Oklahoma Gardener's Guide is called "The What, Where, When, How and Why of LANDSCAPE GARDENING in Oklahoma. Steve is well known, and I have the book, and it is a good reference book, but I am wondering if that is what you are looking for. I'd probably go with his other book you have listed instead, although I haven't read that one.

I don't have the Louise Riotti book although she is a well-known figure and is from Ardmore, near where I grew up. I have read the book, but I am not totally convinced that companion planting is beneficial. I could be wrong tho.

I think you are sure to be entertained by Keep Your Fingers in the Dirt, and gain insight into the Oklahoma Hills and their cultural.

I have several Eliot Coleman books and they are all wonderful. You can't go wrong with Eliot. He once had a TV show on public television which I loved and learned so much from.

I'm not supposed to advertise, but since you mentioned my book, I hope it's alright to tell you that you can order a signed copy from me for only a little more than Amazon charges. email me for details. Dorothy.

Thank you Dorothy, I just emailed you. I am so glad that author of the great book is also a active member of the forum, how nice is that! -Chandra

The book that has been most helpful to me is Dr. Cotner's book and there are not a lot of others specific to vegetable gardening in Oklahoma, but I do like Steve Dobb's books although I haven't seen the one he and Janet Carson have written together.

I have read and enjoyed all of Louise Riotte's books, including "Astrological Gardening", "Sleeping With A Sunflower" and her pond book, "Catfish Ponds and Lily Pads". I have tried companion planting as described in "Carrots Love Tomatoes" and "Roses Love Garlic" but think it would be hard to prove quantifiable results. However, by interplanting lots of herbs and flowers with my veggies and fruits, I create an ecosystem that encourages lots of beneficial insects so do find it helpful in that regard.

All of Elliot Coleman's books are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful (though not specific to Oklahoma) and so is the gardening book, "The Garden Primer", written by his wife, Barbara Damrosch. I also have her book on theme gardens.

Any books written by Neil Sperry, J. Howard Garrett or several other Texas horticulturalists/landscapers/garden writers are wonderful for Oklahoma gardeners too since our soils and climate are similar.

Any garden-related or food-related book written by Michael Pollan is very, very important because his books teach us not so much about how to grow our own food in season, but instead why we ought to do so. I particularly like "In Defense of Food".

One of my favorite gardening books, also not specific to Oklahoma, is Ed Smith's "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible". Maybe I like it so much because I already was growing veggies very similar to the way he does, but didn't have a name to describe my system, which he has dubbed the W-O-R-D system. I'm currently reading Rosalind Creasy's latest book on Edible Landscaping and reading this book makes me want to rip out my entire yard and garden and start over because it have given me so many wonderful ideas. Any of the books written by Rosalind Creasy or Barbara Pleasant belong in a gardener's library. My favorite book this year is Rosalind Creasy's Edible Lanscaping book and my favorite book last year was Barbara Pleasant's book on Starter Vegetable Gardens, which I've linked below.

Finally, Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" should be required reading for every single person who's old enough to garden, whether they currently are gardeners or not. This tale of her family's attempt to eat locally as much as possible, and particularly by raising as much of their own food as possible, is inspiring to me. I have read it and reread it to the point that my copy is falling apart. : ) The recipes are wonderful too because they show you delicious ways to prepare seasonally available food.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Starter Vegetable Gardens

Great. My wishlist just grew by about 300.

Diane

I can vouch for Barbara Pleasant's book "Starter Vegetable Gardens." I bought it last year after reading Dawn's recommendation, and it was a huge help in getting back into vegetable gardening after many years of not having a garden.

Suzie

Thank you! Those are pretty good suggestions, now my list of garden books 2011 rose to 10... Cheers -Chandra

I just Google for Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy, Starter Vegetable Gardens by Barbara Pleasant, Sleeping with a Sunflower Louise Riotte ... seems very interesting books, Thank you Dawn for awesome recommendation always. -Chandra

I went to Hastings last night with a list of books in this post and the only books they had were the Steve Dobbs books. They both looked like they had more to do with flowers than vegetables.

Leslie,

The Hastings store near us, which is in Ardmore, never has a very good selection of gardening books, and an even poorer selection of books related to fruit and vegetable gardening.

I usually gardening books order via Amazon or, if we're driving down to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for something else, I can usually find just about any gardening book at one of the Barnes and Noble stores down there. That's especially true in about February when the new spring stock has arrived but before the huge gardening rush there wipes out the vegetable gardening bookshelves in the stores.

Sometimes if I'm in Marshall Grain Co. in Fort Worth or any of the Mike's Garden Centers in the metro, I'll find gardening books there that I rarely see anywhere, like Malcolm Beck's books.

Dawn

I check out as many books as I can at the library first. Of course I want to own them all, but I find that borrowing them is good for my budget.

If Uncle El and Aunt Barb make it to the Spring Fling maybe they'll bring copies for us all. LOL

Chandra,
If you are not overwhelmed by now, I have two recomendations.
The Joy of Gardening by Dick Raymond, &
The Story of Corn by ??? (not a gardening book per se, but a must read.
The best of luck to you,
Bill

Great thread. I also must suggest looking to your local extension office for literature. One of my favorite publications came from my grandfather's estate: it was a soil sample and topo map from Southeastern OK. He was in real estate, but a soil sample of your area should really help in your amending/preparation for seasons to come. You now have me scouring my library.

