Book promotes year-round growing

February 19, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Who says vegetable gardening is just for warm weather?

Not Niki Jabbour.

She’s the author of “The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener,” above, a guide to stretching nature’s calendar.

Jabbour lives in Nova Scotia, yet she manages to grow cold-tolerant veggies in the dead of winter using protections such as cold frames and hoop tunnels. She coaches her readers to think in terms of three growing seasons — cool, warm and cold — and to match crops to the time of year they grow best. She also teaches gardening practices that are smart no matter when you’re growing, such as building healthy soil and rotating crop families.

“The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener” is published by Storey Publishing and sells for $19.95 in paperback or $29.95 in hardcover.

Striping device

The U-Stripe It promises to make it easier to paint stripes.

The device consists of a pair of straightedges that can be adjusted to a specific width apart and then locked into place. The straightedges then serve as a guide for positioning painter’s tape without the need for pencil marks. By adding low-tack tape, you can stick the tool to the wall to free your hands for applying the painter’s tape. Levels attached to the device help you to keep it plumb for vertical stripes or level for horizontal stripes.

The gadget also can be used for creating circles and other geometric shapes.

The U-Stripe It can be ordered for $27.95 at www.ustripeit.com.

Shipping is free.

McClatchy Newspapers