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:

Thanks for visiting! I hope you liked my review!

 

To purchase this book, check it out on Amazon!

 

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

March Books

Here are two book videos for March! I did my haul and wrap up video in the same day. They are a little late and I am a little sick. lol So here are the books I bought in the month of March and also the books I read and a little of what they are about and what I thought of them. :)

Bringing Home Gerbils!

I've recently decided that it would be a good idea to get some gerbils! I have a 10 gallon tank that used to have fish in it. They were too much work and not all that fun, to be honest! The tank sat empty in my room for ages, but after starting work again at a small local pet store,  I remembered how much the little gerbils intrigued me. It took about a week or so to collect all the supplies I needed to make a neat little habitat for them. The most expensive part was the wheel! The actual tank and stand were a gift, so lucky me. lol

So, meet my cute little men! Smitty and Tater are dark eyed white gerbil brothers that were actually born in the store last summer. :) Being a hockey fan, they are named after two of my favorite Red Wings players. One being Brendan Smith who most of us fans call "Smitty" and Tomas Tatar who some of us affectionately call "Tater". lol They are curious little monkies who love to chew and climb. They seem pretty happy in their new dwellings! Here are all the things I bought to help me get started on my new gerbil adventure! I've included some links so you can get a better view of some of the products. Check local pet stores, Amazon, Ebay, Dr. Foster and Smith, and other online pet products sites to find the best deals. :)

(1). Making the Platforms

To make these platforms, I mostly used unfinished craft wood from Hobby Lobby. The "legs" are made of 1 1/2 inch wood cubes. The bottom level has three sets of two cubes that make the legs. I did this to make it tall enough for it to double as a hiding area. The top level is separated from the first by one cube. The first platform is a 6 x 6 inch square and the top one is a 9 1/2 x 3 inch rectangle. I used some non-toxic glues to keep the pieces together. The wood was a little over $4 at Hobby Lobby. I used this piece and this piece. I had the cubes laying around. They were meant for a scrapbooking project. They came in a pack of nine and I bought them for only $1.47 at Merchandise Outlet!

(2). Other Supplies

I bought a Super Pet 8oz plastic water bottle and holder from the store I work at. I might later invest in a nice glass one! Together, these cost around $8. I also invested $14 into a Super Pet Silent Spinner Wheel from another pet store since we were all out and I didn't want to wait. lol I got the "regular" size, which is 6 1/2 inches and supposed to be for hamsters and gerbils. I have been making wood chews for my own rabbits for a while, so I decided to hang one by a paper clip in the gerbil tank. I bought my supplies from this lovely seller on Ebay. I also have rainbow colored wood chew sticks that I bought at Walmart for around $2. I am saving up toilet paper and paper towel rolls for them to chew up as well. I decided on the aspen bedding (packaging is a bit different than that link, mine is blue) made by Alfa Pet. It is finely chopped and looks great for burrowing. It's very safe for them, unlike pine and cedar. The 9 liter bag cost only around $2 compared to the $8 Carefresh and Critter Care bedding.

(3). Room for Growth!

I also plan on getting a tank topper! That will give them even more new levels to explore. I found this Chew Proof tank topper by Ware that seems to quite nice. It comes out to around $30 where I've been looking online.

(4). Exploring Their New Home

They seem really happy and they just love that wheel! It is now officially worth that $14. lol I hope they continue to enjoy their new home and I can't wait to see them become more comfortable here.

TMI Tag Video

I forgot to post my TMI tag video that I put up the other day. There are random 50 questions! Enjoy!

If you watch the video on YouTube, you can visit the original video to get all the questions and do the tag yourself. You can also see the video that RemusReads did.

I have a couple other videos in the works too... subscribe to my YouTube channel to keep up with them. :)

Thrift Shopping Haul

I am pushing my Wreck This Journal post until tomorrow! Today I am posting the things I bought while thrift shopping today. I got my usual small hoard of books and some clothes today! I only spent a little over $10 on everything. :) I can always count on the local Salvation Army. It is probably my favorite place to shop nowadays. Also, for some reason everything I bought today was green!

This green dress by Blair is from who knows what decade. lol I didn't have a dress like this in my closet yet. I love the color and the three small buttons on the shoulder! It used to have some type of belt around it. I noticed a thin loop on the waist area. No worries, I can find another!

 Another teal/green dress, this one is made by Merona. It's light and flowy with a high, stretchy waistband... yay for the slimming effect! ;) This one is so comfy! Can't wait until warmer weather. I have so many new dresses to wear from previous SA trips!

