Review: Secrets of Mound Gardening by Darryl Scott Whitham

Secrets of Mound Gardening:

Harnessing Nature for Healthier Fruits, Veggies, and Environment 

Author: Darryl Scott Whitham

Publisher: Moonscape Publishing

Pages: 154

Genre: How To, Gardening, Guides, Nature, Non-fiction

BLURB:

 

Discover the ancient magic of mound gardening and watch it work wonders in your garden!

Your garden is only as good as your technique. If water shortages, excess rainfall, lack of space, or a limited green thumb prevents you from growing the garden you want, a plant and planet-friendly solution could be the key to unlocking a landscape worth envying.

No matter your gardening goals or challenges, you can master this groundbreaking gardening secret learned from history and our best teacher: nature!

Secrets of Mound Gardening is your step-by-step training manual to a proven framework that will benefit your health and contribute to our environment. Have limited time? No green knowledge? No problem. Whether you're a novice or experienced gardener, devoted gardening instructor Darryl Whitham will teach you how to tune into the cycles of nature, reduce waste, and maximize your landscaping space through ancient mound gardening philosophy.

In this guide, you'll discover

• Easy, practical mound gardening techniques so you can start working with nature, rather than against it.
• A simple way to produce healthy fruits and vegetables without the hours of labor often needed by conventional gardening.
• How to enjoy less weeding, soil feeding, and overall work by as much as 80 percent.
• Lessons passed down from around the globe, including traditional Native American methods, Hugelkultur basics, and raised bed styles from Africa and the Americas.
• How to grow and harvest your own natural foods, organic produce, and herbs.
• Design your garden into a beautiful and functional work of permaculture art. Get Secrets of Mound Gardening to improve your garden and the world with wisdom from the ages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Darryl Scott Whitham has been harvesting his gardening techniques for years. A successful IT systems administrator, author, trained horticulturist, and gardening instructor, Darryl provides simple and instructive methods on how the everyday gardener can become a microfarmer through the ancient art of mound gardening.

Making his home in the rolling hills of northern Virginia, where he also attended college, he combines his gardening with valuable perspectives on wide-ranging subjects—everything from protecting the genetic diversity of crops and conserving native habitats to preserving the environment and endangered species. His cutting-edge approach to permanent agriculture, permaculture, creates a beautiful and sustainable palette for gardening and our environment. An enthusiast for hiking and survival knowledge, Darryl hopes to reconnect people with their natural surroundings and the clever ways nature responds and adapts, starting in our own backyards!

WEBSITE

https://www.greengardensystems.com/index.html

MY THOUGHTS:  

Secrets of Mound Gardening is a book that I think every gardener should read. Beginner through experienced gardeners will find the book full of information and will learn something new. There are so many different techniques discussed with making mounds, how to construct, space and why to pick the mound you need for your situation and area.

I like how thoroughly the mounds are discussed and love the history that is behind the different types. The book also has hyperlinks so that you can research further. I spent a lot of time with these links and learned so much! 

Each chapter starts with a quote and I find this a wonderful addition to the book! Although Mr. Whitham focuses on mound gardening, he doesn't forget why one makes a mound and also discusses plantings, companion planting, growing and harvesting - basically using the mound. I've found this also helpful for any gardener.

If you are looking to start gardening, but don't have much growing area or you have a yard but don't have any way to till it, or maybe you are looking to improve upon what you are currently doing, then this book is for you. It holds so much information in the amount of pages that it has plus the hyperlinks and references will keep you busy long after you are finished reading. This book will be a useful and well used reference in your gardening library that I'm sure you will return to again and again.

I received a copy of this book through BookSirens. I was not required to post a positive review - but one of my honest opinion. 

Roasted Dandelion Root Coffee

Finally! After a long, dreary winter, spring has arrived! My favorite part about the spring is gathering up the fresh greens and flowers that are packed full of vitamins and minerals and are super tasty. This year I have dried my dandelion leaves, flowers and made the roots into a wonderful roasted "coffee".

The "coffee" is a not actually coffee but makes a wonderful substitute. It has a nice flavor - a somewhat coffee, caramel and chocolate flavor combination. It's hard to describe, but with a little bit of cream and a touch of honey - it's pretty much heaven! The spring crop of roots are much more mild than the fall crop. The fall is more robust and bitter and packed with more vitamins and minerals because the roots are storing all the nutrition required to make a strong plant in the spring. Fall is the best time to harvest for drying roots for their medicinal value and for the most robust coffee, but I love the spring harvest as well! 

I dig up my dandelions whole and try to get as much as the root as possible. They are long and do easily break off. I found it best to try to run a long screwdriver or a dandelion removing down next to the root as closely as possible and break the ground around it by wiggling it back and forth. If difficult to remove, I will do this around the plant. A shovel works, too, but it leaves a lot more mess to deal with and depending where you harvest your plants, you may not want to leave holes behind.

After digging the dandelions, I pre-rinse with a hose to get rid of as much dirt as possible. Then I put the whole plant in a 5 gallon bucket and rinse, drain, rinse, drain, rinse, drain.... until the water looks quite clean. Next, I cut off the top part of the plant and put in two separate piles.

I then put the roots in a bowl and soak for a little bit. Then I rinse a few more times and try to swish off as much of the remaining dirt as possible.

I then use a scrub brush to take off the remaining dirt. I like putting a small cutting board in the bottom of the sink to have something to scrub on. If the roots have a lot of off-shoots, I'll break them apart to get in between them.

Then I put them in my food processor and chop until the pieces resemble brown rice.

Next I pour them on a cookie sheet and put them in a 225 degree oven and let them dry. This can take about an hour. 

I then check to see how they are drying by stirring every 10 to 20 minutes or so. Drying times will depend on the day, your oven, how large the pieces are, etc.

After the pieces are dry, I increase the oven temperature to 325 and continue to bake. Now the roasting process has started. I kept a close eye on it and mixed every 10 minutes. I love this part because when the root is almost ready to remove from the oven, it has the most amazing aroma of baking a chocolate cake or brownies! 

Some people will remove the root as soon as they see small wisps of smoke coming from the root. I put mine back in a bit longer. I like a darker roast. I find it to have a bit more of a robust flavor. 

After removing from the oven, I let it cool and then put it in a jar. The contents in the jar are much more true in color to the actual end product. 

To use:

Put water in a pan and bring to a boil. Add the dandelion root, stir well and boil for 1 minute. Make sure it doesn't boil over because it will produce foam on top. You will need 1 tsp. of Roasted Dandelion Root Coffee per 8 oz of water (adjust to taste). Serve with a little cream and honey if desired.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a qualified/licensed instructor or certified to teach wildcrafting, using herbs or explaining how to identify any plant I use or speak of in these posts. This is only describing what I did and how I use the item described in MY home with MY family. I am not to be held responsible for any misinformation or any mishaps if anyone decides to try this at home. If you decide to try this method - it is at your own risk. Please research and study any plants, methods and side effects of the plant describe in this post.