Wouldn't it be lovely to have a patch of corn, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and beans just steps from your kitchen door? Would you like to learn how to control your zucchini plant? Ed Smith, an experienced vegetable gardener from Vermont, has put together this amazingly comprehensive and commonsensical manual,
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. Basically, Ed and his family have been growing a wide variety of vegetables for years and he's figured out what works. This book, filled with step-by-step info and color photos, breaks it all down for you.
Ed's system is based on W-O-R-D: Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, Deep soil. With deep, raised beds, vegetable roots have more room to grow and expand. In traditional narrow-row beds, over half the soil is compacted into walkways while a garden with wide, deep, raised beds, plants get to use most of the soil. In Ed's plan, growing space gets about three-quarters of the garden plot and only about a quarter is used for the walkway. Ed teaches you how to create raised beds both in a larger garden or in separate planked beds. One of the most important--and most often overlooked--aspects of successful vegetable gardening is crop rotation. Leaving a crop in the same place for years can deplete nutrients in that area and makes the crop more likely to be attacked by insects. Rotate at least every two years and your vegetables will be healthier and bug-free. There's also a good section on insect and blight control.
Before choosing what to grow, go through the last third of the book, where Ed takes a look at the individual growing, harvesting, and best varieties of a large number of both common and more exotic vegetables and herbs. Whether you are a putterer or a serious gardener, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is an excellent resource to have handy. --Dana Van Nest
Discover Ed Smith's Total Gardening System. It's the Last W-O-R-D in Vegetable Gardening!
WIDE ROWS are easier to tend and provide a bigger yield per square foot. You'll get up to four times more delicious vegetables!
ORGANIC METHODS are better for you, your garden, and the earth. They really work, so you'll have fewer pests and diseases!
RAISED BEDS mean soil that drains better and warms up faster in the spring. The result is bigger, healthier, and better vegetables!
DEEP SOIL provides a reservoir of nutrients and moisture that encourages root growth while producing the best harvest ever!
"The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is an impressive accomplishment by a seasoned expert. It is destined to end up dog-eared in the potting shed." --James A. Baggett, Executive Editor, Country Living Gardener