While walking toward the dressing room, the horses on this button up sleeveless shirt caught my eye. I had to do it. It was only a little over $2 and on top of that, the tag color was 50% off today! Couldn't pass it up. I love riding horses and this will be great to wear over a tank top or something in the summer time. :) Pretty prancing ponies!

 Here is my book hoard from today! I've made a list of the titles and authors of each one. I filled a bag of books for the lovely low price of $1.99 today. I love this place. I do, I do, I dooooo! I added Goodreads links to the books that were available. :)

Projection - by Risa Green

The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope - by Rhonda Riley

The Probable Future - by Alice Hoffman

Persuasion - by  Jane Austen

Her Secret Star - by Bennie C. Hall

A Kid's EcoJournal Set (missing summer, sadly) - by Toni Albert

Conejos/Rabbits (Spanish to English) - by Ottenheimer Publishers

Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth - by Lucy Bate & Illustrated by Diane DeGroat

The last little bunny item isn't really a book... it has a cut out on the front and you open the rest of it to see the bunny family. There are 4 square pictures of the baby bunny on the back. Not sure where it came from! lol There was a turtle one too, but I am the bunny lady. ;)

Wreck This Journal... and more!

Happy New Year! I wish I could say that mine has started off well, but I can't. lol We won't get into that though! It's time to be joyful! So, since I was in the top 20 for a certain badge on Influenster, I was rewarded with $10 to use on Amazon! I love to buy books on Amazon and I recently chose three and put my $10 towards the total.

The first two sparked my interest long ago, but I didn't have money at the time... so I sadly forgot about them. Recently I watched a video by one of my favorite YouTubers and she purchased one so I was yet again reminded of these fun books! I can't wait for them to arrive! If you read the description of the first book, you'll have a better understanding of what the journals are. :) The last book is actually more for my 4-H rabbit kids. I am always collecting rabbit books. lol The titles are links to Amazon so you can look inside and purchase. Check peoples journals on Pinterest, YouTube and Tumblr too! Once I get the journals and start using them, I will update the blog with my progress. :)

Wreck This Journal (Black) Expanded Edition by Keri Smith

For anyone who's ever had trouble starting, keeping, or finishing a journal or sketchbook comes this expanded edition of Wreck This Journal, an illustrated book that features a subversive collection of prompts, asking readers to muster up their best mistake and mess-making abilities and to fill the pages of the book (or destroy them). Through a series of creatively and quirkily illustrated prompts, acclaimed artist Keri Smith encourages journalers to engage in "destructive" acts--poking holes through pages, adding photos and defacing them, painting pages with coffee, coloring outside the lines, and more--in order to experience the true creative process. With Smith's unique sensibility, readers are introduced to a new way of art and journal making, discovering novel ways to escape the fear of the blank page and fully engage in the creative process.

This journal also comes in red, duct tape and paper bag pattens!

Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes by Keri Smith

Your whole life you've been taught to avoid making a mess: Try to keep everything under control, color inside the lines, make it perfect, and at all costs, avoid contact with things that stain.

This book asks you to do the opposite of what you have been taught. Think of it as your own personal rumpus room. A place to let loose, to trash, to spew, to do the things you are not allowed to do in the "real world." It's time to make a mess.

The only three rules you'll find in this book:
1. Do not try to make something beautiful.
2. Do not think too much. (There is no "wrong.")
3. Continue under all circumstances.

 Rabbit Book: A Guide to Raising and Showing Rabbits

by Samantha Johnson

This invaluable resource contains everything you need to know about selecting and caring for healthy rabbits, whether you keep pet bunnies or exhibit animals as National FFA Organization or 4-H youth projects. Advice on feeding, housing, and much more will help you set up your own rabbitry. Learn about maintaining clean hutches and nest boxes, breeding trios and raising kits, and diagnosing and treating health problems. The Rabbit Book gathers information about showing many different kinds of rabbits at fairs and events, including fancy, Angora, and commercial meat breeds. Beautifully illustrated with color photography, this guidebook covers everything you need to know to succeed.

Nov/Dec - What I Read

I didn't read much these last two months, so I thought I would just make one post for them. :)

There are links to Good Reads so you can learn more about the books and see reviews!

