101 Organic Gardening Hacks: Eco-friendly Solutions to Improve Any Garden

by Shawna Coronado

Create simple solutions for growing organic gardens!

The word "hack" has a multitude of meanings these days, but if you ask garden author Shawna Coronado what a hack is, she might just wave her hand toward her own back yard. She could be pointing at the garden bench she created from leftover wood posts and a few cinder blocks, or the rows of wine bottles buried soldier-style along a winding pathway, or even the garden soil itself, which is blended by hand from an organic soil recipe she devised. A hack is really just a great idea that's come to life.

In 101 Organic Garden Hacks you'll find the top tips, tricks, and solutions Shawna has dreamed up in her career as one of America's most creative gardeners. Some are practical timesavers; others offer clever ways to "upcycle" everyday items in your garden. One characteristic every hack shares is that they are completely organic and unfailingly environmentally friendly. Divided into a dozen different categories for easy reference, each hack is accompanied by a clear photo that shows you exactly how to complete it. If you are looking for resourceful ways to improve your garden and promote green living values right at home, you'll love paging through this fascinating, eye-catching book.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Nature

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Learn more about Shawna Coronado at http://www.shawnacoronado.com.

Shawna is an author, blogger, photographer, and spokesperson focused on wellness, organic-gardening, sustainability, and healthy eating who campaigns for social good. She has authored 9 books, 4 ebooks, and written thousands of blog posts.

Shawna's anti-inflammatory wellness initiatives and garden have been featured in many venues including PBS television, FOX News, NBC News, WGN TV, and a feature on WGN TV was been nominated for an Emmy award. Her organic living photographs and stories have been shown both online and off in many international home and garden magazines and multiple books. Shawna has been featured as a Chicago Tribune "Remarkable Woman" and has lectured at locations around the world including TEDx and Google discussing the benefits of wellness and organic living for community.

Shawna was diagnosed with severe Spinal Osteoarthritis in 2015, this diagnosis has led her to change her lifestyle and consume a mostly anti-inflammatory diet. She educates audiences about beneficial diet, food, and health practices through her organic living media. She dreams that this will enable more people to be active who suffer from similar conditions.

Her successful wellness living books, photographs, and stories have been shown both online and off in many international home and garden magazines and multiple books. You can learn more about Shawna Coronado at http://www.shawnacoronado.com.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eco-friendly and resourceful, there's a little bit of everything in this organic gardening book. It's filled with frugal tips and tricks to save you time and money. You'll find low-cost fertilizers and weed killers, household objects upcycled into a new use in the garden, and creative garden art with garden tools. I'm inspired to think outside the box and get more imaginative and practical in my gardening.

[Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well intentioned, and some of the advice is good (especially: avoid pesticides and chemicals in the garden). Some of it is kind of loopy (the yard chandeliers, for example), or at cross-purposes with the author’s environmental goals, for example collecting plastic items to ‘upcycle’ (= repurpose) into yard art. The plastic will still break down and leave microplastic bits throughout the garden. Reading the book in 2019, the constant framing of every idea as a ‘hack’ makes the book feel two years old, which in fact it is - the ideas are still fine, but the hip jargon already feels painfully dated. My favorite ideas were the suggestion to wall rabbits out of tender vegetable beds with globe basil - it looks beautiful in the author’s garden - and to brush seedlings gently to prompt them to grow stronger stems.

[Stan Lowczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read on gardening hacks .Good tips inside👍

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful and practical. I especially liked the easy composting tips and a DIY soil test.

[Jenny Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh! Not every tip or how-to is a "hack"! I am so sick of this word.

Putting that irritation aside, Coronado has some interesting, though not revolutionary, ideas. If you have any experience with gardening, you have very likely heard most of this. And if you read this book cover to cover, you'll hear several of the tips more than once. For example, hack #34 (plant with an eye toward pollinators), hack #36 (grow a bee flower), hack #37 (grow a butterfly flower), hack #39 (save the bees), and hack #40 (when herbs bolt, let them go: pollinators love the flowers) all felt rather repetitive.

