Gardening in South Texas

If you want a vibrant, chemical-free vegetable garden, companion planting is the solution. Did you know tomatoes produce a natural insecticide that can help protect carrots against pests? Or that planting mint near lettuce can repel slugs? Every gardener knows that the key to an abundant harvest in their vegetable garden is controlling pests and disease, while still maintaining a healthy growing environment. But it is possible to have a healthy, thriving vegetable garden without using dangerous chemicals? It is, as long as you know how to pair up the right plants. Here's what you'll find inside- . Handy companion planting pairings for all of the most common garden vegetables . Practical, simple photography and colorful illustrations for dozens of beneficial planting configurations . Expert advice from a master gardener that is specifically designed for beginners . Loads of troubleshooting tips for fixing common issues with companion-planted gardens . Tips for setting up the perfect vegetable garden, including practical advice on watering, soil management, troubleshooting, and more

Gardening can be a serious business, especially when you’re eating what you’re growing. But gardening should also be fun, and while most gardening books forget that, Spiegelman does not. While she certainly includes plenty of sound and sensible advice for gardening organically, she makes a point to lighten the tone with quippy asides and pithy observations.

Are you sick and tired of pesky insects in your garden? Do you want to stay away from pesticides and harmful poisons that could be hazardous to your health and your garden? If you answered yes to both of those questions, Bug-Free Organic Gardening has all the answers to your troubles.

This book will show you how to bring your garden ecosystem into balance so that beneficial insects and larger animals do the work of pest control for you.

From exactly what plants (and how many) to buy, where and when to plant them, and how to care for each vegetable throughout the season, Pleasant encourages readers to start small, grow the food they love, and expand their plant selection as their skills develop. Specially tailored plans offer choices to fit a wide range of sites and food preferences. There's a plan and plant selection to fit every gardener's passion. Detailed plot plans show progressive stages for how each garden can be expanded gradually over the course of three years, ensuring that beginning gardeners will experience success and satisfaction without being overwhelmed by an over-ambitious plan at the start.

Judd takes the reader step-by-step through the process of transforming a grassy area into a edible landscape that pleases both the eye and the taste buds. Augmented by more than 200 color photos and drawings Judd tackles topics ranging from herb beds to mushrooms to rainwater harvesting.

Compost your old "complete" gardening guide. There's a new way of gardening in Texas that's healthier for people and the environment, more effective at growing vigorous plants and reducing pests, cheaper to maintain, and just more fun. It's Howard Garrett's "The Natural Way" organic gardening program, and it's all here in Texas Gardening the Natural Way. Using Howard Garrett's new mainstream gardening techniques, Texas Gardening the Natural Way presents a total gardening program:  How to plan, plant, and maintain beautiful landscapes without using chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides. Gardening fundamentals: soils, landscape design, planting techniques, and maintenance practices. Includes more native and adaptable varieties of garden and landscape plants than any other guide on the market. Common house plants and poisonous plants. Instructions for climbing vegetable structures and bat houses. 833 gorgeous full-color photographs.