• Bitter Melon by Cara Chow

I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this.... but I finished it in a few days. Bitter Melon is about Frances, a Chinease-American high school student that lives in San Francisco. Her mother is forever telling her that she must be obedient to her and get straight A's, go to a certain college and become a doctor. There is no time for fun. Her mother seems almost insane the way she tries to control everything that Frances does. One day, Frances starts to question this way of life and she starts to consider her own feelings. I really enjoyed the book and it was a great, quick read for me. :)

• Bloodline by Kate Cary

I haven't touched a new vampire story in a while. I don't think it's everyone's cup of tea though, but I quite liked this one and it didn't end at all like I thought. Bloodline is set up as journal entries. The main characters are John Shaw, who is a young Lieutenant in World War I and Mary Seward, the young nurse who cares for him when he is brought into the hospital. So as the story begins, John is having terrible nightmares about his commander (Quincey Harker) that are gruesome and seem impossible. He blames them on "trench fever". Sure, the man is fierce, a bit cruel and a little strange... but... a blood sucking demon? Eh? Soon, Harker comes to town in hopes to woo John's younger sister, Lily. That's when John realizes he needs to face the facts and try to figure out what is really going on. As the story unfolds, John discovers that Harker is trying to preserve Dracula's bloodline... uh oh! So John and Mary go off in hopes to stop Harker from marrying Lily and preserving the bloodline. There's many more little twists in there... some that surprisingly caught me off guard. lol I'll admit that some parts were a tiny bit cheesy, but I don't mind. I love a bit of history and a dash of blood sucking demons.

• Through a Dog's Ear by Joshua Leeds & Susan Wagner

This book is by psychoacoustic expert Joshua Leeds and veterinary neurologist Susan Wagner. The idea that sound effects us isn't new by any means, but this book is meant to show that sound can be turned into a tool to overcome separation anxiety, thunderstorm panic, and other behavior challenges in dogs. It even comes with a CD with the music they talk about throughout the book. They have a website where you can find other books for more specific challenges and even one for cats! There are also free, short music downloads. The books talks about the research they've done and personal experiences where they have used certain music to improve the lives of animals. They say surrounding your canine with great sounds can help them live longer, happier and healthier lives. I play the music to wind the dogs down and to help soothe my very anxious cat. They all scoot closer to the sounds and usually fall asleep. So peaceful.

• Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

As this one is in a series, it's harder to talk about. You'd have to read the first two books in the Caster Chronicles, which are Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness! :) I actually picked this one up months ago, got into the first few chapters, became bored and put it down. After I picked it up again, I got through it much easier. It is a bit slow at some points, a little warning there. I've been in love with Ethan Wate since the beginning. He is a sweet little southern gentleman with a bit of sass. Lots of characters in this book. Lots of them from the previous books, but you get to know them much better. I liked that about this book. The end of this book kind of broke my little heart, but I have hopes that it will be coddled and bandaged in the next. I had a feeling what came was coming, but it still hurt nonetheless. lol

Our New Family Member: Meet Ginger!

I recently welcomed a 3rd dog to my animal family. :) She is an Australian Shepherd that I've named Ginger! Her nicknames so far include: Ginny, Gin, Gingy, and Gingeroo. lol She is a big ball of energy! She is currently 6 months old, 36 pounds and 18 inches tall. We've had her a little over a week and she now knows a few commands. I have been taking her on walks with my two Miniature Aussies, Tuli and Jaa, which she is slowly getting used too. She is also learning how to play with various toys to entertain herself. It's always a fun challenge to train dogs! In the summer time I hope to have the basic obedience skills down and then I'll start her on some backyard agility.

Staying Organized: Bathroom Edition

I love to organize things! I am big on finding storage containers and organizing things by size/shape or type of item. I have so much make up, hair accessories, jewelry and nail products that it's easy to clutter up my small bathroom. I made my dad install a large shelf to hang over the toilet so that I could put things away! You will soon see why I definitely needed it! Keeping things organized makes getting ready to face the day much easier. Perhaps this post will give you some ideas on how you can keep your bathroom a little more organized! While you are out holiday shopping, keep an eye out for neat ways to organize the spaces in your house. :)

Figure one. The life saving cabinet. As you can see, it's pretty full! Before this bad boy was attached to the wall, most of this stuff was shoved into a drawer in my vanity! It was nearly impossible to find anything and it looked terrible. We purchased this at Home Depot. I want to say this one was around $100. We had the option of some cheaper ones, but this one matched the new vanity we had installed a year prior. There were a few options between $60 and $80 too. To better organize some of the things inside, I have a little white plastic container bought from Dollar Tree. I also have some pop-up paper organizers that I bought very cheap on Ebay. I believe they came from Korea. I am looking for a better method now though! My lip products and mascara and eyeliner collections have tripled in size since I bought them. They are bursting at the seams. lol So, in this cabinet we have some various things at the top. It's kind of the miscellaneous shelf. There are cotton balls and makeup sponges, my collection of face masks, my moisturizers and lotions, nail polish remover and my makeup remover wipes. In the middle shelf, I have some bigger eyeshadow palettes and the plastic container is full of smaller palletes that I don't use as often. I'll get to where I put the other ones soon. ;) There are also a few single shadows there as well. In the bottom shelf that is left exposed after the doors are closed, I have my small fragrance collection, my eyeliners and mascaras in the first paper organizer and then my lipsticks and glosses in the second one. On the far right there are some things that don't fit anywhere either. Some lip products, a couple powders and false lashes.