I wouldn't call this book a waste of time, but I'm glad it was a library borrow, not a purchase.

[Hilary Skunda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the pictures and there were a few helpful things I read. However, most of the information was anything you could find on any buzz feed article. Maybe that's just cause they're "hacks", which seem to be trendy ways to make things easier. Mostly, I'd recommend some different gardening books to truly learn deeply about the subject. Nevertheless, it could be a great way to pique the interest of non gardeners.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of attractive photos and clever illustrations. Best for a newbie gardener. I found few new hacks for myself but it did get me inspired for the coming Spring!

[Linda Harkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who gardens organically, as I do, will find this book worthwhile. Shawna Coronado inspires the gardener to improve her garden with eco-friendly solutions. Shawna's own vegetable garden takes up a large portion of her front yard in a suburban neighborhood. She gives tips on everything from creating custom compost to controlling Japanese beetles and wasps! This is a good book for every gardener to have on her bookshelf.

[Judith Leipold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the old tricks but new hacks as well. More attention to recycling than the "mother earth" stuff from the 60s and 70s. Just when you think you've got a handle on the solutions, along comes another 101 hacks. This one was purchased, not borrowed from the library. My sense is that I will revisit it again and again. A worthwhile purchase.

[de.shanejt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really helpful suggestions and recipes.

From hummingbird nectar to making your own soil, there was a lot of advice and the whole message of the book was to be as organic as possible and reduce, reuse and recycle; So many of the hacks provided were cheap, low-cost or even ways to find materials for free.

[Betsy Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the earwig elimination tricks (put a tuna can level with the soil and put oil in it and collect them overnight) and the information about pollinators and different plants. I’m going to try the homemade olla watering trick! There were also many chapters about reusing things for artistic purposes that felt out of place.

[Annie Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got a review copy and this one is staying around. I love the hacks, love the book - colorful, cheerful and really good ideas. I keep going back to it. Ok some are a little goofy but I'll give her that. Her personality shines through! Good one.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free on a Goodreads giveaway. Easy to read with helpful pictures. I have been gardening for a while but the last few years I have wanted to become more organic and eco-friendly. I can't wait to try these ideas out this year.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. However, I enjoyed the first half or so a lot more than the latter part, which mainly just had outdoor decoration tips and such. I learned a few things and it was a quick read. I also enjoyed the pictures throughout.

[Gail Richmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some clever ideas, and
Most are fairly simple to implement. Nicely done color illustrations.
Rating: 3.5

[Pamela Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good new ideas and cheap DIY how-tos.

[Karen Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some innovative ideas, even for a very seasoned gardener such as myself. Great gift for someone new to the joys of playing in the dirt!

[Annburnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the many different things you can do in your garden that are natural. Super cool book. I would recommend this to anyone looking for ideas that are different and still natural.

[Naomi Smart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading about the helpful gardening hacks,

[BookBec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some clever ideas for true hacks, mixed with some general advice on good gardening practices. Nice photos.

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

No real mind blowing ideas. Also, organic is a bit of a stretch.

[Andrea Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for new home owners

This is a short book for newbies with great ideas covering all around the house and yard. Great ideas for updates to anyone's yard really.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like an especially well laid-out Pintrest board or magazine. Many of the things I'd seen before or read in depth elsewhere, but I still very much enjoyed flipping through the pages.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I review this often for inspiration.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with easy gardening tips and ideas for the novice gardener.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good ideas

[M. Lia]

Good. Skimmed (since i am familiar with the basics of this subject matter).

[Landon Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read

A decent book for beginners but there is to much hack talk. Could go into more detail on growing from seed but only gave minimum information

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all of Shawna’s books, this one is also enlightening to gardeners of all levels. So beautifully written and illustrated! I loved it and couldn’t wait to turn the page to see what was next!

[Michael Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Features some great ideas that we'll try to incorporate while planning our long-term gardening goals!