Chinese Herb Cultivation: Daodi Practices for Growing and Processing Chinese Herbs (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780991581313)

Chinese Herb Cultivation is the first text of its kind. It was originally written by some of the top experts in the field in China and has been expertly translated into English by world-renowned herbalist and scholar Thomas Avery Garran. Garran, who has lived in China for more than a decade, owned an organic farm growing Chinese herbs, and researched Chinese herb cultivation as part of is PhD studies at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, has put forth a detailed text covering 39 common Chinese herbs and added his own experience and flavor to make the text both readable and practical for the modern farmer. The book offers details such ecological habitat; rainfall; soil conditions; seed requirements; planting and transplanting instructions; weed, pest, and disease management; harvesting; and the post-harvest processing required to produce high quality, authentic Chinese herbs anywhere in the world using the same standards used in China. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, this book is a significant step forward in the field and will give farmers and researchers the tools they need to grow high-quality Chinese herbs using clean soil, organic techniques, and support local farmers to diversify by growing "alternative" perennial crops, which can be sold at a premium. China has a rich and long history of agriculture and this text is the first in any language outside of Chinese to offer readers a glimpse into the rich history as well as offer practical and immediately applicable information for those interested in growing Chinese herbs. While casual gardeners will undoubtedly glean valuable information from this text, this is a manual, a text meant for production agriculture.