Garden Book: 'The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book'

By Mike Oehler (Mole, 230 pages, $25)

Every winter, gardeners dream of owning a greenhouse -- a warm and sometimes sunny place to tend plants and overwinter tropical favorites. If high heating bills have kept you from realizing that dream, this may be the book that inspires you to dig right in.

The author lives in an earth-sheltered home and grows his own veggies in a working greenhouse that is heated by the sun. In chapters about glazing, insulation, heat tubes and pest management, you'll learn the basics of a solar-powered greenhouse and be treated to plans, photos and random notes about the process, including the use of rabbits as part of the growing cycle. The solar heat idea will work best if you have a hillside and a sunny location, but you can harness the sun anyplace there is light and soil.

The author also wrote "The $50 & Up Underground House Book" (Mole, 116 pages, $19.95) and his home has been featured on HGTV and in various magazines. Even if you never intend to grow a thing, the book is a fascinating look into the mind of a modern-day rebel.

-- Marianne Binetti