumerable to mention• Here I make sense of scents, equally so for insects and humans• The touch here is that felt by the plants• And finally, the efforts I take to grow the best tasting fruits and vegetablesEpilogue: The Scientific MethodIndexAbout the AuthorAbout New Society Publishers