Healthy Gardening Series

A Beginner’s Guide to Bottling Fruit and Vegetables With tips on How to Prepare and Preserve Food for Long-Term Use Table of Contents Introduction Rules of Bottling Types of Jars and Bottles Sterilizing Tips Equipment Necessary for Bottling Methods of Sterilization Hot Water Bath Method Hot-Water Sterilization – Quick Method Oven Method Second Oven Method Boiling Tomatoes Tomato in Their Own Juice Preserving Tomatoes in Brine Tomato Purée Tomato Juice Bottling Methods for Vegetables Blanching and Sterilizing Process for Vegetables Water Bath Method Acid Brine – Lemon Juice Method Using Bottled Vegetables Preparation of Fruit and Temperature Chart Timetable for Sterilizing Vegetables in Pressure Cooker Conclusion Author Bio- Introduction We are everlastingly grateful to that homemaker millenniums ago, who decided that she needed to preserve food, for the coming winter. That was a little step for her, but it was a giant step for mankind. Soon people began to preserve food in stoneware jars. The principle of preserving these fruit/food items depended firstly upon the destruction by need of all the mold and bacteria in the air, fruit, or water. As technological development and experimental sciences began to develop in ancient civilizations, they discovered how to make glass containers and bottles more than 5000 years ago. Naturally, at the same time, the cook in the kitchen was experimenting on food stuffs. It was only by trial and error that she learned that if she kept items of food in a moist atmosphere, it would soon grow moldy and perish real fast. Also, she learned that the exclusion of air during the sealing off the bottles prevented this mold from growing on the surface of the food. Along with that, she found out that salt, vinegar, wine and oil were extremely useful mediums in which she could preserve food, and that is how the art of been a preserving food in the shape of jams, jellies, pickles and chutneys came into existence. So this art has come down to us through the ages, and that is why many families have closely guarded secret recipes for pickling or preserving food. And that is when our grannies told us in grave tones – “remember, children, the containers in which you put this jam should be totally sealed really properly. That is how you are going to keep it for a long time.” Natural vinegar and natural oil was used as an important medium since ancient times to preserve fruit, pickles and other natural food items. Along with that, salt and sugar were used as preservatives.

A Beginner’s Guide to City Gardening Sustainable and Organic Gardening In Limited Space Table of Contents Introduction Planning Out Your City Garden Situation and Shape Drainage and Soil Choice and Supply of Plants Tools Tool Maintenance Fertilizers Nutrients for the Soil Annual Digging Compost Heaps Garden Waste Why Compost Making a Compost Pit Manuring the Garden Watering Maintaining an Established Garden Conclusion Author Bio Introduction What do I mean by city gardening, you may ask? There was a time, when people had large open areas just outside their door steps in the town, or in the “country”, and all they had to do was fence it off and try to tame it. But as more and more people started migrating to cities, the available space for gardening began to be lessened. That was because concrete jungles came up, where once we had green fields. Suburbs on the outskirts of cities still had lots of land where gardens could grow, but for all those living uptown downtown and Midtown in Flats or in closed blocks, limited spaces and detached and semi-detached houses, one had to make do with imaginative and constructive ideas, with which they could still be in touch with greenery around them. Boxes and plant containers on windowsills have been a part of city gardening. You as a city gardener know that you have just limited resources in terms of space. That is why you have been to know how to adapt these limited resources to gain the satisfactory end you desire – that to have a garden in your house, or just outside your window sill, or in a room, or in your backyard. People are afraid to experiment in looking at all the options open to them, when they want to make a city garden in limited space. So they keep to potted geraniums, some sad looking chrysanthemums and other seasonal flowering plants, and possibly a little creeper. On the other hand, if you have been brought up in the country, and have spent a major portion of your life surrounded by plants, it is possible that you are instinctively going to have a knowledge of plants and their needs. And you are going to bring this knowledge along with you to the city. This knowledge does not come innately – you need to be surrounded by gardeners. Also, trial and error on your part and advice from experienced experts who in their time have tried and erred and then imparted that knowledge to you for your benefit, is going to help you make a really nice city garden. This book is for all those beginners who are dreaming of their own garden in which to relax and also for experienced gardeners, who want some extra tips and techniques with which they can improve their gardens.

