Montana Gardener's Companion: An Insider's Guide To Gardening Under The Big Sky, First Edition

This is an extremely useful guide designed to introduce the special conditions, challenges, and constraints the gardener faces in Montana. The twelve chapters are organized in three sections: Firm Foundations (the basic needs of plants and Montana conditions), Green Things (Plants) and Garden Solutions. =Firm Foundations 1. Soil: Soil is usually a problem in Montana, as it tends to be alkaline; chapter topics include: physical properties of soil, how to increase soil organic matter, cover crops to avoid in Montana, chemical properties of Montana soils, soil fertility, soil sampling and tests, and fertilizers 2. Climate: hardiness zones, growing season, precipitation, site microclimates, and a nice outline of a Montana Timeline- a month by month to-do list; for more detailed list, get Month by Month Gardening in Montana (Month-By-Month Gardening (David & Charles)) 3. Water Relations: when and how to water, ways to conserve moisture...also some suggestions for plants that need less water =Green Things 4. Lawns: Montana is not generally an easy place to keep lawns looking good...suggested grass blends, lawn establishment and maintenance, disease and weed control, insects, etc. 5. Vegetables: planning and planting, preserving produce, soil amendments, seed selection including both hybrids and heirloom seeds, transplants, direct sowing, perennial vegetables, urban and intensive gardening, watering vegetables, weeds (although many are edible themselves!), season extension, and special instructions for certain vegetables 6. Fruit: again Montana is not prime fruit country, but topics include the right fruit for your zone, purchasing, planting, tree fruits, etc. Only a few of the hardiest fruits make it in Montana: apples, occasionally pears; there are problems with any stone fruit like peaches. Sour cherries are easier to grow than sweet cherries; some plums do well and of course, native plants like chokecherries; nut trees don't make it in Montana, except, in the warmest areas, sometimes black walnut or butternut; small fruit like strawberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries do well but grapes and blackberries are marginal. Native berries like buffaloberry and serviceberries do well. It was surprising and disappointing that blueberries, including the famous Montana huckleberry, were not covered in this section since other native berries were covered! 7. Annual Flowers: basics of planting and care, and some recommended varieties which are very popular in Montana, especially pansies and marigolds 8. Herbaceous Perennials, Bulbs, and Roses: some cultivars are not adapted to Montana even though they are sold here by chain stores, and also some species are designated as noxious weeds, depending on the county (see #11 below)! Roses can be tough to grow in Montana as well; shrub roses are the best bet -- tea roses not so much. 9. Trees and Shrubs: none are really fast growing, and those that grow relatively fast are short lived, such as most poplars.

I will be better able to review it once spring arrives. Right now my lawn and landscaping looks pristine and white and has since the week before Thanksgiving. With the short growing season, an area that has "gumbo" soil, city water that is so high in salt and minerals that it kills everything except Japanese Elms, Russian Olives, and Cottonwoods this book may or may not help. Really I need plants that grow well near the ocean, in rocky, clay soil with the ability to survive long harsh winters. I think they call them silk or artificial plants.