Joel Karsten has the seeds, fertilizer, soaker hose and straw bales ready to go. Karsten uses the straw instead of soil. He considers growing with straw a breakthrough vegetable growing method. Karsten can grow vegetables earlier, anywhere and without weeding. It's become a gardening craze and led Karsten to write Straw Bale Gardens. Learn More.

For those not familiar with the technique, like New York Times writer Michael Tortorello, straw bale gardening sounds like a pretty improbable way to grow vegetables. But Joel Karsten, author of Straw Bale Gardens for Cool Springs Press, has convinced Tortorello that the technique does work. Learn More.

Author Emily Tepe doesn’t accept the old notion that food-producing plants should be segregated in their own plot. She advocates combining them freely with ornamentals to add color, texture and visual interest to beds and containers. “I believe a yard can be both beautiful and productive,” she writes. Learn More.