The South Carolina Fruit & Vegetable Book

by Reeves, Walter & Rushing, Felder

• ISBN13: 9781930604582
• ISBN10: 1930604580
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2002-04-05
• Publisher: W PUBLISHING GROUP

Summary

Gardening is now the favorite leisure pastime in America. Homeowners are realizing the benefits derived from gardening, namely enjoyment, exercise, and nutrition.Book retailers are well aware that the trend in gardening books is to regional titles that provide credible information on the plants that perform well in specific regions.The South Carolina Fruit & Vegetable Book is written by the highly popular gardening experts Walter Reeves and Felder Rushing.Contains advice for plant fruits, vegetables, and herbs. With 60 featured plants, the authors provide characteristics of available varieties, planting and maintenance advice, as well as recipes for dishes from the garden.

Author Biography

Walter Reeves combines his rural roots with his scientific training and communications skills to make gardening understandable. Reeves started gardening as a child on a small farm in rural Fayette County, Georgia. Caring for acres of vegetables during his formative years taught him the importance of good gardening practices. Reeves received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Georgia. After serving the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service for more than twenty-eight years, Reeves retired to form his own horticultural education consulting company. Over the years, Reeves has shared his expertise with thousands of listeners and readers through his very popular weekly radio program, "The Lawn and Garden Show with Walter Reeves," on Atlanta station AM-750 WSB, through his weekly column "In the Garden" published by the Atlanta Constitution, his weekly seasonal television program titled "Gardening in Georgia" on Georgia Public Broadcasting, and as contributing editor of the Pike Family Nursery newsletter, Play in the Dirt. Reeves teaches horticulture classes to Master Gardeners, to professional landscapers, and to the public at regional garden shows. As a native Georgian, Reeves understands the unique climate and growing requirements of Southern vegetable gardening and shares that knowledge with the reader. In addition to this book, Reeves has coauthored several other titles including the Georgia Gardener's Guide, My Georgia Garden: A Gardener's Journal, and Month-by-Month Gardening in Georgia. All are published by Cool Springs Press. Reeves and his wife, Sandi, live in Decatur, Georgia, and have three children. In addition to gardening, Reeves enjoys doing home repairs, educating the public about the benefits of children's gardening, and listening to "A Prairie Home Companion." Readers may reach Walter Reeves at www.walterreeves.com. Felder Rushing is a tenth-generation Southern gardener. A leading garden communicator for years, Rushing is currently an Extension Service consumer horticulturist in Mississippi, a post he has held since 1980. He supervises the Master Gardener program in Jackson, has hosted the syndicated "Yards and Gardens" radio call-in show since 1983, and appears regularly on HGTV, the Discovery Channel, and educational television. He has written a twice-weekly gardening column for Mississippi's leading newspaper since 1980. Rushing's educational background includes two degrees from Mississippi State University. He also completed the Louisiana State University Landscape School of the South. Rushing's other credits include contributing articles and photographs to many national magazines, including National Geographic, Fine Gardening, Organic Gardening, Country Living Gardening, Garden Design, Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, Better Homes and Gardens, and many more. In addition to this book for Cool Springs Press, Rushing is the author of the award-winning Gardening Southern Style, Passalong Plants (named the "best-written" garden book in the country in 1994), and many others. He also contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Rushing is a director of the Garden Writer's Association of America, and is an honorary member of the Garden Clubs of Mississippi. He is a popular lecturer in the South, and has appeared in every state nearly every year. In addition, Rushing lectures widely at national gardening symposiums held at locations such as Longwood Gardens, the Philadelphia Flower Show, the Southeastern Flower Show, Disney's Festival of Flowers, and the Smithsonian Institute, among others. Rushing and his wife, Terryl, and their two children, Ira and Zoe, share a cluttered cottage in Jackson, Mississippi. Rushing's quirky garden has been featured in Garden Design, Southern Living, Horticulture, House and Garden, and the New York Times. Readers may reach him at www.felderrushing.com.

Table of Contents

Gardening in South Carolina	7	(8)
A History	8	(1)
South Carolina Freeze/Frost Occurrence Table	9	(1)
South Carolina Average First Fall Frost Map	10	(1)
South Carolina Average Last Spring Frost Map	11	(1)
South Carolina Total Annual Precipitation Map	12	(1)
South Carolina USDA Hardiness Zones Map	13	(1)
Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service	14	(1)
Roots of Southern Gardening	15	(11)
Using Pesticides in Your Garden	26	(7)
Pesticides and How They Work	26	(3)
Beneficial Insects	29	(2)
Organic Gardening	31	(1)
Fire Ants and Animal Pests	32	(1)
Photographic Gallery	33	(24)
Growing Vegetables in the Home Garden	57	(130)
Location	57	(1)
Size	58	(1)
Rows vs. Beds	58	(2)
Container Gardens	60	(2)
Soil Preparation	62	(1)
Composting	63	(1)
Direct Seeding	64	(2)
Buying Transplants and Starting Transplants from Seed	66	(2)
Transplanting Seedlings	68	(1)
When to Plant	69	(1)
How to Plant	70	(1)
Watering	71	(1)
Mulching	71	(1)
Fertilizing	72	(1)
Weed and Insect Control	72	(2)
Organic Gardening	74	(113)
Growing Herbs in the Home Garden	187	(30)
Planting Herbs	188	(1)
Pest Control	188	(1)
Harvesting Herbs	188	(1)
Drying Herbs	189	(28)
Growing Fruits in the Home Garden	217	(66)
Planning the Fruit Garden	219	(2)
Pruning	221	(4)
Planting the Fruit Garden	225	(1)
Caring for the Fruit Garden	226	(4)
Pest Control	230	(1)
Thinning	231	(52)
Growing Nuts in the Home Garden	283	(12)
Suppliers	295	(3)
Glossary	298	(5)
Bibliography	303	(2)
Index	305	(6)
Meet the Authors	311