Customer Reviews

McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: A Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a find! I am a novice gardener; I started my gardening journey at the library, where I found this book. It is just about the most user-friendly book on gardening, specifically container gardening, that I have found! McGee and Stuckey's love of gardening is contagious; it makes you want to rush out and begin planting! There were two aspects of this book that I found particularly helpful. First, they present detailed write-ups on an extensive list of various vegetables, fruits, herbs, and edible flowers--how and when to plant, what size container is needed, etc. Second, and very interesting, they suggest numerous theme gardens; specifically, how to plant a variety of edibles in a single container or grouping of containers around a particular theme or color (i.e., a kid's garden, a lemonade garden, etc). A MUST have for any gardener!

When I started growing a vegetable garden in containers on my balcony, I looked to several books for guidance. Bountiful Container was the most helpful.

Boutniful Container addresses garden basics such as equipment and fertilizer, but the bulk of the book is specific information on a variety of vegetables, herbs, fruit, and edible flowers. Each plant is addressed for several pages, with information such as when to plant, sun and water requirements, general care, and varieties suitable for containers.

One unique feature of this book is that they actually address container depth for every plant listed. I was amazed at how few container gardening books spent any significant time on container selection. For instance, I learned that salad burnet, a small plant, requires a deeper container than many larger plants in order to allow its taproot to develop (lo and behold, I was able to grow it for a change!). It disusses the advantages and disadvantages of several container materials, and addresses issues such as reducing the weight of oversized containers.

One frustration I had with other container gardening books, was that they assumed you had at least a small yard in which to plant and much of their information was useless for people who were limited to containers. Not a problem with this book.

Bountiful Container is beautifully written, and the information is well organized and easy to reference. I highly recommend it.

This most readable book was written for "everyone who aspires to have garden-fresh foodstuffs but has no yard in which to grow them". This is a detailed book about growing herbs and vegetables in containers - there is a chapter each on fruits and edible flowers too. Both writers are experienced growers and standard growing information is not only tailored to container growing, but is supplemented by the experience of two down to earth women who have been there and done that.

Sensibly organized, the book starts with planning a container garden and moves on to basic information such as the tools you'll need and the pros and cons of different types of containers. But most of the book tells you how to get the best crop from a great long list of vegetables and herbs There are chapters on growing fruit and edible flowers in containers and a decent list of mail order sources for seeds and plants.

I liked the direct, no-nonsense approach of the two writers. They have produced a thorough and thoughtful book, sensibly organized and both readable and knowledgeable.

Like myself - the author assumes zero gardening knowledge, thank god. This book really helped me understand and plan my first balcony garden last season. There are no glossy photos but the advice is quality, clear and there are tons of ideas. I recommend this for any urban dweller new to gardening. Hopefully they'll do a revised version soon.

This most readable book was written for "everyone who aspires to have garden-fresh foodstuffs but has no yard in which to grow them". This is a detailed book about growing herbs and vegetables in containers - there is a chapter each on fruits and edible flowers too. Both writers are experienced growers and standard growing information is not only tailored to container growing, but is supplemented by the experience of two down to earth women who have been there and done that.

Sensibly organized, the book starts with planning a container garden and moves on to basic information such as the tools you'll need and the pros and cons of different types of containers. But most of the book tells you how to get the best crop from a great long list of vegetables and herbs There are chapters on growing fruit and edible flowers in containers and a decent list of mail order sources for seeds and plants.

I liked the direct, no-nonsense approach of the two writers. They have produced a thorough and thoughtful book, sensibly organized and both readable and knowledgeable.

I received this as a birthday present not long ago, and it is absolutely awesome! I am far from having a green thumb, especially when it comes to growing things I can actually eat, but with this book, I have no worries. The explanations are clear, the details thorough and the recommendations solid. I now not only understand what I am supposed to do, but also know the best way to do it! If you buy only one book on container gardening, DEFINITELY make it this one!!!

I have an apartment with a small balcony, and this book has been very helpful for gardening ideas both inside and outside. It's been especially helpful for giving clear but detailed descriptions of different types of container plants, and giving advice on what types of plants work best in different conditions. It's well-organized, includes personal anecdotes, and makes you feel like you can try out anything in the book. I especially liked that they warn you if something has specific requirements for growing--it's much easier for me to cut down on my choices for buying seeds or plants when I know what will grow best.

The Bountiful Container. Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey. Workman Publications New York 2002 0-7611-1623-0 432 pages

This most readable book was written for "everyone who aspires to have garden-fresh foodstuffs but has no yard in which to grow them". This is a detailed book about growing herbs and vegetables in containers - there is a chapter each on fruits and edible flowers too. Both writers are experienced growers and standard growing information is not only tailored to container growing, but is supplemented by the experience of two down to earth women who have been there and done that.

Sensibly organized, the book starts with planning a container garden and moves on to basic information such as the tools you'll need and the pros and cons of different types of containers. But most of the book tells you how to get the best crop from a great long list of vegetables and herbs There are chapters on growing fruit and edible flowers in containers and a decent list of mail order sources for seeds and plants.

I liked the direct, no-nonsense approach of the two writers. They have produced a thorough and thoughtful book, sensibly organized and both readable and knowledgeable.

Most of the book(300 pages worth) is spent covering each type of plant, spending a 2-6 pages on each. I liked all the specifics on sowing/transplants, care and harvesting. As a beginner I felt much better equipt with the information I found here than in other sources. Instead of generic "plant 4-6 weeks after last frost", they discuss day and night temperatures, something I can measure by putting my digital thermometer outside. And the fact that it focuses on growing just edibles and only in containers is very valueable.

Recipes and suggested groupings are scattered throughout. The lack of photos didn't bother me, since I know what I eat looks like--and that one of the points of the book--grow what you can/will eat. Diagrams and good simple explanations make things very clear.

They don't mention broccoli or cauliflower--perhaps they just consider it not good for containers although other mustards are in the book. But i doubt any one book to be all encompassing and complete. I also have Square Foot Gardening which gave me another set of timing and spacing information for edibles.

THE BOUNTIFUL CONTAINER is indeed a bountiful book. The two authors Rose Marie Nichols and Maggie Stuckly, pictured on the cover, look exactly like the friendly neighbors who know all sorts of things you want to know about tackling this subject. Nichols is a horticulturist who owns a nursery selling specialty seeds who is also the author of a book on herb cookery. Stuckley is a gardener who has written a few books including one on houseplants.

Nichols and Stuckley have written a gem of a book. My parrots like cilantro. As it costs a couple of dollars a bunch per week, I decided to grow the stuff in containers and save some money. I searched high and low for information about growing cilantro and could find nothing satisfactory until I found this book. First of all, the book tells me that it's best to grow cilantro from seed because it forms a taproot that may be broken in transplanting. Second, the book tells me cilantro gives two harvests because the seeds are called coriander. You may know coriander is the lovely spice in Christmas cookies. The plant does well in the cooler parts of the season (spring and fall) but the leafy growth may occur in cooler climates with staggered planting. If I want to, I can bring the plant indoors as long as it receives plenty of sun every day.

Nichols and Stuckly share many useful thoughts about various plants. For example, you might grow your lavender plants in pots near the door so visitors can brush up against them when they arrive and leave. Or perhaps you might grow curly marjoram along the edge of a container planted with catnip. The catnip will stand tall, while the marjoram trails over the edges. The colors and textures of the two plants will complement each other. The two authors have suggestions about formulating your own tea from various herbs, stuffing squash blossoms with tomato sauce, and creating a pasta with summer vegetables. Don't miss this little book, it's filled with good ideas for the creative homemaker.