Customer Reviews

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, 2nd Edition

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Ed Smith is a serious gardener. His approach to vegetable growing is best suited to half acre gardens in the northern areas of the United States. Smith lives and gardens in Vermont and judging by the contents (great photos as well as text) of his book, THE VEGETABLE GARDENER'S BIBLE, I suggest his gardening effort constitutes year-round full-time employment for him. I am a dedicated urban gardener, but one with a less than one-eighth (<1/8) acre plot of land, much of which is covered by a house and driveway. I cannot begin to use most of the material in Smith's book, however, even for urban gardeners like me, Smith provides much useful information.

My experience has shown that vegetable growing in the city has one advantage over growing vegetables in the hinterland...most of the pests that plague the countryside have not moved to town...yet! When I grew green beans on a half acre plot in the country, I fought a daily war with bean beatles. I've yet to see a bean beatle in my urban back yard. On the other hand, the larvae of the Monarch Butterfly found my parsley last year. Smith's section on pests includes something I have not seen in other gardening books..a picture of Monarch Butterfly larvae or Parsley Caterpillers as Ed calls them, munching away.

Smith is an organic gardener so he advises pest control methods that deter unwanted visitors without damaging the larger envirnoment. He also advises moving the Parsely Caterpillar out of harms' way when you battle other insects. However, the birds living in my yard consider Parsley Caterpillars a delicacy, much to the horror of my granddaughters who watched the pretty little green and yellow striped caterpillars with interest last summer as they grew bigger and bigger until one day they were discovered to have been eaten by a feathered predator who left only a few body parts in his wake.

Smith includes much that will be of interest to anyone setting out to grow vegetables for the fifteenth or first time. Although most of us don't have a green house for winter gardening, most of us do have a sunny window sill that can be used to germinate seedlings for transplanting. Most of us can compost (check out WormWoman.com on the Internet if you live in an apartment).

Smith advocates growing vegetables in (W)ide rows, (O)rganically, in (R)aised beds with (D)eep soil. Even with my small yard, I can do that. We built raised beds with timbers, and filled them with compost made entirely of yard and kitchen waste and the result is fabulous. He provides a nifty section that shows you how to construct a raised bed on a patio or balcony. You may not have a half-acre spread, but you can use Smith's Bible if you want to grow vegetables.

Wow!! Just picked this book up and it's truly the Bible on vegetable gardening. I've been keeping a small plot for a number of years - basically employing "common sense" techniques. This book has a tremendous amount of both breath and depth but more importantly explains why certain techniques work and why other techniques do not. I'm the type of person that needs to understand the science or the why behind any claim and this book will keep me busy for years. I'm glad I purchased the hardback edition.

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions

Are you looking for information for your patio garden? Then look no further than Edward C. Smith's book entitled " The Vegetable Gardener's Bible ". This vegetable gardening book contains a mountain of useful information that will help you become an expert with your patio garden. In fact, I feel that surge of confidence again, that this years patio garden will be my best ever.

Patio Garden Book Review: The Vegetable Gardener's Bible

" The Vegetable Gardener's Bible " by Edward C. Smith is an amazing book. I found it hard to put down. Interesting new concepts that include topics like: wide rows, organic methods, raised beds, and deep soil techniques. There's great advice on every stage of your patio garden from seed to harvest. Also included, is a great vegetable reference section.

Right from the beginning you can tell that Edward C. Smith knows what he is talking about. He brings forward a layman's perspective, that rang a bell with me. Simple tasks, with sound reasoning, will make you, and I a patio garden expert in no time.

Your patio garden will flourish, just keep " The Vegetable Gardener's Bible " by Edward C. Smith in close range. This is the kind of reference book that will quickly answer any question or problem you encounter with your patio garden, ensuring a beautiful and bountiful vegetable garden for years to come.

I gave this excellent book to my youngest daughter for Christmas. She and her husband have just purchased a new home with a garden plot and are getting geared up for spring planting. She read the book from cover to cover and told me that she learned lots and got plenty of new ideas and is ready to get out there and go to work.

If you must have just one gardening book, beginner or expert, this is it. Ed covers everything from digging a new bed to putting them to sleep in the winter, all with organic principals and methods. The pictures really add to this book and make it, not only a how-to book, but a great read. Give Ed's W-O-R-D system a try...you'll never look back!

I absolutely love this book. The gardening system is sound and organic, and it is presented in clear, simple language in a lovely, easy-to-grasp design. So often gardening books are long on written advice but short on visuals. Or they are ONLY visuals, with the text nothing more than captions. This book has it all.

This is an all in one perfect book. Simply amazing. A must have. I even got out a highlighter... I rarely find a book that good. If you are gardening or planning to you have to get this one.

I started my own garden using the wide, deep, rised
bed technique described in this book and the yields were
really quite stunning. I used planks to rise my beds by
a feet.

Explains every step from designing/planning via building
and planting and taking care of your garden to harvesting
and readying for the winter.

Fabulous gardening book for the beginner and advanced
gardener. Full of wonderful tips and info about everything
vegetable garden.

An excellent book for a beginner... no "technical" gardening terms... very easy to understand! A book to be recommended for sure!

I bought this book for my husband. He has been spell bound. We are trying the wide row method this year and we have been able to get SO MANY more plants in teh same amount of space. It is amazing! It's very easy to read and follow.