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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $12.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Can beer make plants grow? How about buttermilk? Or music — classical or rock? Is it true about planting trees in deep holes? And how about chasing insects with hot sauce and stopping slugs with eggshells? Remedies for all garden woes are there for the taking: the challenge is to know what will work and what won't. Fearlessly conducting original experiments and harvesting wisdom from the scientific literature, horticulturist Jeff Gillman assesses new and historic advice and reveals the how and why — and sometimes the why not — for more than 100 common and uncommon gardening practices. The results will surprise even experienced gardeners.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $12.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Gardeners tend to assume that any product or practice labeled as organic is automatically safe for humans and beneficial to the environment. And in many cases this is true. The problem, as Jeff Gillman points out in this fascinating, well-researched book, is that it is not universally true, and the exceptions can pose a significant threat to human health. To cite just two examples: animal manures are widely viewed as prime soil amendments. When properly treated, they are; but if they are insufficiently composted, they can be a source of harmful E. coli contamination. Even more dangerous, potentially, are organic insecticides like rotenone, which is every bit as toxic as the synthetic compounds it is meant to replace.

Gillman's contention is that all gardening products and practices — organic and synthetic — need to be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine both whether they are safe and whether they accomplish the task for which they are intended. When gardeners are well informed about the precise nature and consequences of what they use and do in the garden, they are in a much better position to make responsible, effective choices.

If you've ever wondered about the merits of a specific insecticide, herbicide, or fungicide, or debated whether practices such as planting cover crops or companion plants are worth the trouble, you'll find the answers you've sought in these pages, along with a clear, careful, and good-humored analysis of benefits and drawbacks.

Ultimately, Gillman concludes, organic methods are preferable in most situations that gardeners are likely to encounter. After reading this eye-opening book, you will understand why, and why knowledge is the gardener's most important tool.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $17.95. AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Recreational boating is a pastime enjoyed by millions. Yet the waters and marine environment that boaters so love are in serious jeopardy from pollution, from resource mismanagement, and from misunderstanding. Boaters can help to change that. Although a relatively small part of the problem of marine environmental degradation, recreational boaters can be a huge part of the solution, writes Clyde W. Ford, an avid boater of more than 20 years, whose encounters with polluted waters galvanized him to explore workable solutions.

Boat Green provides a host of environmentally sound boating practices, based on scientific research and practical boating experience.

In this book, boaters will learn ways to:

• Reduce vessel operation and maintenance costs
• Improve vessels performance
• Increase safety and health of vessel operators and crew
• Increase awareness of marine issues and
• Enhance enjoyment of the marine environment

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $29.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Sepp Holzer farms steep mountainsides in Austria 1,500 meters above sea level. His farm is an intricate network of terraces, raised beds, ponds, waterways and tracks, well covered with productive fruit trees and other vegetation, with the farmhouse neatly nestling amongst them. This is in dramatic contrast to his neighbors’ spruce monocultures.

In this book, Holzer shares the skill and knowledge acquired over his lifetime. He covers every aspect of his farming methods, not just how to create a holistic system on the farm itself, but how to make a living from it. Holzer writes about everything from the overall concepts, down to the practical details.

In Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture readers will learn:

• How he sets up a permaculture system
• The fruit varieties he has found best for permaculture growing
• How to construct terraces, ponds, and waterways
• How to build shelters for animals and how to work with them on the land
• How to cultivate edible mushrooms in the garden and on the farm
• and much more!

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $25.99 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Jamie Durie, international award-winning horticulturalist and landscape designer, reveals the secrets behind his incredible designs on the ever-popular HGTV series The Outdoor Room, now viewed in more than 12 countries. With dynamic photography, including Durie's personal travel photographs and a sneak peek of his private garden, this information-packed companion to his smash-hit t.v. show is as hardworking as it is stunning.

Complete with detailed site plans, zonal plant lists, and helpful eco-tips, it covers everything from the basics of landscape design to practical, hands-on information, such as how to design your own private garden using Durie's philosophy. From an exotic Balinese-inspired dining pavilion to a private English-style garden with an adjoining children's play area, Durie shows you how to incorporate his techniques and design principles to create a personal and truly unique garden, giving you and your family and friends the opportunity to reconnect with nature in the privacy of your very own outdoor room.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $29.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

If people knew how many poisonous plants are commonly found in homes and gardens, they'd be shocked. Plants as common as monkshood, castorbean and oleander are not just dangerous, they're deadly. The North American Guide to Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms is a comprehensive, easy-to-use handbook. The book is split into four main categories: mushrooms, wild plants, ornamental and crop plants, and houseplants. Each plant entry includes a clear photograph to aid the task of identification, a description of the plant, notes on where it commonly occurs, and a description of its toxic properties. Plants are listed by common name to assist the nonspecialist.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $25.99 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

From dandelions to crabgrass, stinging nettles to poison ivy, weeds are familiar, pervasive, widely despised and seemingly invincible. How did they come to be the villains of the natural world? And why can the same plant be considered beautiful in some places but be deemed a menace in others?

In Weeds, renowned nature writer Richard Mabey embarks on an engaging journey with the verve and historical breadth of Michael Pollan. Weaving together the insights of botanists, gardeners, artists and writers with his own travels and lifelong fascination, Mabey shows how these "botanical thugs" can destroy ecosystems but also can restore war zones and derelict cities; he reveals how weeds have been portrayed, from the "thorns and thistles" of Genesis to Shakespeare, Walden and Invasion of the Body Snatchers; and he explains how kudzu overtook the American South, how poppies sprang up in First World War I battlefields, and how "American weed" replaced the forests of Vietnam ravaged by Agent Orange.

Hailed as "a profound and sympathetic meditation on weeds in relation to human beings" (Sunday Times), Weeds shows how useful these unloved plants can be, from serving as the first crops and medicines, to burdock inspiring the invention of Velcro, to cow parsley becoming the latest fashionable wedding adornment. Mabey argues that we have caused plants to become weeds through our reckless treatment of the earth, and he delivers a provocative defense of the plants we love to hate.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $19.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

This is an extensive and life-changing collection of recipes geared toward eating healthy. Recognizing the exceptional benefits that come with combining Western super foods with Asian super spices, author Gurpareet Bains sets out to inform us about how each recipe in this wonderful collection will help to improve our health and well-being. These dishes tap into the world’s enduring love affair with curry, while offering big bonuses — via high antioxidant levels, cardiovascular health benefits and a myriad of curative properties.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $12.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Part of the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) Guides. 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

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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)