RX from the Garden

I love nature and this book made me love it even more. I believe that our bodies can cure most ailments with the right tools and this book helps readers to understand the components in fruits, vegetables, and spices that be tools and help our bodies. But it is not just an “eat this and x ailment can be helped” – it is a plethora of information on gardening as well.

The first part of the book (the first 112 pages) talks about why organic food and which foods should be purchased organic, why eating locally grown food is best, why it is better to eat a balanced diet than to just take supplements and expect great results, and what foods can possibly help which ailments. Everything from adrenal fatigue, constipation, cuts/sores, and hives to hemorrhoids, insomnia, muscle cramps, and warts are covered.

The second part of the book is the gardening section. I learned so much from this section! It starts by discussing gardening basics, such as plant needs, raised/traditional row gardening, keeping weeds down, fertlzing, watering, composting, frost protection, sunlight, plant placement, and more.

The next chapter talks about growing vegetables and has information about a lot of different plants such as asparagus, tomatoes, beans, beets, brussel sprouts, spinach, strawberries, etc. Each type of plant has a table entitled ‘Quick Tips’ that includes the family name, the edible parts, best location and soil, when to plant, how to plant, how much to plant, companion plants, watering, fertilizing, care, pests and diseases, how to harvest, when to harvest, and storage. This information is very useful, is well written, and is very organized. One of my favorite tips in this chapter is how to make an organic pest spray using garlic, cayenne pepper, and water (see page 180).

The next chapter (chapter 7) is about growing herbs. I learned a lot from this chapter, including that many herbs do not like nutrient rich soil (which explains why many of mine died this year in my raised garden bed full of compost). The author also included information on how to harvest and preserve herbs, how to create a tincture, and how to make salves.

The next chapter (chapter 8) is about growing fruit and it has some awesome tips on how to keep pests way.

Chapter 9 is about preserving and it talks about canning, freezing, and drying. I love the section on freezing as this is one of the easiest ways to preserve food as long as you have a freezer.

I love that the author writes this book for real people and you can tell by the way she writes that she is a real person, not someone who has a perfect garden every year, but a person who has been gardening for years and has learned from her mistakes and wants others to not have to make the same mistakes that she has made. I enjoyed this book and I only wish I could have read it before planting my garden and maybe my garden would have turned out better. Owell, there is always next year.

I received this book for free to facilitate my review. However all opinions are mine.

(Posted on 8/8/12)