Can you recommend some good books?

[Gweithgar]

I want and need to get back into gardening, but previous attempts have mostly been laughable/tragic. I have a small yard and very poor sandy soil, so I'm thinking that containers and raised beds with bought-in soil would be the way to go. I would also like to rig some kind of drip irrigation so plants do not shrivle up in the summer heat. I would appreciate any advice, book recommendations, or ideas that have worked well for you. Please share your successful techniques.
Thanks!!

[PeripateticDanielle]

I had much success in the past with the "Lasagna gardening" technique. It's basically hay and straw and compost layered together to create a raised bed, which slowly decomposes and enriches the soil of your yard. It's pretty amazing. You can Google it or get the book at your local library. I was amazed at how well my plants (tomatoes, peppers, green beans, basil, more tomatoes, a few more tomatoes) did in the hard-packed-soil-with-temps-up-into-the-100's of Southern Cali. Best part? NO DIGGING.

Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza http://books.google.com/books/about/Las ... h2ggDzMSgC

[Dougalling]

youtube.com

It is not a book but you can see what creative people are doing in their gardens.

[LindaH]

Google straw bale gardening.

[sjsilver]

I tried some lasagna gardening 3 or 4 years back. It works really well if you have enough stuff to make the layers. The best part is that when weeds pop up, they are so easy to pull. And you don't require as much water. I still use this technique in the fall, around my herb garden. Almost everything breaks down over the winter and the ground is much easier to work in the spring. Plus it attracts the worms.