The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden: Grow Tons of Organic Vegetables in Tiny Spaces and Containers

Description

This classic gardening bestseller 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. When first published 40 years ago, the postage stamp techniques, including closely planted beds rather than rows, vines and trailing plants grown vertically to free up space, and intercropping, were groundbreaking. Now, in an ever busier world, the postage stamp intensive gardening method continues to be invaluable for gardeners who wish to weed, water, and work a whole lot less yet produce so much more.

KAREN NEWCOMB has contributed to and co-written (with her late husband, Duane) many gardening books, includingaThe California Vegetable Patch, The Postage Stamp Garden Book, The Complete Vegetable Gardener's Sourcebook, The Postage Stamp Kitchen Garden Book, Small Space Big Harvest, Growing Vegetables The Big Yield Small Space Way, Rx for Your Vegetable Garden, andaThe Backyard Vegetable Factory. A vegetable gardener all her life and a writing teacher for more than twenty years, she was the executive director of the Sierra Writing Camp.

"A welcome guide. In addition to a new section on heirloom vegetables, the book offers step-by-step instructions to make even the tiniest vegetable garden a huge success...Whether you want to grow a single pot of herbs on a balcony or dedicate a 10-by-10-foot garden bed to the endeavor, this book will take you from seed to harvest, capably." --Gardenista "Challenges gardeners to think inside the box to expand their harvest from minimal spaces...Layout examples, detailed descriptions of heirloom vegetables, flowers, and herbs available today, and an extensive list of seed sources round out the book." --American Gardener magazine "Recommended reading....Postage Stamp gardening brings big harvests out of little spaces." --Horticulture magazine Library Journal Gardening Bestseller List "A very accessible overview of planning, planting, and nurturing the small vegetable garden...Homeowners excited about growing vegetables in a corner of the yard or the community gardener facing the blank stretch of garden soil for the first or twenty-first time will find excellent recommendations." -Maureen Sundberg, ecolandscaping.org