My Gardening "Secrets" Revealed

I'm a know-it-all.

This comes as no surprise to even the circle of my most casual acquaintances--much less my close friends--and my long-suffering wife has had to endure my vainglorious, self-identified genius for over two decades. Not that my know-it-all-ness is entirely fallacious: I've been to a couple of colleges, I'm fairly well-read, my job history has exposed me to a wide variety of skills and information, and I surround myself with intelligent and educated friends.

However, while I do believe I am, in fact, smarter than a 5th grader, people have long thought I'm a lot smarter than I really am. That's because I've developed the skill of being a know-it-all and NOT being a social pariah at the same time: mostly by volunteering the information I know, extrapolating some I can logically guess at, and closing my mouth about the rest.

So, what's my point (especially in a blog about gardening)?

Partly because of this blog, and partly because of my aforementioned nature, people seem to have the idea that I'm a gardening guru. The bald fact is that I have about a thimbleful of actual gardening experience, tinged with a smattering of theoretical knowledge and a handful of soundbytes culled from knowledgeable sources. And THAT is the point of this blog entry--to reveal some of my favorite web resources for urban gardening.

Sunset Magazine -- This covers a wide variety of topics, but often has cool ideas about how to relate the landscape and garden to living spaces.
Growing Edge -- A little more aimed at the green-minded, this one often has articles about urban gardening, vermicomposting, and aquaculture.
Sustainable Gardening -- Another site with tips for urban gardeners, and how to garden without fertilizers and chemicals.
The Fresh Loaf -- my secret weapon site for bread geekiness.

One of my professors gave me a pearl of wisdom years ago. He said: "Knowing all the information is not important; knowing where to find the information is the key."

Thank you, Dr. Allen.