Chapter Three

My Need-to-Know List

I

know of literally dozens of great books on gardening that go to enormous

lengths to cover the fascinating subject of growing your own food. Th ey

appear to leave nothing out, and there—especially for the novice

gardener—lies the problem.

For me, all the available information was overkill. To settle

down to read a book on improving soil that had at least 50,000

words (the size of this entire book) was more than I could do

in  year one. Although I do intend to read it later, what I wanted

in the short term was sufficient guidance to keep me out of

trouble and bring me enough reward to fuel a lasting en­

thusiasm to know more and to keep on digging!

I reduced my need-to-know list to a baker’s dozen of topics,

which I believe most novice gardeners—and not a few more experienced

ones—will find of primary interest:

1. Soil: how to sample, test for pH, adjust for rainfall runoff


2. Tu r f : preparation and removal

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