[.ca] Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for ... (ISBN 1580170277)

From Amazon.com:
This gardening classic was first published in 1975, and now a second generation of gardeners who prefer pest-resistant planning to chemicals will find a place for it on the shelves. Not only does it tell what to plant with what, but also how to use herbal sprays to control insects, what wild plants to encourage in the garden, how to grow fruit and nut trees, how to start small plots or window-box gardens, and much more. It's one of the most practical books around for any gardener of edibles, no matter how serious or casual.

Companions for life.....:
I love CARROTS LOVE TOMATOES-an update and revision of the original companion planting book. I used many of these ideas the summer of 1975 when I had a half acre garden. My traditional farmer neighbor laughed when I told him what I was going to do, but later in the summer when the insects devastated his vegetable patch he threatened to come over and pull up all my borage and marigolds. He had to admit I was onto something. We had a few mishaps-white and yellow corn planted to close together = polka-dot corn, but we ran beans up the stalks as Riotte suggests and it worked well. The Mexican bean beatles came to visit and stayed for dinner, but we soon learned how to control them. Marigolds in the rows and our evening search to destroy the yellow egg clusters ensured a good crop. My kids learned a great deal about "real" survival that summer and they didn't find it on tv. We had squash, melons, tomatoes, and all sorts of other vegetables, herbs, and flowers, and mixed and matched them as companion plants. At the end of the summer, I canned like crazy and made colorful jars of green beans and white and yellow corn. Everything we grew was organic and it tasted great. Louise Riotte includes many suggestions from the first book. Topics in the new edition include vegetables, herbs, wild plants, grasses and grains, and others. Considering what is planted where is important. For example, you should not plant peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes close together or in the same container. These vegetables are related and planting them close together inhibits growth. Matching vegetables and herbs or avoiding combinations of vegetables and herbs that inhibit each other isn't the only topic discussed in this book. Riotte says that tomato leaves can be pulped in a blender full of water and used as a spray that inhibits Black Spot on roses. Similarly, certain kinds of peppers produce a nice insect deterrent. I've grown Pyrethrum (a type of Chrysanthemum) in my garden for years. Pyrethrum has been marketed in the West as a bug repellent since at least 1828, but the Chinese are thought to have used it for perhaps 2,000 years. The best news is that you don't have to have a half acre to become a gardener and use these ideas. Today, I live in an urban area and have a very tiny lot. I have converted the whole thing into a series of gardens, but half the yard is in shade and vegetables need sun. So, I have placed containers along the driveway in the sun and off the walkway near the patio out back. I am also using many ideas for vertical gardening. I continue to use the planting techniques Riotte suggests, including many for container planting. Compost is important-and even in urban areas you can save kitchen and garden scraps in a compost bin. Carrots may love tomatoes but roses love sh-.

Earth Friendly, Informative, and Excellent Reference Book:
Carrots Love Tomatoes has become one of my top gardening reference guides. A simple flip through the pages allows a gardener to find specific plant information and a guide to what will be it's best pest-repelling companion. I planned our family garden using this method and continue to reap the rewards. Not only have I had few pest problems, but I planted a multitude and variety of veggies that have thrived throughout the season. This book is a must read for all stages of vegetable gardening. We must care for our Earth and using few or no chemicals is an excellent start. Carrots Love Tomatoes will show you how.

Disappointing:
I bought both of Louise Riotte's books, only to be disappointed by the fact that companion gardening is a small portion of the book. There are several other chapters on various interesting topics, but I wouldn't bill either one as a guide to companion planting. The book is very interesting, but don't buy it if you are trying to get started in companion planting/gardening. Buy Great Garden Companions by Sally Jean Cunningham instead. You'll get much more out of it.

An indespensible tool for the beginner to the expert.:
This is a lovely book, filled with diagrams and charts. The nature of companion benefit or detriment is clearly and thoroughly examined in the first half of the book, while the second half demonstrates how to best plan for a garden even if you have no more than a small window. The children's garden and postage stamp garden plans deserve special mention.

A Guide to Companion Planting:
Certainly an interesting gardening book, and one that seems to be quite popular, but Carrots Love Tomatoes seems to be nothing more than a rehashing of what others have written. Much of the book is an alphabetical listing of plants, insects, and other substances and how they can be utilized in companion planting. There are also brief chapters on Pollination of Fruits and Nuts, Nuts Tress, Fruit Tree Culture, and Poisonous Plants.