I’ve come up with a few inspired solutions to gardening problems in my time. I would sit and rack my brain about ways to make my vegetable garden work better. Like the 1.5-ft. tall wooden box I built for growing carrots in soft, fluffy soil rather than the rocky soil my garden presented me with. Or that mesh A-frame trellis I made that both supports peas and protects them from pesky birds. These weren’t all that creative, I admit, but they have made my gardening a wee bit easier.

Author Shawna Coronado has saved you the time of sitting and racking your brain to come up with solutions—or “hacks” to use the trendy term—that may or may not work for you. Her book “101 Organic Gardening Hacks: Eco-friendly Solutions to Improve Any Garden” covers the bases when it comes to creating and maintaining a garden that is not only visually interesting but does little in the way of impacting the environment.

Summary

In fact, with the tips and tricks she shares in “101 Organic Gardening Hacks” Shawna helps you build an environment that is better than the one you started with. The first chapter of the book addresses where all gardening begins—the soil. Build great soil out of scraps as she explains the A-to-Zs of composting. Then, build a nutritious garden bed using no-till gardening techniques and homemade soil mixes.

From there she moves on to routine maintenance hacks (around-the-home fertilizer components, pest solutions and easy watering ideas). Then, tips for seeds and seedlings (make your own seed tape!), and ways to create beautiful blooming and bountiful gardens whether in a container or out in the yard. And fair warning: The chapter on soil hacks may just change your life!

From conquering earwigs to creating a poor man’s “olla,” Shawna presents it all in an easy to understand manner. Not only that, she shows just how affordable good gardening techniques can be. And if it’s understandable and affordable, there’s just no excuse NOT to help yourself out and hack your way to a great gardening life.