All New Square Foot Gardening
by Mel Bartholomew
List Price:
Our Price: $12.62
You Save: $7.37 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $12.30 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Mel BartholomewEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-14
ISBN: 1591862027
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Cool Springs Press
Book Reviews of All New Square Foot Gardening
Book Review: A Book a Gardener Can't Miss on Either Side of the Pond
Summary: 5 Stars
By a happy accident, I stumbled upon the 1982 copy of Square Foot Gardening. I was very pleased with his concept. However, having a full acre but not a tiller, I was even more pleased when I came across his All New Square Foot Gardening. "What an ingenious method!" thought I. No $50 fee for a tiller and borrowing a truck and all that mess! That's until I tried to actually put it into practice. Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic concept, and it works very well and you should get this book if you want to garden smarter not harder, but there are a few hiccups I wanted other readers to know about before they got started.
For those of you who have not perused the book or are familiar with the new method, I'll sum it up for you: you build these four by four boxes--no tilling required--cover the bottom with weed blocker material, and then fill it with a particular mix that Mel says works like a dream. The boxes are easy, the method is brilliant, but the mix was a different story. 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite, agricultural gauge, which means chunky bits of vermiculite, not fine.
And the vermiculite--at least for stateside gardening--has proven very hard to find. He makes it sound like a breeze, but it wasn't. I had to finally order the finely ground vermiculite from a pool supply company. They use it instead of sand to cushion above-ground pool bottoms instead of sand. (I am anxious to hear from anyone in the UK who has looked for this material and how difficult it was to find).
Other than finding the vermiculite--which we finally did in fine grade for $28 for four boxes--I've rarely seen a more reader-friendly book! It comes complete with layout pages, very consise planting guides, even planting time tables for your area and the amount of time you can store your seeds! If you have never gardened before or started a garden that eventually left you frustrated, then this is the book for you! I just think that you should check your area for agricultural grade vermiculite before you buy the book. But once that little snafu is over, you are going to be amazed at how brilliant and easy this book makes successful gardening.
I highly recommend this method for busy people and parents like myself. It is wonderfully easy to maintain, makes loads of produce, and looks very attractive. Two green thumbs way, way up. I especially recommend it to UK gardeners because of the small gardening space that is available to them. It is extremely compact and works quite well in small spaces.
To see my boxes and my experience with the All New Square Foot Gardening method, check out my frugal/tipping blog at http://moness.blogspot.com.
Home & Garden Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Best Gardening and Landscaping Books
Landscaping Earth Ponds: The Complete Guideby Tim Matson
Chelsea Green; Published: 2006-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops:
Designing Your Gardens and Landscapes: 12 Simple Steps for Successful Planningby Janet Macunovich, Janet Maconovich
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2000-01-10; Plastic Comb; Book
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops:
American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plantsby Christopher Brickell
DK ADULT; Published: 2004-10-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.49
Price in other shops:
Creating Beds and Borders: Creative Ideas from America's Best Gardeners (Fine Gardening Design Guides)Taunton; Published: 2001-01-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.63
Price in other shops:
The Black & Decker Complete Outdoor Builder: From Arbors to Walkways: 150 DIY Projects (Black & Decker Complete Guide)by Editors of creative Publishing
Creative Publishing international; Published: 2006-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.53
Price in other shops:
Landscaping Your Home: Creative Ideas from America's Best Gardeners (Fine Gardening Design Guides)Taunton; Published: 2001-01-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.11
Price in other shops:
Joy of Gardening (Garden Way Book)by Dick Raymond
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 1983-01-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.75
Price in other shops:
Gardening All-in-One for Dummiesby The National Gardening Association, Bob Beckstrom, Karan Davis Cutler, Kathleen Fisher, Phillip Giroux, Judy Glattstein, Mike MacCaskey, Bill Marken, Charlie Nardozzi, Sally Roth, Marcia Tatroe, Lance Walheim, Ann Whitman
For Dummies; Published: 2003-02-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops:
Beginner's Guide to Gardeningby Editors of Reader's Digest
Readers Digest; Published: 2005-02-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.76
Price in other shops:
Design Ideas for Home Landscapingby Ms. Catriona Tudor Erler
Creative Homeowner; Published: 2007-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.78
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagineby John Jeavons
Ten Speed Press; Published: 2006-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.82
Price in other shops:
Cubed Foot Gardening: Growing Vegetables in Raised, Intensive Bedsby Christopher O. Bird
The Lyons Press; Published: 2001-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.91
Price in other shops:
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardenersby Suzanne Ashworth, Kent Whealy
Seed Savers Exchange; Published: 2002-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.10
Price in other shops:
Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetablesby Mike Bubel, Nancy Bubel
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 1991-01-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.29
Price in other shops:
Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!by Patricia Lanza
Rodale Books; Published: 1998-11-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops:
The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without ChemicalsRodale Books; Published: 1996-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.85
Price in other shops:
Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardeningby Louise Riotte
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 1998-01-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.53
Price in other shops:
Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Workby Mel Bartholomew
Rodale Books; Published: 2005-04-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops:
Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Longby Eliot Coleman, Barbara Damrosch
Chelsea Green; Published: 1999-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.47
Price in other shops:
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regionsby Edward C. Smith
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2000-02-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.72
Price in other shops: