Spring is almost over and summer is just around the corner. I cannot believe how the time has flown by so quickly!
My Mother's Day garden is growing very well. I still have a lot to do, but the main part is out of the way. Weeds still need pulled around my flowers, the soil needs tended to, and more seeds need sown and planted. I absolutely love growing in raised beds and containers because it means a lot less weeding. I love gardening! It is a favorite pastime of mine. Digging my hands into the soil and feeling the earth beneath me, relaxes me. It has always had this calming effect on me.
The newly revised edition (which now includes a whole chapter dedicated to heirloom vegetables and herbs) of the
Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden book by Karen Newcomb is a great resource with a lot of ideas to grow tons of organic vegetables in small spaces and in containers. This book is a very practical do-it-yourself (DIY) guide. In the beginning there is an introduction which introduces the history of small gardens. Eight chapters covering different topics, from planning your garden to controlling pests and other maladies, follow to host the bulk of knowledge being put forth. An appendix a and b containing how to compost and seed sources, a glossary, about the author, and an index ends the book.
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Planning Your Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden 5
Chapter 2 The Postage Stamp Soil Mix 35
Chapter 3 Getting Your Ground Ready 43
Chapter 4 When and How to Plant 50
Chapter 5 Watering Your Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden 64
Chapter 6 Heirloom Vegetables and Herbs You’ll Love to Grow 68
Chapter 7 Plants That Like Each Other 165
Chapter 8 Controlling Pests, Diseases, and Critters 172
Appendix A How to Compost 186
Appendix B Seed Sources 195
Glossary 204
About the Author 211
Index 212
In retrospect, I really should have read The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden book before I planted my garden. Since it got a late start though, I was rushing to get everything in the ground. I went with a more conventional row design which isn't really the best way to plant. This book could have helped me tremendously in: planning the arrangement of my garden and maximizing my crop production.
I love that this book makes it easy to have a garden in a very small plot that produces a lot while taking very little work and water. Karen Newcomb recommends beds that are 4 by 4 feet minimum to 10 by 10
feet maximum. She also states that from a 5 by 5 foot bed you can
produce a minimum of 200 pounds of vegetables, if it is properly
prepared and maintained. This is really amazing if you think about it. There are also some very helpful crop stretching techniques that are talked about in the book like: French Intensive Biodynamic Gardening in a small space, vertical gardening, intercropping, succession planting, catch cropping, container gardening, raised bed gardening, window sill/box gardening, patio gardening, companion planting, etc. The book also talks about taking advantage of better planting times: planting by season, zones, and moon cycles. Watering techniques, soil enriching techniques, and how to organically get rid of or deter: pests, diseases, and critters that might devour your garden are also included in this book. I loved the part of this book that covered other plants to consider growing because I am well aware of the advantages of adding pretty edible flowers and plants that attract beneficial bugs and hummingbirds to pollinate and possibly eat some pests. I love the idea of having a garden also for the hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, etc.
The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden book has great garden plans, charts, and tips to keep your garden growing gorgeously. I will just mention that if you like a lot of color photos or pretty pictures this will not be the book for you because it uses a simplistic three color (browns, grays, and greens) printing process for the drawings and charts throughout the book.
There is so much to consider when planning a garden. I wish more people out there would grow their own food because the benefits are just so great! The benefits of growing your own organic garden include: better health, less stress, feeling better, saving money, getting fresh air and exercise, eating healthier and safer and saving the environment. Even someone living in the city with very little space really doesn't have an excuse. This book is chocked full of helpful information to maximize yield organically and ecologically friendly in small spaces. I would recommend anyone who wants to have a wonderful organic garden to read this book, especially those who don't know where to start because they are just in the beginning stages.
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