Moving down and onto the vanity, I have this little organizer with drawers. I stole it from the craft room! It used to have pens and markers inside. I thought it was better suited to hold my makeup. lol After this picture was taken I added a few more things, but I'll explain. :) At the top I have my primers, concealers and my go to eyeliner pencil. I also have a foundation and BB cream there. My eyelash curler is always on the far right and and ready to go too! In the area under the pop up lid, I put the powders I use most often. There is also a tiny blush there now. The first drawer is where I keep all of my brushes! In the second drawer I have all of the small eyeshadow palettes that I use most often. There are 6 small palettes inside there at the moment... I was surprised how much I could fit into this little drawer! In the last drawer I have my collection of cream shadow pencils and pots. After the picture was taken, I added 3 different bronzers on one side. They still all fit in there rather nicely. We are just going to ignore the bracelet and the triple antibiotic cream I left on top. That is no way to stay organized! I love this little drawer container because it fit perfectly on the edge of the vanity. It's right there when I need everything. Very little hassle when I am looking for things.

Over to the medicine cabinet! I don't own very many hair styling products or meds... or else there might be more to look at. lol At the bottom I have my hairspray, mousse, pot of q-tips and the mouth wash has been swapped out for a dry shampoo. The next one up has a random collection of things, like an anti-frizz hair cream, band-aids, and floss! Up top is an old kabuki and powder foundation that don't have a place among my other makeup. lol On the knob, I hang some necklaces and headbands that I don't want to get tangled up in where they usually are stored. This is probably the least interesting part of my bathroom... This area doesn't seem to have any sort of direction.

On the back of my door is this neat jewelry organizer that I bought for $8 at Big Lots. It has 12 small open pockets at the top and 3 long zipper pockets at the bottom. This is where I put most of my "costume" jewelry. If I didn't have this... I have no idea where all of this would be right now. It scares me to think about it!! I store many different bracelets and rings in the top pockets and then long necklaces in the bottom ones. I also hang some of my sunglasses off the top. They are much better protected here. I've had the dogs eat them before. lol

This little earring tree is now located safely on top of the dresser in my closet. I can't tell you how many times it has been knocked over onto the floor or into the sink. If only I had more space on my vanity. At least the poor thing is safe now! I really do enjoy it though. It keeps all my earrings in clear view. I also like that I can put things in the little dish at the base of the tree. My mom bought this for me as a gift for Christmas a few years back. I believe it was around $10 at Family Dollar. :)

Top drawer of the vanity! This is where all of my hair accessories live. There are two more of the plastic Dollar Tree containers in here. I have hair ties in the bottom one and then some of my hair clips/barrettes in the top one. The rest of the space is occupied by my many headbands and hair bows! This drawer can be hard to keep organized. The headbands can be a pain! I'm not sure I have any other way to store them at the moment, but Pinterest is always full of creative ideas.

The bottom vanity drawer is where all of my nail products go. Two more Dollar Tree plastic containers hold my mini and standard sized polishes, as well as my detail brushes and other little nail accessories. My clippers, files and all that jazz are here too. :) Right now I have so many polishes that they don't fit inside the container anymore. Something else I have to work on... bigger container! lol I like just pulling them right out of the drawer and sorting through to pick my colors. I can bring them up onto the counter and see them better in the light. Plus I won't have to be hurting my back by bending over and trying to dig into the drawer.

Last, but not least... under the sink. I have a huge makeup palette, travel makeup bags, bath stuff, a nail dryer, hair dryer, flat iron... all the big stuff I don't want to look at on a daily basis! There isn't a whole lot of room, so I added a little basket at the bottom to better organize the small things. I have some bath salts, spare razors and similar things there. The bigger things are stacked as nicely as possible. My hair styling tools are located in the back right corner. There is a taller cube container from the Dollar Tree that they sit inside of. That keep the cords from getting tangled and them from getting lost in there!

Well, I hope that this might have given you an idea or two on how you can make a small space hold a lot more stuff than it is supposed to. ;) So far, this system is working quite nicely for me. Someday soon I will have to revamp the shelf where my lip products and mascaras are... they are slowly taking over! I'll be on the look out for more cheap containers! I always check at places like Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar and Big Lots. I can usually find the best deals there. If not those places, Walmart or Meijer will be there to back me up. I also like to shop around and then look for deals on Ebay. That can sometimes be your best bet. :) Take care and enjoy your holiday shopping! I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving!