Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard by Barbara W. Ellis (Editor), Fern Marshall Bradley (Editor)

From the Publisher

End your worries about garden problems with safe, effective solutions from The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control!

* Easy-to-use problem-solving encyclopedia covers more than 200 vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs
* Complete directions on how, when, and where to use preventive methods, insect traps and barriers, biocontrols, homemade remedies, botanical insecticides, and more
* More than 350 color photos for quick identification of insect pests, beneficial insects, and plant diseases

Newly revised with the latest, safest organic controls.

A New York Times Best Gardening Book

"This book is our most helpful resource on pest control. It's the first book we turn to for solutions."--Terry Gips, President, International Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture

"Every year, we review hundreds of books on how to manage soils and pests organically and how to reduce the use of toxic materials. We're excited at the quality and completeness of The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control and recommend it to our clients."--Bill Wolf, President, Necessary Trading Company, New Castle, Virginia

Publishers Weekly

Don't start spraying chemicals around just because a few bugs dot the garden, advise Ellis and Bradley in the new edition of this thoroughgoing guide. Instead, first identify the insects--they may in fact be beneficial predators. If they do turn out to be pests, determine whether the damage they are doing merits annihilation or acceptance. Ever in the forefront of the latest developments in organic gardening, Rodale's editors here stress plant health care. As they repeatedly demonstrate, preventive cultural techniques--planting appropriate cultivars, mulching, seasonal cleanup--will keep harmful insects and diseases from getting the upper hand. But for the gardener who wants to know what those red blisters are on the currant leaves, or why the lilac bushes are covered with white powder every July, this is an invaluable trouble-shooting guide. The book's first section contains alphabetical entries for commonly grown edible and ornamental plants, with lists of symptoms and their remedies, all cross-referenced to illustrated entries for insects and diseases and cultural, biological and ``organically acceptable'' chemical control methods. Photos not seen by PW . (July) *CHILDREN'S *BOOKS*

Library Journal

An excellent handbook with entries for common fruits, flowering plants, vegetables, and trees. Each listing has information on disease and pest problems and tips on how to solve them without chemicals. Especially useful sections feature photos of garden insects and diseases. (LJ 6/1/92) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

This well-organized, clearly written book is arranged in four parts: Your Healthy Garden, Insects, Diseases, and Controls. The core of the book is the first section, a plant-by-plant guide to pests and diseases. Entries are alphabetical by scientific name, from Abies through Zinnia , and include culture data. Entries in the sections on insects and diseases are illustrated by color photographs. Although the insect advice given is helpful, it is limited compared with Bernice Lifton's Bug Busters: Poison-Free Controls for Your House & Garden ( LJ 3/15/91 ). However, Bug Busters gives limited information on plants. Thus, the two books complement each other nicely, and many gardeners will want both. Also included in this handbook are a U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zone map and a list of sources. Recommended for gardening collections.-- Annette Aiello, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst., Panama

Booknews

Subtitled A complete problem-solving guide to keeping your garden & yard healthy without chemicals, this clear and thorough resource includes encyclopedic entries on some 200 plants; information on all safe, organic controls; tips on buying healthy plants and bulbs; general entries on major plant groups; some 370 color photographs of harmful and helpful insects; and illustrations depicting major pest and disease problems on the most poplar garden plants. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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