Some of the very best quality garden GH's on the market are made by BC Greenhouses, in BC. I love my 12 X 16 Cross Country and haven't yet read a post from anyone on this forum who has a BC of any style who has been unhappy with theirs either. They aren't cheap, but if you are looking to replace a glass Hall's and want to upgrade and concurrently, go with polycarb; BC would be an an excellent choice. They will also babysit you through the process and after, with the kind of personal, competent and immediate response customer service otherwise all but lost in the current market of imports that may, or may not be deliverd with all parts, or all of them in working order. You can usually buy a BC cheaper from a retail distributor than direct from BC (they won't undercut their own distributors) but that doesn't keep you from working directly with them and they invite it, with toll free calls, answered by live people who really know their product and are willing to fall over backwards to give total satisfaction. BTW: If you want to use your GH in a Z-3 winter, you might want to talk with Kyle at BC, about a triple wall. It's easy to contact them for info. and/or a free catalog. Just go to their website: bcgreenhouses.com

The Well Tended Perennial Garden is excellent. Her information on pruning and maintaining perennials is unique to her book. I really love Pamela Harper's books: "Time Tested Plants: 30 Years in a Four Season Garden" (This one is more for Southern Gardeners), "Designing with Perennials", and "Color Echoes". These last two books teach you how to design and plan beautiful gardens in a method that makes sense to the uninitiated, although she has fabulous plant info in them too. She's a wonderful teacher and her knowledge of plants is great. I re-read her books almost every winter and learn something new each time. My oldest gardening book is also the best one on basic gardening I have read yet. It's called The 60 Minute Flower Garden (Jeff Ball and Charles Cresson). You can get it used through Amazon.com.

You're right about those books being pricy! I was able to find and buy Koi Kichi on Half.com for just under $100. Koi Kichi 2 will have to wait for a bit. I looked at Amazon's website for koi books. There seem to be quite a few 'care & feeding' books out there, but most seem to have rather static photographs. I love the shapes and colors of the fish as they swim. Does anyone know of a good coffee table picture book?

I second (3rd? 4th?) the Eliot Coleman suggestions-tyhe new organicf Grower literally spells out how to do a really workable garden layout and the tools you will need to do the job of market gardening as well as great tips on effenciancy. Growing for market has been indispensable for our farm the 8 years we have subscribed. Every issue is full of great advice/tips/ideas/news Find out when there will be small farming/organic/sustainable conferences in your area. This is a cheap way to learn a lot quickly and also to meet other growers in your state/area. A good conference will save you at least a years worth of mistakes. email listserv: Market-farming mailing list Market-farming@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming Get the list FAQ at: http://www.marketfarming.net/mflistfaq.htm There are many very experienced growers on this list and it is active year 'round (many email groups get quiet during the growing/market season) Oh and get a good book on disease ID. The best i have found "Identifying Diseases of Vegetables" AA Mcnabb, Penn state; AF Sherf, Cornell U: JK Springer Rutgers U; Published by the Penn State college of ag sciences. this book has lots of good photos of diseased plants with descripotions of various diseases. they do not give suggestions for remedying diseases. A good insect book. The Peterson series or Audubon books are both excellent A couple of books on disease and insect control. Rodale Press has some really good titles on this subject. The "Problem Solver" series is good and the "Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control" by Barbara Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley is the best I have come across. you should also have books on soil building or at least a good understanding of the life in soil and how it works with your plants. oh yeah, Acres USA is a good periodical for the eco farmer, they cover it all from livestock operations to big grain farms to small market gardens. Lucy