Recommended Reading

Our family has a genetic flaw: we can't sit down at the table to eat or even take a break without being compelled to pick up some sort of reading material. Fiction, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers...we don't care as long as it has words on a page. So it's not surprising that over the years we've accumulated a lot of reference books relating to the farm. We'd like to share a selection of our favorites in case you need some gardening tips, are interested in learning some crafts like handspinning yourself, or you're thinking about starting your own small farm.

So check back regularly as I make my way through the "stacks" and build a Red Fern Farm Recommended Reading List.

Please note that no single book is the be-all, end-all of reference books. For the most thorough, accurate information, it's good to have several sources on hand for cross-referencing.

GARDENING

Great for Beginners:

The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food, Tanya L. K. Denckla. If you're just getting started gardening - either in the soil or in containers - this is a great primer that covers just about any fruit or vegetable you'd want to try your hand at. Each featured crop includes temperature requirements, growing days, sowing and harvesting information, and recommended heirloom varieties. (One caveat: the information provided for garlic harvesting is not accurate.) 

Let's Get Growing, Crow Miller. Though this tome is out of print, it's worth tracking down a used copy online at amazon.com or half.com. It includes general gardening information on everything from preparing your soil to mulching and then provides specific information about a variety of vegetables.

Herb Gardening:

The Herb Gardener: A Guide for All Seasons, Susan McClure. Geared towards creating and maintaining a more traditional herb garden, this book has great basic information on growing and harvesting herbs. It also provides some suggestions for layouts if you're interested in making a knot garden, wagon wheel, or other formal herb garden.

Growing Garlic:

As soon as you start researching garlic, you'll find that there are a great many dissenting and oftentimes blatantly contradictory opinions out there. What works for some growers doesn't work for others; the only way to discover this is trial and error. I've not yet come across a good resource for growing garlic in the South - most books are geared towards the cooler climes of the Pacific Northwest. So take any and all information in these books with a grain of salt and be ready to experiment to find the techniques that work for you.

Growing Great Garlic: The Definitive Guide for Organic Gardeners and Small Farmers, Ron L. Engeland. We started our garlic-growing adventure armed only with this book and while it includes a lot of helpful information, much of the advice within is specific to large-scale operations and growing conditions on the West Coast. But it is a good, if slightly disorganized, primer and its slim size makes it a quick read.

The Complete Book of Garlic: A Guide for Gardeners, Growers, and Serious Cooks, Ted Jordan Meredith. My personal favorite, not only because it includes a wealth of comprehensive information and varietal breakdown, but also because the author covers worst case scenarios and offers solutions for problems on both ends of the spectrum (too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too early, too late). It's a little intimidating, but it's a very useful compendium for finding the right balance for your garlic.

SPINNING & KNITTING

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