A Beginner’s Guide to Planting a Garden Gardening Tips, Techniques and Systems for planting the right herbs, Shrubs and Trees in Your Sustainable Garden Table of Contents Introduction First Season, When to Plant? Planning Your Border Herbaceous Borders Bedding Plants Choosing Your Plants Color Combinations Mistakes Beginners Make What Is with All Those Names Planting Techniques Herbaceous Border Plants Restocking your Herbaceous Garden Propagation Methods How to Do Root Division Should you Try Raising Seedlings from Seeds? Propagation through Cuttings Layering Conclusion Author Bio Introduction Now that you have decided to make your own garden, the first instinct is, “but I have never made a garden before. How do I set about planting it?” Do not worry; this has been the problem of gardeners down the millenniums. Once they know that they are going to take up with the effort of gardening, their enthusiasm soon leads them to dream of flowering hedges, shrubs, herbs and trees blooming in their garden throughout the year. The first season of your new garden is going to be the most important one, making the difference between whether you have it in you to maintain a garden, or whether you are going to think, “no, gardening is definitely not my forte, it takes too much of effort and time which I can ill afford.” If you have that mental outlook, you may as well stop reading this book now. If you are still reading it, then you are going to get important tips, techniques, and points which you need to keep in mind when planting your brand-new garden in its first season.

The Beginner’s Guide to Indoor and Miniature Gardens Understanding Indoor Gardens, Moss Gardens, Miniature Gardens and Gardens in a Bottle Table of Contents Introduction Necessary Tools for Bottle Gardening Best Plants for Bottle Gardening. Small Plant Gardens Pot et Fleur Making A Moss Garden Knowing More about Moss. Growing Plants from Pips Exotic gardening – Pineapple Tops Miniature Gardens Trees Other Popular Tiny Plants Taking Care of Your Miniature Garden Bulbs for Your Garden Selecting the Right Bulbs Planting Your Bulbs. Planting Hyacinth and Crocus Corms Bulb Fiber – Tips Newspaper Compost “Plunging” Bulbs. Growing Bulbs on Water. Methods of Water Cultivation. Bulb Failure Best Bulbs Choices Conclusion Author Bio Introduction The first time I saw a miniature garden growing in a bottle, my immediate response was “but how did the plants get into the bottle?” Naturally, this amused the gardener very much, and for those people who are not into the secret of how the plants got into the bottle, this feat can only be on par with how did a model ship get into the bottle! A garden in a bottle has about the same sort of fascination and requires almost that same amount offered dexterity and ingenuity to construct as a ship in the bottle. It is also going to need a lot of patience, because after all, you are gardening in limited space. But once your water garden is established, it can be left for months without attention. In many cases, depending on your plans, it may also not need watering. So for all those people who have been really fascinated with this conversation piece, when you see people surrounding a glass bottle with beautiful plants growing in it, here is the beginner’s guide to indoor gardening in a bottle. More than 200 years ago, a London physician named that Nathaniel Ward discovered that mosses, as well as ferns, which never grew satisfactorily in a city full of industrial fumes flourished if they were grown in the protection of a glass sided case. Thanks to his experiments, bottle Gardens developed in Europe, and since then, they have been the rage all over the world for people who are strapped for place, are looking for a new hobby, and also want to achieve something wonderful. You can use any large bottle. But the bottle has to be made of glass! Carboy glass bottles are normally made for brewing beer, so if you can get them cheap at a nursery nearby, please do so. A 5 gallon carboy bottle is going for around USD 48 on eBay USA, but as my gardening books always suggest, follow and advocate minimum of expense and minimum of fuss, you may want to spend some time asking around in your circle of friends and neighbors for large glass bottles, which is they can spare you. I have seen some of these bottles kept away in garages, because once upon a time, they were used and the owner does not have any use for them at the moment. He may not want them for another 20 years, either. Please do buy the bottles from your friends! Otherwise, a long-lasting friendship can get into jeopardy, when carelessly spoken words of half jesting “Well, he borrowed that bottle from me and what a mess he has made in it.” could cause subconscious rancor and ill will. That is of course if he is not interested in gardening! If he is a gardener, he is going to demand his bottle back – along with your bottle garden, - five years down the line! You may want to tell him the purpose for this gardening experiment. It is possible he may also want to give you some suggestions about plants based on his experience.