This time last year we signed a publishing agreement with orphaned authors (part of the Key Porter meltdown) and well-known Canadian gardening gurus Patrick Lima and John Scanlan, to release an updated and revised version of their organic gardening book, aptly named The Organic Home Gardener.  

We just received the final manuscript late last week. Wow! There is a truckload of new information, recipes and sensible strategies for the home gardener interested in producing their own vegetables and fruits. Patrick and John take readers step-by-step through the engaging process of growing the best possible food — from spring’s first spinach, asparagus and salad greens, through the summer abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and all, and right into fall’s harvest of squash, leeks, carrots and potatoes. Often, a small timely tip makes all the difference, and this dynamic team leaves nothing out.

Whether you tend a small city yard, a full-size country garden, or something in between, the instructive, easy to follow and often humorous advice will ensure you make the very best use of the space you have — and you can’t get any more local, seasonal and organic than food from your own yard.

This isn’t your average gardening book. In fact, we decided to go completely sideways with the Organic Home Garden, presenting it in a 6 x 9 trade paperback format so it’s easy to hold in the hand, without the pretension of masquerading as a coffee table book.

John’s artwork is stunning, adding class and whimsy to the book. His illustrations are collage studies in black and white, mixing media in a fresh, new approach to gardening artwork. They are most definitely art. And yet the illustrations are also most definitely relevant.

The Organic Home Gardener, we’re positive, won’t get lost in that wall of glossy, expensive gardening books. It’s going to stand out. And once you have it in your dirt-stained hands, as either print or digital book, we’re sure you’re going to find this the one gardening book that’s referenced again and again.

Now in final editing, The Organic Home Gardener is scheduled for release late summer to early fall of 2011.