On cover: A Mother Earth news book for wiser living.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 325-328) and index.

Introduction -- T he com ing hard tim es -- G etting land -- Becom ing a vegetableatarian -- hapter 2: Basics -- W hat is a vegetable -- Helping plants grow -- Increasing soil fertility -- Sum m ary -- Tools and tasks -- The basic three and a file -- How to start a new garden -- Raised beds and raised rows -- T he bow rake -- Restoring a raised bed for planting again -- T he hoe -- Miscellaneous tools -- Care of tools -- Garden centers -- Transplants: Buyer beware -- Growing your own seedlings the easy way -- The garden center seedrack -- Seeds -- The mail-order seed business -- W ho to buy from -- M aking seeds com e up -- Saving on seed purchases -- Growing your own -- Watering and not -- spacing systems -- N ot suffering drought -- A gardener's textbook of sprinkler irrigation -- Compost -- Why compost? -- Making low-grade compost -- Medium-quality compost: The once-a-year heap -- H um anure -- Green manure and cover crops -- Insects and diseases -- Avoiding trouble -- Insects and their rem edies -- Diseases and their remedies -- What to grow and how to grow it -- Some general tips -- Crops that are easiest to grow -- Crops that are harder to grow -- Difficult vegetables -- Bibliography -- Books -- O nline resources