From Vines to Wines The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine
April 30, 2009 by Gardening Ideas · Leave a Comment
From Vines to Wines The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine
Create you own backyard winery!
From breaking ground to savoring the finished product, Jeff Cox’s From Vines to Wines is the most complete and up-to-date guide to growing flawless grapes and making extraordinary wine.
Wine connoisseurs, gardeners, and home winemakers will find the latest techniques in this fully revised and updated edition. With thorough, illustrated instructions, you’ll learn how to:
— Choose and prepare a vineyard site
— Construct sturdy and effective trellising systems
— Plant, prune, and harvest the perfect grapes for your climate
— Press, ferment, age and bottle your own wine
— Judge wine for clarity, color, aroma, body, and taste
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star From Vines to Wines
When I bought this, I thought there would be many pictures inside, as that would be so great for someone to make their one Wine. There were no pictures at all. I am putting it on my EBAY, as I can’t read. Three years ago, I fell off my new house and died. When I woke up, I could not read, write or talk. I was like a baby. I still can’t read, and many pictures would be great for me.
Amazon have always been great for me, even though this one book was not right for me. Maybe it would be great for someone who can read.
4 Stars Start to finish guide
An enjoyable and easy-to-follow book on growing grapes and making wine. Usually you would have to buy one book on grape growing and another on how to make wine, but Cox combines both in one volume. A worthwhile book even for those who make wine, but only think about growing vines.
5 Stars Review By Craig Justice, Founder, Blue Merle Vineyard & Winery
When we were planning our vineyard we needed all the help we could get. From Vines To Wines was one book kept by the bedside for constant reference during the planning and planting stage. (The other book was “Vineyard Simple.” The illustrated guide to pruning is exceptionally well done. Now that we’ve made it through year 1, I find myself going back to the book time and again. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in planting a vineyard. Craig Justice, Webmaster of Winemaker’s Journal and Founder, Blue Merle Vineyard & Winery
5 Stars Especially good for trellising and pruning
I gave this to my father and he was so excited because it focused a lot on building a good trellis with good illustrations and also good for prunning.
These are two things that lack in other books that i have bought him (and that I am starting to be interested in, too).
Of course the book covers all aspects of the grape and wine making process, but the trellising and prunning in more detail was very welcome.
Recommended on all aspects.
5 Stars Great for Home Winemakers or Wine Students
This is indespensible for home winemakers. Period.
If you are a person engaged in wine studies, this is an essential first look into serious technical winemaking aspects. Before delving into more serious technical manuals such as “Understanding Wine Technology” and “The Science of Wines from Grape to Glass”.
Pros: wonderfully written in laymans terms
Cons: drawings sometimes difficult to distinguish
Growing Green Babies
April 29, 2009 by Gardening Ideas · Leave a Comment
Growing Green Babies
With eco-lifestyle expert Sara Snow
Sustainable lifestyle experts share tips and info on how to have an organic pregnancy and raise green bundle of joy.
DVD INCLUDES
Eco-friendly pre- and post-natal advice for mom
Step-by-step guide to creating a green nursery
Delicious organic recipes for mom and baby
Medical and nutritional tips from a holistic pediatrician
HELPING YOU HAVE THE HEALTHIEST PREGNANCY AND BABY POSSIBLE
Envelop your newborn in organic solutions, even before your little one arrives. Join our host sustainableliving expert Sara Snow and holistic pediatrician Dr. Natalie Geary as they introduce two future moms to wholesome choices for during and after pregnancy.
From nutrition to cosmetics, cleaning products, fitness and even baby s nursery and diapers, find out how to make safe and sensible choices for you and your child.
GET TO KNOW SARA SNOW
Sara Snow has been practicing a green lifestyle since the day she was born. She grew up surrounded by organic gardens, compost heaps and parents who taught respect for the
Earth. Sara created and hosts two green living TV series on the Discovery networks. Her shows Living Fresh and Get Fresh with Sara Snow were created to make the eco-friendly lifestyle accessible to the masses.
Glorious Gardening Ideas from Home Depot
April 29, 2009 by Gardening Ideas · Leave a Comment
GLOVE RUBBER LARGE 50 MIL UNLINED 18 IN
April 29, 2009 by Gardening Ideas · Leave a Comment
GLOVE RUBBER LARGE 50 MIL UNLINED 18 IN
Fresh Food from Small Spaces The Square Inch Gardeners Guide to Year Round Growing Fermenting and Sprouting
April 29, 2009 by Gardening Ideas · Leave a Comment
Books on container gardening have been wildly popular with urban and suburban readers, but until now, there has been no comprehensive “how-to” guide for growing fresh food in the absence of open land. Fresh Food from Small Spaces fills the gap as a practical, comprehensive, and downright fun guide to growing food in small spaces. It provides readers with the knowledge and skills necessary to produce their own fresh vegetables, mushrooms, sprouts, and fermented foods as well as to raise bees and chickens—all without reliance on energy-intensive systems like indoor lighting and hydroponics.
Readers will learn how to transform their balconies and windowsills into productive vegetable gardens, their countertops and storage lockers into commercial-quality sprout and mushroom farms, and their outside nooks and crannies into whatever they can imagine, including sustainable nurseries for honeybees and chickens. Free space for the city gardener might be no more than a cramped patio, balcony, rooftop, windowsill, hanging rafter, dark cabinet, garage, or storage area, but no space is too small or too dark to raise food.
