Review: The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden

I jumped at the opportunity to review this great little gardening book! It's all about planting a thriving garden in a small space. This 1975 published bestselling book has been completely revised for 2015! Keep on reading to learn more about this book, the author, my opinions and get a quick preview of some pages! :)

The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden by Karen Newcomb
Published by: Ten Speed Press in 2015 (1975, 1999).
Pages: 218
Format: Paperback
Source: Blogging for Books

 

About Karen Newcomb:

KAREN NEWCOMB has contributed to and co-written eight gardening books with her late husband, Duane. She is a lifetime vegetable gardener,  garden blogger, and avid writer, and has been a writing teacher for more than twenty years. She lives in Rocklin, California.

Book Synopsis: 

This classic gardening bestseller (over 500,000 copies sold) uses ecologically friendly, intensive biodynamic methods to produce large amounts of vegetables in very tiny spaces. Revised for an all new generation of gardeners, the 40th anniversary edition includes brand new information on the variety of heirloom vegetables available today and how to grow them the postage stamp way.

     To accommodate today's lifestyles, a garden needs to fit easily into a very small plot, take as little time as possible to maintain, require a minimum amount of water, and still produce prolifically. That's exactly what a postage stamp garden does. Postage stamp gardens are as little as 4 by 4 feet, and, after the initial soil preparation, they require very little extra work to produce a tremendous amount of vegetables--for instance, a 5-by-5-foot bed will produce a minimum of 200 pounds of vegetables....
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My Thoughts and More: 

As soon as I read the introduction I knew this book would be helpful to me. "To accommodate today's lifestyles, a garden needs to fit easily into a very small plot, take as little time as possible to work, require a minimum amount of water, and still produce prolifically." How true! Many people today would love to grow some of their own produce, but don't think they have the time or dedication it would take to grow a large garden. My family falls into that group. As much as we'd like a garden, we could only think large scale. How would we find the time and energy to plant a vegetable garden to feed 9 people?? Well... now I know how! Thanks to The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden, I feel greatly inspired to start on my own garden with some confidence.


I love how right away it suggests drawing out a plan for your garden. This is something I already love to do! I am always drawing my plans on paper for better visualization. The author suggests the smallest garden bed be 4 by 4 feet and the largest 10 by 10 feet. Certainly a great workable area for most! The first chapter includes information on choosing what kind of garden you want to grow, what to plant, and how you should arrange them. There are also some great illustrations to give you examples of how your garden layout could look. The second chapter is all about getting a good soil mix. Chapter 3 advises on methods to prepare the ground and maintain good soil. In chapter 4, you'll learn "when and how to plant". Chapter 5 is a quick how-to on watering. In lovely chapter 6, you will find great information on heritage veggies and herbs to grow in your garden. I love this one the most. She uses some little stamp symbols to rate plants, as well as thermometers to let you know what season is best for them. Not only that, but she includes information on planting numerous varieties of some plants, typical problems, harvesting and even storage. Chapter 7 is another quick one about plants that "like" each other and grow well together. Chapter 8 sums it all up with how to control pests, disease and critters.


There is even more good info in the back of the book. You'll find an appendix called "How to Compost, and another with a great list of seed sources. Lastly a glossary and an index. :)


Overall, I love this book and I can't wait to put it into use! Thank you Karen Newcomb for a lovely resource for this beginner gardener and her family. I think many people will find this book quite useful and I totally recommend it. I find the information very helpful and not overly complicated or confusing.

Short Book Preview: 

Click the images to see them larger. :)

 

Links & More:

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Disclamer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review! :)