Customer Reviews

Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have desires of being a farmer but a back yard garden is the next best thing, the very idea of square foot gardening is quite brilliant and this book doesn't disappoint. While the basics you could probably figure out without purchase of the book, there are pearls of wisdom throughout that make it well worth it. Also just as a reference, it's a book that will live on my bookshelf forever. Wish it had the sowing/planting/harvesting guide for more veggies than it does, but that's just the human desire to want it all!

Square Foot Gardening was bought for someone else and she has me doing all the 'grunt' work this spring to implement the suggestions in this book.

Wow! If you're looking for a gardening book to see you through from planting to harvest, then this is for you!

Before I purchased this book, I only knew the mere basics of gardening [namely, put seed in ground, water.] but Mr. Bartholomew goes right back to the beginning without being tedious. Also, he is not too preachy nor overconfident in his formula for square foot gardening - which obviously works when you stop to think about it.

The illustrations are simple yet spot on, the list of plants and how to plant them is extensive and applicable for various regions on earth [I live in Ireland and was able to grow plants just as the author described].

If you've ever wanted to get into gardening without investing too much time/effort/money and wanted a simple approach which will give you results with little fuss - then this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.

- A.

Best Gardening Book bar none! Especially City Gardens, where space is limited!!! Anything you need to know about gardening is in this book, nothing is left out. I have a 6' X 12' garden and in my first year I yielded enough vegetables to last from end of June to October and I'm still growing (I live is Mass too where it gets really cold, really fast)

This book contains the best formula for creating the best soils, plans on how to build raised beds, cold frames, vegetable support structures, charts that explain: when to plant, how to maintain, when to harvest, handling pests, and everything in between. THIS IS THE ULTIMATE GARDENING BOOK! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED... THIS IS A 100% GUARANTEED, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION BOOK!

Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening is one of the best gardening books on the market. It shows you how to maximum your gardening effeciency by growing the plants in a wide bed instead of the more traditional narrow row method developed for tractors. By reducing the rows and maximizing the area of planting, you reduce the amount of wasted water and compose. You get more out of this important resources and your gardening efforts. The book is 20 years old and a little dated, but still worth the purchase for the beginning gardener.

I tried The square foot garden technique last summer and I think it is a good method of gardening for someone who is weak from surgery, chemo, or radiation. It's more then just a raised bed, the book tells you specific methods that work well, what kind of soil mix to use, and unique, but simple planting methods.
Pros of a square foot garden:
-You can tend and manage this garden, even if you can't manage a regular garden.
-It's very productive for it's size. I got quite a lot of veggies from this.
-It's compact so you could put it on a patio, or even make one as a roof garden. Mine is in my back yard
-It's neat and organized
-It hardly gets any weeds
-You don't have to rake or hoe. The soil is soft enough that you just can use your hands

Cons
-You have to build it, but it's not too complicated.
-You have to buy the soil and mix it before you put it in.

I live north of Toronto, and these things grew well in my square foot garden:
* lettuce
* coriander
* parsley
* carrots
* celery
* beets
* radishes
* spinach
* calendula
* nasturtiums
* pole beans
* onions

I have been gardening for the past 30 years and this is the best gardening book ever!

This is the only self help book I have read past page 10. I find myself reading it on the bus to and from work, in the morning, at night, and even in the bathroom.

This is a wonderful system of gardening for those who hate weeding, hoeing, rototilling, digging, and all the hard hard labor of traditional gardening.

Mel's method of growing crops vertically is fantastic. Since I live in the desert I will be using his method of gardening combined with rainwater harvesting to landscape my entire front and backyard.

A year and a half ago, I purchased a new place with a small yard, clayey soil, but a very good southern exposure. My first spring at the place, I thought, "I want to raise some fresh vegetables." My dad always had a garden when we were growing up, and I know nothing beats that "Right from the garden" taste. So, like the dutiful college boy I am, I was off to the used bookstore to get a book on gardening, where I stumbled on this book by accident.

Sound, practical advice. First of all, my plot is so small (about 20 square feet), the soil this year is 100% better than last year. By spring, 2004, I expect to have the best soil on the block. Secondly, what a harvest for the space! Last year I grew only summer veggies. This year, though, I started harvesting radishes and lettuce in April, and have full, bushy tomatoes, cukes, pea vines and pole beans that are the envy of my brothers, sisters and parents. When I tell them I merely spend an hour or so a week gardening, they scoff.

Let them scoff. This book is sound, very easy to follow: A great method for gardening in small spaces. Cheap, easy, effective and fun.

Square foot gardening is not new but I had never heard the term before. The author's concepts have interested me to the point that the summer was spent constructing a garden plot incorporating these principles, and I am ready for spring planting!