There are many books available on organic and ecological gardening. Here are some of my favourites:

The Garden Jungle or Gardening to Save the Planet, by Dave Goulson, Jonathon Cape 2019. This is the best book on garden ecology that I have read. It doesn’t matter that author/biologist Goulson is British. You will learn much about creating a productive and attractive garden that is good for people, wildlife and the planet all at the same time. The principles and a lot of the practices apply wherever you live. As a bonus, Goulson is a very entertaining writer, with many amusing stories to tell.

Natures’s Best Hope, by Douglas W. Tallamy, Timber Press Inc., 2019. Subtitled A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard. A superb book by one of the most knowledgeable people on the importance of the plant/insect relationship for a healthy planet. See the book review in the News section of this website.

The Prairie Garden - Inspired By Nature, The Prairie Garden Committee, 2019. This annual publication from Winnipeg, Manitoba focuses on a different gardening topic each year. For 2020, editors Maureen Krauss and Linda Dietrick put together 51 short articles from prairie garden writers about  designing and planting naturalistic and eco-friendly gardens here on the prairie. There are articles on native grasses and perennials, pollinator patches, bee habitat, rooftop gardening, the new naturalism, and many other topics. But you won’t find articles about vegetable or fruit growing. For that, check back issues of The Prairie Garden.   

Beneficial Bugs, by Jessica Walliser, Timber Press, 2014. This book is subtitled A Natural Approach to Pest Control. It is by a U.S. writer, but is very relevant to Canada. Contrary to popular belief (and to marketing by chemical companies), insects in the garden are a good thing. Think all wasps are pests? Consider the parasitic wasp, which dines on aphids, cabbage worms, Colorado potato beetles, cutworms, sawfly larvae , tent caterpillars. You want the parasitic wasp in the garden, and you can attract it by providing nectar and pollen via plants like coriander, cosmos, golden rod, yarrow, and oregano. Diversity and balance are the key. A diversity of well-chosen plants will attract good predators that will control the pests. 

Building Soil. A Down-To-Earth Approach, Elizabeth Murphy, Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., 2015. The subtitle of this one is Natural Solutions for Better Gardens and Yards. You don't find many gardening books as easy to understand and intelligent and useful as this one. It covers all the things you need to know about soil building - although keep in mind that there will be local differences that you need to consider, such as length of time it will take for cardboard or newspaper to break down when building a new garden bed using the sheet composting method.  A theme or guiding principle is that soil needs are the same as any other living organism: air, water, food, and shelter. A go-to book on soil questions! 

Down to Earth, by Monty Don, Dorling Kindersley Ltd., 2017. Once you discover Monty Don’s television programs and books, it is possible to become obsessed with what he has to say on every garden topic, whether its growing carrots, pruning roses, or  gardening for wildlife . But then, what he says matters, grounded as it is in knowledge, experience and common sense. In this book the famous British organic gardener and superb writer covers many topics of interest to the home gardener, and he does it in short bite-size pieces. The advice is very practical and valuable, even for prairie gardeners far removed from Don’s Britain.   

The Hidden Half of Nature, David R. Montgomery and Anne Bikle, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2016. This is a superb mix of great, accessible writing, hands in the soil experience, and up to date science. The subtitle is The Microbial Roots of Life and Health . This couple of scientist-gardeners tell their story of creating a healthy garden on degraded land, while at the same time explaining how soil - and the life in it - is the key to plant, planet, and human health. Along the way, we get a brief history of how life developed on the planet, of the role of microbes in making us, and of the nutrition/health/environmental disaster that is chemical farming and gardening. Brilliant.

Gaia’s Garden, Toby Hemenway, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2009. A clear-eyed and comprehensive book about the principles and practice of ecological/organic gardening in your yard. The subtitle is A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture.

Teaming With Microbes, Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis, Timber Press, 2010. This is the finest and most detailed book I’ve read on the existence and importance of the microbes living in the soil. Why do microbes matter? If you want healthy soil, and healthy plants, and healthy food, you need a healthy herd of microbes under your feet. Not every gardener needs to know the depth of detail here, but it is a great resource. See also Teaming With Fungi, by Jeff Lowenfels, Timber Press, 2017. Subtitled The Organic Grower's Guide to Mycorrhizae. All you'll ever need to know about the miracle that is myccorhizal fungi.

Native Plants for Prairie Gardens, June Flanagan, Fifth House Ltd., 2005.  Great reference book for people wanting to grow some of our native flowers, grasses and shrubs. Very well laid out, easy to navigate, wonderful photos.

Vegetable Gardening for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Laura Peters, Lone Pine Publishing, 2011. A good general reference by this Edmonton writer, who also wrote the equally worthwhile Organic Gardening for Canada, published by Lone Pine in 2010. 

Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens, Sara Williams and Bob Bors, Coteau Books, 2017. The two authors have decades of experience at the University of Saskatchewan teaching, researching and developing fruit for the prairies. The book describes what fruits will grow here, and how to look after them. There are excellent photographs and descriptions! A must-have book if you currently or want to grow fruit .

Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, edited by Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis, and Ellen Phillips, Rodale Inc., 2017. This is a comprehensive encyclopedia well worth having on your shelf. My copy is dog-eared and festooned with sticky notes.   

100 Plants to Feed the Bees, The Xerces Society, Storey publishing, 2016. Invaluable book for the gardener who wants to attract pollinators (not only bees). It has great photos and descriptions of the best plants to grow by region. I first discovered giant hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) in this book - my many hyssop plants are beautiful and buzz for most of the summer and into the early fall.  

Web Sites: There are so many, on every possible garden topic, but beware - as with anything you read or watch online. Here are some really good ones that you can learn from:

theprairiegarden.com. This is the website of the annual publication from Winnipeg, The Prairie Garden. Each annual issue is a collection of writings on a special topic - for example, 2023 focused on Climate-Aware Gardening, 2022 on Smaller Place gardening, 2021 on Flowering Shrubs. Back issues are available on various topics going all the way back to 1996. 

Xerces.org. The Xerces Society  is devoted to insect protection, with a special focus on pollinators. Insects are critical for ecological health and human existence (our food production depends on pollination by insects). The website has practical information on what you can do for them in your garden and your community.   

amazingcarbon.com. This is the web site created by soil ecologist Christine Jones. She is Australian, and is considered one of the world's foremost experts on soil. She visited Saskatchwan during her 2015 world speaking tour. I missed her talk, but she has plenty of free articles and videos available on-line.  I have found no one else that can so clearly explain the connection between healthy soil, healthy people, and a healthy planet. Policy-makers ignore her at our peril.

Prairieoriginals.com. This is the website for Prairie Originals Native Plant garden nursery in Selkirk, Manitoba. Its my first stop when trying to find native plants. They grow and sell native prairie flowers, grasses, vines and shrubs. The website features good pictures and descriptions of the plants. And of course, they sell seeds and very healthy plants.

gardenerspantry.ca. This is a commercial web site from Victoria B.C. offering a small but vital range of organic fertilizers and inoculants. I use some of their products regularly, especially their compost tea and Effective Micro-organisms.  

 Courses:

Gaia College is a Victoria-based Canadian college offering many organic horticulture courses, both on-line and in the classroom. They are quality courses taught by very knowledgeable and fully qualified instructors. I highly recommend them.