Many books addressing insect and disease control problems would have you believing gardening is chemical warfare! Following their advice, I acquired an arsenal of chemicals in my garage that would kill virtually any creepy crawly thing that dared slither into my garden.

What these books failed to tell me is the more you use these chemicals the more you need to use them. In a sense, your garden becomes addicted to them, as they kill all or most of the natural organisms in the environment that help your plants combat natural occurring bacteria, viruses and insects. Eventually your plants' only defense to such pathogens is your habitual spraying.As The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control explains, if left to its' own devices, nature will frequently correct the imbalances that caused the disease or insect problem long before any serious damage is done. This book clearly explains how plants naturally defend themselves against pathogens and how we can help them without harming the environment. It's no-nonsense, common sense approach to gardening makes you wonder what the human race was thinking of when we created all those dangerous chemicals.Every gardener wants his or her garden to be perfect. However, sometimes we get carried away, forgetting that earthly gardens are not sanitized portraits of heaven. This book brings us back to reality and reminds us to enjoy nature, not fight it.

This is definitely one of the best gardening books I have read in a long time!


A great reference.   July 9, 2001
 69 out of 71 found this review helpful

This is a overall a great book. One of the easiest to use I have found. The only thing which bothers me (and it is a minor detail) is that for each plant on which aphids are a pest, the book merely says "aphids" (green, black, white, red). There are many types of aphids, and it would be nice to know if I am looking for black, green, red, etc on a particular plant. Also for some species more aggressive management is needed than for others, but this book makes no distinction.

However, if you are considering this book, don't let that very minor detail stop you. This is definitely one that should be on every gardner's shelf! It is a wonderful reference.


Clear, concise and informative book on organic gardening.   February 6, 1999
 68 out of 71 found this review helpful

I had checked out the book first from the library and now I am buying it because it is such a good reference book for organic gardening. It is a great "how to" book for beginners or for anyone who wants to solve pest problems without all the chemicals.


Recommended by Illinois Mastergardeners   October 14, 2003
 49 out of 50 found this review helpful

This book is recommended by the Illinois Mastergardeners as a great reference book/diagnosis tool to have on hand. It includes an encyclopedia of 200 popular garden plants with care instructions and potential problems, an insect identification guide, a disease symptom guide and organic control practices and methods. I wish I had remembered I had it on my shelf when a "fungus" hit my tomatoe plants earlier this year. Everyone at the community gardens tomatoes looked like they had fusarium wilt. I eventually found out it has been happening for several years now. Now the search is on to find resistant cultivars because the fungicidal spray that was recommended to me (locally) did nothing and was applied after the fact instead of as a preventative at the beginning. I am moving this book off the shelf and next to my 'reading' chair to help plan my vegetable garden for next year. Forewarned is forearmed!


Good listing of what goes wrong and what to do   June 16, 2006
 44 out of 45 found this review helpful

I love the listing of each plant species in this book, and the lavish pictures of pests and diseases. You can take this out to the peach tree or the magnolia and figure out what is wrong.

We use an organic lawn service and I do organic gardening (what of it I do, not much...no time) but it's essential to us not only as "green" folks but because I am chemically sensitive. I just can't have sprays or chemicals around me. I think this book is also wonderful because these chemicals are not to be lightly handled, and if you are pressed for time, it's better not to be careless with harmful pesticides and herbicides and just go for the more gentle organic way.

While learning how to control pests the organic way takes a lot of time (because you learn to plant and cultivate in such a way as to mitigate them and find an equilibrium with your local environment) this is a wonderful reference book and better than most others I've read.

Highly recommended.