Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening

CAVEAT: I have only read up to the third chapter so far

This book is written purely from the experience of the author (who is quite successful, I’m sure), but I was looking for a book that was more objective and grounded in concrete data. However, much of the advice is good and I’ve only found some places where the author makes it sound as if the information he is giving is definitely right (and all others are wrong, or doesn’t acknowledge that there exist alternatives), but my research has shown some controversies or contradicting information in that area.

The strongest point of this book is that it is locale-specific (focus is on the Pacific Northwest, mainly Oregon). Consequently, much of the good advice I’m talking about above are the neat tricks and techniques that actually work well in that climate.

Overall a good book, but I think it would be wise to do a bit of your own research while reading this book.
Rating: 4 / 5

I’m a new gardner, having just bought a weekend home with some acreage. After doing a bit of research I realized that gardening in the Pacific Northwest has some specific requirements and pitfalls. This book addresses all of them. The only thing stopping me from giving it a 5 star review is the fact that it’s a bit wordy for what should be a technical guide. It certainly keeps it from being dry, but I found myself wanting a more straight-forward style, such as bulleted list. Instead, this is written in more of a novel-like way with observations and discussions heavily peppered with specific facts and recommendations. I starting reading it with highlighter in hand, which helped, but my husband was much more patient. He’s used this book to start our very first garden, with very few other references.
Rating: 4 / 5