With this book as a guide, people living in apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes will be able to grow up to 20 percent of their own fresh food using a combination of traditional gardening methods and space-saving techniques such as reflected lighting and container “terracing.” Those with access to yards can produce even more.
Author R. J. Ruppenthal worked on an organic vegetable farm in his youth, but his expertise in urban and indoor gardening has been hard-won through years of trial-and-error experience. In the small city homes where he has lived, often with no more than a balcony, windowsill, and countertop for gardening, Ruppenthal and his family have been able to eat at least some homegrown food 365 days per year. In an era of declining resources and environmental disruption, Ruppenthal shows that even urban dwellers can contribute to a rebirth of local, fresh foods.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars No real coverage of indoor gardening
Perhaps I just misinterpreted what this book would cover, but I was disappointed at how little information was available on raising food year-round. The “year-round” really only refers to fermenting and sprouting. There is a page devoted to the work of Eliot Coleman who gardens in greenhouses outdoors in Maine, which really isn’t small space gardening. There are passing references to growing peas and beans, herbs and small fruits indoors but no suggestions beyond setting them in a sunny windowsill (which really doesn’t work for most of the country).
I was hoping for a detailed discussion of growing lettuce on a light stand, overwintering pepper plants, etc.
5 Stars Best book on urban gardening and indoor food gardening to date!
This is a wonderful book - I have never read anything like it! I’ve had so many people ask me what to grow in apartments with low light, and I’ve always wondered what to say! Really, all I could think of was well, salad greens, maybe some herbs… I knew that lettuce loved the shade, but I never knew there were so many options for growing food in lower light levels and indoors!
This book is a nice introductory guide to a great number of topics - basic gardening, growing food in tight urban gardens, growing food indoors, growing mushrooms, fermenting to make kefir or yogurt, sprouting seeds for fresh sprouts, composting without much room, keeping chickens in a small yard, and even a chapter on keeping bees. All of it wonderful for the urban or apartment dweller.
This is really the first book of its kind that I have seen - it is so practical and talks specifically about how to make self-watering planters, and exactly which crops you can grow in what kind of light, and which plants you might be able to grow on a not-quite-so-sunny windowsill. Brilliant, really. It’s obvious that Ruppenthal has been doing this for years and really knows his stuff.
What’s so crazy is that several of my gardening friends who are now stuck in apartments have been wondering what would grow in their windows, or in containers on their window-access-only balcony. Now I know what to say! I’ve ordered some seeds to start experimenting myself, and this book is going to more than one person for Christmas!
5 Stars Excellent
The book was in better condition than expected and the delivery
time was exceptional. I choose sellers by rating and location.
I highly recommend them. Thank you!
5 Stars Great book, amazing resource
This book is INCREDIBLE! It really helped me understand the possibilities for urban gardening. Who would have thought you can grow so much food in so little space? Apartments, condominiums, townhouses, balconies, windowsills…this book shows you how to use any space to grow food. Ruppenthal’s writing is very down to earth, plain English, accessible for all levels of readers and beginning gardeners. Great resource for city gardening. I really think this book is something new–I’ve read a lot of books, but never anything like this. If you have limited space or need a gift for someone who lives in an apartment or condo, then try Fresh Food From Small Spaces.
4 Stars Be more self-reliant - grow lots of food in a small area
[Update: I read the book again; and I wish I had given it five stars rather than four. I cannot seem to edit the number of stars. But just pretend that I gave it five stars, OK? Thanks!]
‘Fresh Food from Small Spaces’ is an exciting book, an inspirational and informative book. Ruppenthal’s main topics are container gardening, sprouting, fermenting, growing mushrooms, and small livestock (chickens and bees only), making compost and worm boxes. He lists and describes steps that anyone can take towards helping to build a more sustainable planet and living more lightly on the earth, as well as being more self-reliant.
I was very glad to see a short chapter on ‘Survival During Resource Shortages’ and one on ‘Helping to Build a Sustainable Future’. The ‘Introduction’ also touches on these topics.
I was also glad to see that Ruppenthal recommends the use of Self-Watering Containers. I know from personal experience (and from being the listowner for a list devoted to Edible Container Gardening) that this is a very, very superior way to grow vegetables in containers.
What the book is *not*: it is definitely not a how-to book. It is *not* the only book you’ll ever need about *any* of the topics that it covers. If you buy the book thinking that it is, you’ll probably be disappointed. Instead, it gives an excellent general overview and introduction to some very disparate topics. It gives you ideas for things *you can actually do*. The author also points you towards more detailed sources of information on each topic. I doubt if anyone could have written a detailed instructional guide on all of these very different topics.
Major disappointment: the only illustrations are black-and-white stock photos. Some color photos - and more personal photos - would have been a great addition. This is really a very glaring lack. (Shame on you, Chelsea Green Publishers!)
Second major disappointment: no index. I would have expected an index in anything published by Chelsea Green, a quality publisher.
Major plus: The book is referenced, with endnotes. There is a list of resources as well.
I would definitely have given this book my unalloyed praise if it only had better photos and an index. I have no other criticisms. Ruppenthal writes well, too, by the way.
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