When The Biggle Garden Book was first published in 1908, most people were in the habit of raising their own food and flowers. Jacob Biggle felt that a gardener's success had to do with willpower and passion rather than acreage. The man, woman or youngster who really wants a garden, will somehow manage to have a good one regardless of soil conditions, bad weather, measles in the family, or whether the area of ground at hand is a square acre or a square rod, he wrote encouragingly at the start of the book.

That passion for gardening continues today in fields, backyards, and urban community plots across the United States. According to a poll taken in 2009 by the National Gardening Association, more than forty-three million households in the United States grow some of their own food. Learn how to do things the old-school way as Jacob and Harriet Biggle guide you through the fundamentals of:

Soil preparation, sowing, and planting
Hotbeds and cold frames
Fertilization, cultivation, and irrigation
Flower gardening with old-fashioned favorites
Garden pests and friends

With a resurgence in organic farming, heirloom varieties, and self-reliant living, The Biggle Garden Book is more valuable than ever because of the time-tested advice it offers.