Don't forget the used book stores. Lots of people seem to buy garden books then learn they would rather read than garden, so they sell the books. I have bought several goods one that way. I never shopped used books until the last couple of years, but I should have.

Many of my books are from used book stores like Half-Price Books or from the used selection at Amazon.com, although I hate having to pay shipping, which often costs more than the used books themselves. Since we lived in Fort Worth for so long and had 2 or 3 Half-Price Bookstores near us, I shopped there forever....at least since the early 1990s and maybe as far back as the 1980s. It is a lot harder now with the nearest HPB store being in Lewisville. I only make it down there about 3 or 4 times a years. It is much harder now to find any used books there that relate to edible gardening though because so many more people are looking for those same books.

Sometimes the used book section at the Hastings bookstores near us will have some good, used gardening books, but it is very hit and miss.

Thank you all, awesome suggestions. I am glad to know whole lot of nice books and tips... I still love to see one great book from Dawn Coyle "the Elite Gardner" one day. Dawn I can provide free illustrations and photographs... no kidding, painting and photography are my other hobbies. Cheers -Chandra

Chandra - I found The Vegetable Gardener's Bible today at Lowes for $22.43.

I have "The Resilient Gardener" by Carol Deppe on my Amazon wish list,has anyone read it? I rarely splurge on a new book but reviews are good.

Leava - I haven't read it but it was discussed on the attached thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Book Review

thanx so much carol, think i feel a splurge coming.......
there are rumors of my program/job ending and had best accelerate this learning curve in the garden

Carol, thank you, I found Vegetable Gardener's Bible in Amazon for $5.80 + $3.99shipping...I ordered all book from Amazon.com, used books are even cheaper. I received two used book today, but they looks like brand new.

Man, I took a beating on that one by buying it locally, didn't I?

Carol,

I order most of my books used from Amazon.com. I just look at the listed price for the used books and the condition of the book, add the shipping cost to it, and compute if I'd save by ordering a used book online. The answer is almost always "yes". Even when I've ordered a book whose condition is rated only as "good", they are always in great shape and often look brand new. Of course, some of the older ones have some wear and tear, but the book reads the same as a brand-new one in perfect condition.

I have found some great "old" gardening books on Amazon.com for as little as one cent, so even with shipping added in, they're only costing me about $4.00. Some of the books aren't even that old, but rather just were incredibly popular and now there's a plethora of them on the used book market.

I go on a "book binge" 3 or 4 times a year and order maybe six or eight books at once from Amazon. With the used book prices, it isn't a huge expense and I often get 6 or 8 or more books for what I'd spend for 2 or 3 purchased new.

Recently, Half Price Books announced they'd finally entered into a partnership to sell used books online, using a system someone else developed. I visited the website they mentioned but became frustrated with it because it is much harder to navigate than Amazon.com and much slower. Someday when I have time to kill and patience in ample supply, I'll probably go back and try the HPB online option again.

Chandra, With all those books arriving in the mail, it must feel like Christmas.

Dawn

This talk about use books brought a funny thought to my mind. Somewhere between here and the northeast was a very large sign painted on a barn that said "USED COWS FOR SALE".

I like to buy used books also. Most of the time the shipping is more than the book cost.

Larry

A lot of my gardening books came from a used book store in Joplin for around $6, so I always feel I get my money's worth there. Once I had so many that I didn't buy 'just one more' and when I came home and researched it, I was sorry, so now I just grab them up.

Yes Dwan!! its like Christmas again... with those books, seeds swap, and updates in this forum.

Posted by seedmama 7 OK (My Page) on, Sun, Jan 16, 11 at 17:07

Chandra,
While you are on a book jag, you might want to read The Backyard Homestead, edited by Carleen Madigan. It purports a person can feed a family of four from 1/4 acre. The quantities produced in the book wouldn't feed my family. (It suggests I could grow enough wheat to make one loaf of bread each week.) Nonetheless, the concepts are thought-provoking, and will help you to realize how much you can grow with the land you have.

What perfect timing ... my copy of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral arrived from Amazon in today's mail ... just in time to hole up in the house and read while it snows tomorrow.

And since so many of you mentioned that you like to buy used books, I thought I'd mention the annual Friends of the Library used book sale sponsored by the Oklahoma County Metropolitan Library. It's from 9 - 5:30 on February 26 at the State Fairgrounds in the Expo Hall. There are thousands of books and great prices!

Suzie

Here is a link that might be useful: Friends of the Library Booksale

Thank you all for thoughtful recommendation of Gardening book for Oklahoma. I received most of the books, just waiting for another two books to arrive. Too many things to read at once...

I have started with Dorothy's Keep Your Fingers in the Dirt... I too chuckled to read "I'm just beginning to feel like everything I touch turns to Manure... I liked Glenn's reaction to it "Oh baby I wish it did, I wish everything you touched turns to manure in just one day"... I finished first chapter this morning while sitting on recumbent bike, but my bad (good!) I almost forgot to paddle the bike.

I also glanced at another book in toilet room Dr. Peter's Eat Right for Your Type... got confused little bit after looking at the vegetable types for my blood group... its looks fascinating book!

Thank you -Chandra