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This book was interesting but seemed way more complicted than what i was looking for Was looking for a book on simple increase in production of my garden.
It is packed to overflowing with detailed information about the hows and why's plantings in your garden will or will not work. Brilliant. You can now recycle your other garden books.
It also contains detailed charts and guides to truly make the most of your garden. They've taken the guess work out of the adventure. The author has given you exactly how many seedlings you need to plant to provide for a family of one to four.
This is the sort of book you search for. It is science with practical field experience. And that is a huge relief.
This book along with a good seed catalogue is all you'll ever need. Inside it has lists of companion plantings, and plants that would be detriment to each other.
It debunks the normal vegetable spacing on the seed packets, so you can get more that you can imagine. In my honest opinion, this is the best how to garden book out there. Probably not for beginners, but for those who want more.
the square foot method of rigidly planting only one kind of vegetable in each square. however, the sections devoted to double-digging and composting seem to make up a disproportionately large section of the book, and relatively little is said about what exactly increases yields except for treating the soil well (e.g., use good compost, raised beds, add organic matter, etc). while the idea of growing more vegetables is a noble (and highly marketable) title, the actual book didn't have much information that i didn't already read in 'square foot gardening' or 'four-season harvest'. Jeavons also advocates the use companion plants whereever possible to increase yields and reduce pests. for anyone interested in organic gardening, there isn't a lot of unique information in this book that couldn't be found on a good website. a key difference is that an artificial soil mix isn't used, but rather using organic methods to improve existing soil - is that a new concept. while both books do a comparison of intensive methods, Jeavons recommends a hexagonal inter-planting pattern (similar to the spacing in chicken wire) to plant intensively, vs.
There are much better books on intensive planting that actually explain a syetem to do it that this. I also found it constantly trying to convince you of this political dogma and to join the society that supports this. I found this book a bore to read at best. It is full of omissions and confusing charts that don't explain what they are showing.
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