All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space (4)

This is an inspiring book. Mel's enthusiasm shows through and it's enough to encourage green fingers in anyone, The text isn't directed to gardeners. Instead its directed to non-gardeners to have them take up with a trowel. Mel keeps things very simple, and that's no bad thing. I agree with his methods but I would not practice them to the letter. I'm no expert but i am no beginner either, and I think when I set to and begin creating the kind of beds Mel advocates I will deviate a little from his method. I don't mind digging, so long as I only do it once.I know a bit more about soil ecology and soil fertility than Mel seemingly does, and so I will look to improve soil condition to greater depth than Mel advocates. But that's just me. I used the raised bed and soil improvement approach in a small area of garden before I'd heard of Mel and it has paid dividends. There would be less requirement for irrigation or watering compared to Mels no-dig method. As much as I appreciate the increased drought resistance of my chosen method over Mels there is also prospect of improved storm recovery - and that's a fancy way of saying less chance of a flood after heavy rain. Where I live it rains a lot, and improving soil to greater depth is a way to make the soild more spongelike in the beds, and that diminished risk of flooding about the garden in general.Really it's a five star book but one that has a star docked for being just a bit idealistic and simplistic in it's approach.

The square foot garden is a terrific idea and as an old fashioned 'row' gardener I can confirm that I have been in the situation where I have had to harvest more than I really needed. The square foot method allows you to control better how much you need to grow, saving waste and space.Having said that, and I appreciate that the book was written for beginners as well as experienced gardeners but I found that it was so basic that I read the book in less than a day, not because I was hooked but because I was looking for something new. In my opinion, the basics of the method and tips regarding construction of the raised beds could have been just a few pages long, there is so much repetition and product promotion . Half of the book is devoted to 'normal' gardening principles of cultivation with the number of plants that fit in a square foot being the only difference, and this information is found on the Internet.If you are a beginner to vegetable gardening then this will be a good book to buy but if you have any experience I would suggest that you search the Internet for the information contained in the book. It's not worth £8.

Great method of gardening for anyone with a small garden like me, using Mel''s soil mix is expensive to start off with, but it's a one off purchase that will last for years. So far I have found the square foot system really good and productive even though it's been a lousy growing year far to many bugs and slugs. Other thing I found that the conduit trellis is a great idea but here in the UK you can't get the clamp on elbows, still working on that one. But overall a great method of growing the veggies.

Very helpful and straightforward. Some cross-referencing within the book is needed to get all the information on any particular plant, but the section towards the back does a great job of summing up information about all the plants mentioned throughout and gives a good overview of how to plan and track your Square Foot Garden. Overall the book is laid out well, has a number of useful graphics and photos, and is a great for beginners to SFG like myself.

Had not realised it was American, so not all veg applicable, but the concept and approach is very interesting, will definitely have a go

Very pleased with book, in very good condition. Looking forward to putting square foot gardening into practice. Thanks for quick delivery and trouble-free ordering.

Loads of info

Item as advertised and delivered promptly