Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting

Lyn Bagnall

‘a comprehensive textbook for the avid organic gardener. The text is distinguished from many other organic garden guides by its organic gardening tips for container plants and ornamental plants such as camellias and azaleas, in addition to the ubiquitous organic food plants.’

Anne Harrison (National Parks Journal)

‘This terrific book shows you how and why [organic gardening] should be done... [The book] could answer all my queries — in a straightforward, practical sort of way ... With this book as my guide, I feel confident that I will quite soon have a ‘happier’, more productive and beautiful garden (with lots more birds).’

Sally Madsen (Readings bookletter)

A ‘practical and enlightening guide for Australian gardeners. Four stars.’

Miranda Korzy (AAP)

Here is an essential reference for all Australian gardeners who care about their family’s health and the environment.

Organic gardening is the principle of leaving your patch of earth in a better condition than you found it by working with nature rather than against it. A practicable and better alternative to chemical-dependant and environmentally unsustainable cultivation practices, organic gardening minimises soil damage, and results in fewer contaminated waterways and poison-resistant pests, and more nutritious food.

Written for Australian gardeners by a certified organic farmer and gardener, Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting is an indispensable reference to organic cultivation methods, combined with a moon-planting guide, to help gardeners to work with the cycles of nature. An easy-to-follow moon-planting routine for all aspects of gardening, with a listing of the best planting, harvesting, and pruning days from 2006 to 2010, is provided.

Included are chapters on:

*how you can revitalise garden soil and keep it healthy

*composting and worm-farming techniques that will transform garden and kitchen waste into top-quality, organic fertiliser

*how to protect your garden from climate change and save water

*a month-by-month diary of what to plant when for all climate zones of Australia

*raising healthier, pest- and disease-resistant seedlings, shrubs and trees

*growing your own fruit and vegetables in garden beds or pots

*a comprehensive listing of Australian native plants safe alternatives to using poisons in your garden.

For new and experienced gardeners alike, Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting will make your whole garden more vigorous, and a healthier haven for your family, pets and native fauna.

'Lyn Bagnall has produced a reference work of incredible proportions … It should become a benchmark book among the many smaller and not-so-thorough ones on the subject. Her research covers all likely, and unlikely, contingencies … Moon planting is extensively covered, a method that we also used in the middle of the twentieth century (and before) and which has sadly fallen by the wayside in modern times. Aspiring and experienced gardeners of all kinds will find the wide range of this book extremely helpful.’

Pat Coleby, author of 'Natural Farming'

‘a fine acquisition for any gardener who wants to get back to nature.’

Christopher Bantick (The Weekly Times)

‘If you had to reduce your organic gardening library to just one book, this would be a good choice as it covers everything. It explains how to develop and retain healthy soil, what to plant and when for all Australian climate zones, the food garden, drought proofing, propagation and pruning, solving problems naturally, and much more ... For aspiring and experienced gardeners alike this book will make your whole garden more vigorous and a healthier haven for your family, pets and native wildlife.’

(Warm Earth Bookstore)

‘This is really the only kitchen gardening book you’ll ever need.’

(Habitat Australia)

‘An immensely readable primer on organic matters written in a friendly way ... This organic lark is not tricky at all.’

(Your Home and Garden)

Easy Organic Gardening is ‘a very enjoyable read, written by an experienced, passionate organic farmer and gardener ... This book is a useful reference tool for novices and experienced gardeners alike.’

Josh Byrne (Gardening Australia)

‘This book is a fabulous resource both for the beginner and the more experienced gardener.’

(Earth Garden)

‘Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting is a breath of fresh air in our brave new world ... The book is packed with information about revitalising soil, using compost and worm farming techniques to improve it, growing fruit and vegetables, saving water and controlling pests without using poisons.’

(Senior Life)

‘a detailed guide to organics ranging from seed germination and nutrition to practical pest and disease control.’

Dave Fawkner (Organic Gardener)

'... you can now put away all your prettily illustrated "run of the mill" gardening books and do your self a favour by including Easy Organic Gardening among your frequently referenced books. This is organic gardening at its best.'

Lorraine Parker (Hunter Organics)

Lyn Bagnall

Lyn Bagnall graduated from the Ernest E. Lord School of Landscape Gardening in 1978. Since then she has been actively involved in horticulture and garden design, including working for two major retail nurseries in Sydney.

Lyn and her husband are certified organic farmers on a small property in the mid-North Coast of New South Wales, where they grow fresh culinary herbs for market, wine grapes, and fruit and vegetables.

Lyn has written regular articles on gardening and moon planting for the Organic Herb Growers of Australia magazine, the Astrological Monthly Review, and on her website, Oztrology, which has proved popular with both amateur gardeners and commercial growers.

Eog
Format: Pb
Extent: 512pp
Size: 234mm x 180mm
ISBN (10): 1920769 668
ISBN (13): 9781920769666
RRP: $49.95
Pub date: March 2006

Ask Lyn Bagnall any questions about gardening at her blog: http://aussieorganicgardening.com/blog/