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Part of the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) guides. Includes information on:

• Strengths and limitations of hybrid varieties
• Before you grow the seed (selecting varieties, saving seed and improving crops, intellectual property rights)
• Growing seed (pollination biology, harvesting, cleaning, storage, germination testing)
• Details on individual crops (amaranth, crucifers, beets and chard, lettuce, cucurbits, corn and small grains, nightshades, root veggies)

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Soil is a living organism that loves to cooperate with farmers and gardeners. A green thumb will appear on those who align themselves with its health and requirements. This book discusses:

• Soil habitat
• Sustaining soil fertility
• The soil food-web
• Nutrient availability and deficiency

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $39.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

A series of 4 guides originally published by NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association), on organic principles and practices for both the beginner farmer as well as established farmers looking to convert to organic, or deepen their practices. Each book is approximately 100 pages, but the information is weighty; the guides use a strong whole-systems farming theory behind their practical advice, as well as offer historical information, further resources, detailed appendices, and profiles of various organic farms across the Northeast. Titles include:

Growing Healthy Vegetable Crops written by Brian Caldwell.

Includes information on:

• Basic concepts of pest control (host susceptibility, soil health, genetic resistance, ecosystem factors)
• Practical approaches (crop cultural practices, rescue treatments, special section on mammals and birds, food safety))
• Farm design for pest reduction (diversity, crop rotation))
• Unorthodox approaches (farmers out of the box))
• Identifying pests)
• Crop-by-crop pests and practices)

• Soil habitat)
• Sustaining soil fertility)
• The soil food-web)
• Nutrient availability and deficiency)

• Strengths and limitations of hybrid varieties)
• Before you grow the seed (selecting varieties, saving seed and improving crops, intellectual property rights))
• Growing seed (pollination biology, harvesting, cleaning, storage, germination testing))
• Details on individual crops (amaranth, crucifers, beets and chard, lettuce, cucurbits, corn and small grains, nightshades, root veggies))

• Soils, the foundation of health (manure managament))
• Crop production and grazing management (forage species, pasture management, setting up a grazing system))
• Livestock (selection, nutrition, winter and summer feed considerations, seasonal milking, habitat, herd health, milk quality))
• Marketing (selling fluid milk, regulations, facility and equipment, selling raw milk))
• Recordkeeping)
• The transition to organic)

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Using inexpensive, often recycled, materials and easy techniques, this lively collection of garden projects and practices will delight beginner and experienced green thumbs alike. Whether you have just five minutes or an entire weekend, this full-colour book is designed to delight and inspire. Here are step-by-step instructions and beautiful photography for lovely gifts from the garden, delightful recipes and cocktails and inspiring weekend garden projects, plus fun things especially for children to make and grow like flowerpot cupcakes and personalized pumpkins. With ideas on everything from gorgeous succulent sculptures and living willow fences to fresh ways to arrange flowers and plan stylish garden soirées, Everyday Eden maximizes enjoyment of outdoor spaces—from balcony-sized urban green spaces to rural acreages.

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You can transform your garden into a handmade, personality-infused oasis. Author Lorene Edwards Forkner — part eco-friendly non-traditionalist, part crafty creative — will show you how.

Projects run the gamut from eye-catching structures, like a pergola made from plumbing pipes, to imaginative details, like a tree-hung chandelier for nighttime ambiance. You'll also find helpful plant guides to accompany projects: delectable herbs to fill a stacking container tower, stellar succulents for a vertical gutter garden, glorious flowering vines to climb a bamboo obelisk, and so much more.

Ready to get started? All you need are refreshingly simple, inexpensive materials — hardware store basics, salvaged goods, repurposed castoffs from cluttered basements — along with a little do-it-yourself spirit. With clear instructions and inspiring variations on every theme, this book is easy to follow and easy to love. Your journey to a made-from-scratch outdoor space starts here.

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Local songbird populations are rapidly declining, and food, shelter and safe nesting areas are urgently needed. This remarkable book is packed with great ideas plus all the woodworking drawings and howto information needed for hobbyists and birders who want to build attractive birdhouses, feeders and nesting boxes that will attract birds.

Build Your Own Birdhouses and Feeders features a wide range of designs suitable for all skill levels and space limitations, from a very easy box feeder for a small balcony to the challenge of a magnificent bird mansion for a large garden. The 25 projects appeal to a variety of tastes, ranging from a traditional Victorian townhouse, to a tonguein-cheek Wild West saloon, to a medieval tournament tent.

Each project includes:

• 
  Detailed designs with acolor photo of the finished item
• Easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step illustrations
• Enlarged and technical diagrams in color
• List of recommended materials
• Advice on choosing a location for best results

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If you like making things for your garden, you'll love concrete. Durable, beautiful, and inexpensive, it's also surprisingly simple to work with. Best of all, it weathers elegantly, softening around the edges to become more picturesque with age.

Concrete Garden Projects offers up an inspiring array of creative projects that can be made for next to nothing. Follow the easy, step-by-step instructions to make containers of all sizes, benches and stools, ponds and birdbaths, pavers and stepping stones — and even a barbecue.

At pennies per pound, you can't beat concrete's price. And the molds for the projects (like bowls and baking pans) can often already be found in your house.

For elegant, individual, garden décor, don't spend a fortune, just mix and pour.

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The area around your home is your haven, your sanctuary, your refuge from the noise and irritation of traffic, eyesores, and nosy neighbors. Or at least it could be if there was some sort of barrier between your front yard and the sidewalk, or if you didn't have to stare at the back of the neighbors' garage when you want to relax on your patio.

Landscaping for Privacy brims with creative ideas for minimizing or even eliminating the nuisances that intrude on your personal outdoor space. Scores of real-world examples show you how to keep the outside world at bay by strategically placing buffers (such as berms or groups of small trees), barriers (such as fences), and screens (arbors or hedges, for example) around your property. And the helpful plant lists tell you precisely which varieties to choose in order to enhance your sense of seclusion.

If you've ever felt frustrated by the lack of privacy whenever you step outside your home, this inspiring book will steer you toward an achievable solution.

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This is a practical and engaging guide to transforming an ordinary backyard into a productive farm.

Homesteading is experiencing a revival among both rural and urban residents who want to get back to basics and live closer to the land. With this book, homeowners will obtain both inspiration and instruction for transforming their grassy yard into a lush farm that can produce all the food they need.

The author is an experienced woodworker and homesteader who shows how to plan and design a backyard farm. He offers expert advice for making all of the essential hard-working structures that are needed to sustain small-scale agriculture.

Step-by-step instructions are provided for 10 projects including green houses, beehives, rabbit hutches, raised beds, potting sheds, trellises, fences, and more. Readers learn how to create an irrigation system, harvest rainwater, and keep their farms environmentally sound. Each detailed plan is accompanied by the author's clear, instructive drawings.

More than just a manual, the book also offers entertaining and enlightening interviews with both experts and “average Joe” farmers. We learn what motivates them to become backyard farmers, the lessons that they have to share, and maybe even a couple of funny stories along the way.

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Beekeeping equipment is expensive, but it's easy to make your own! Tony Pisano's step-by-step illustrated instructions show you how to build everything you need, including hive bodies, supers, covers, hive stands, frames, swarm catchers, feeders, and more. You can choose among different hive styles, and many of the 35 projects can be made using hand tools.