Cover Image: Starter Vegetable Gardens, 2nd Edition

Starter Vegetable Gardens, 2nd Edition

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Member Reviews

Organic Vegetable garden starter book vital to growth and success

Posted on May 8, 2021 by michellelovatosbookreviews, world's first book color commentator, book reviews with a twist

Hmm. 24 NO-FAIL plans for gardening? Interesting. No-fail?
Where do you have to live to be “No-fail?”
I’m betting that Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens by Barbara Pleasant has plans that work. It must. This new title from the prolific gardening author is Starter Vegetable Gardens’ second edition. I’m just not confident that I wouldn’t be the first to fail. Some people have green thumbs. My thumbs are missing.
Starter Vegetable Gardens is genuinely fantastic, authoritative and what I think is an exhaustive resource on the subject. (I say that, but I could not find the chapter in this book that addresses the harsh desert climate.) Regardless, this handy guide does handle the types of vegetables that do well in organic gardens and a variety of ways to plant and maintain them.
Starter Vegetable Gardens starts at, well, the beginning where Pleasant explains her gardening process year by year. She is slow and complete in her instruction and offers compact descriptions about where various garden plants will grow sustainably.
Pleasant then instructs readers about what type of soil and conditioning help her suggested vegetables thrive (which does indeed address the desert issue) and follows that process with one, two, and three-year overview plans to help them succeed.
I see why this is the second edition. In my lifetime, I should see about 25 of these editions. Let me give an example about how this works:
Chapter One: Bag Gardens. Very interesting. Pleasant designed this gardening plan for a city or urban garden or for those who want to bring organic gardening into their yard. First, understand the process. Second, plant the collection of vegetables suggested in her book, which includes lettuce and snap peas in the spring, snap peas and tomatoes in the summer, arugula and bok choy in the fall, and so on.
The soil in the bag supplies the nutrients. Pleasant provides the expertise
Year Two: In the spring, plant lettuce, snow peas, kale, kohlrabi, potatoes, and onions. In the summer, plant pole snap beans, bush snap beans, tomatoes, etc. Year Three: In spring, plant lettuce, snap peas, potatoes, onions, beets, and chard. In summer, plant snap beans, tomatoes, peppers, and squash.
Pleasant goes through the year, for three years, instructing gardeners on what to grow. Then she spends several chapters on how to design gardens for various places around the house (bag gardens, border gardens, and front yard gardens) that will support her plan.
Pleasant offers information about watering, mulch, insects, disease, harvesting, and season changes, as well as several other vital topics for organic gardeners.
I can see why this is a no-fail (if followed) book. Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens is one of more than a half dozen Pleasant gardening titles. And I’m convinced it can work. It sounds crazy, but I am starting to feel the itch of my thumbs growing back.

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Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things. Psalm 128: 1-2

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Honestly one of the most useful books which I have come across. Especially in terms of garden layout and different ways to plan your growing in terms of not only space but also times of year and time lengths in which it will take your garden to progress! In terms of deciding what to grow though it gives a wide range of information but nothing decisive. Finally- a not to any British readers- although it is definitely helpful there is a few different parts of the book where more American styles come in and also tips aimed towards American gardeners (in terms of places and local rules!).

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Must have for new gardeners and experienced gardeners alike! This book has easy to follow directions no matter your gardening skill level. Did you know you could just open a bag of potting soil and plant stuff in it? I didn’t until this book. This is just one of the MANY tips in this book. Super helpful and not overwhelming at all.

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I don't know if you can call a gardening book intense, but I find it to be the best word to describe this book. There is so much information, so many details in this book that I am stunned. If you follow the instructions in this book and fail, then I believe there is no hope for you as gardener.

If you do as it says in the book, you'll get great results, I'm sure. The pictures overlooking the whole garden are fantastic. It really gives the reader the full picture, and the route to find your way there. Highly recommended for the ones who are motivated enough to follow through with these patterns.

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My husband and I are taking our first tentative steps to beginning our own vegetable garden. As complete beginners we are the ideal market for this book.

The book is set out into different and easy to follow plans such as year one, year two and so on. The writing is easy to follow, clear and concise and also includes a few photos for reference.

This would be an asset to any gardener who is taking the steps into growing their own produce to arm them with the skills and knowledge to becoming more sustainable as food prices are rising. This book is one that you would constantly be referring back to and just refreshing your growing knowledge.

Thank you to Storey Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this story in exchange for my own review and feedback. I now plan to purchase a hard copy for my collection upon release date!

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With the rising price of food, this book is great tool for growing your own vegetable and herbs. I was surprised by how thorough this vegetable garden book is. It is written in a very straightforward and simple way. It has some great ideas for small and large gardens.

Any gardener, whether experienced or a rookie, will glean numerous amounts of knowledge for growing your best garden possible.

I recommend this book for anyone, at any level, who interested in starting a garden and growing their own food.

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Starter Vegetable Gardens (2nd edition) by Barbara Pleasant is a gem of a garden book for those who are ready for their first foray into vegetable gardening and a reference staple for those with a few seasons of experience. The format of the book is designed to provide just enough information in the first few chapters to prevent overwhelming the beginning gardener. The information becomes more comprehensive as the book progresses, yet is always clear and easy-to-understand.

I was particularly enamored with the tips, for example the recommendation to remove the bottom leaves of tomato seedlings and set the plants deep to allow ancillary roots to form on the buried stem. Also helpful were the myriad of facts, such as exposure to chilly temperatures may trigger flowering of herbs, such as cilantro,and cause it to go to seed rather continuing to produce abundant foliage. The chapters explaining local growing seasons will be invaluable, especially for those moving to new regions.

This is a book that any gardener will reach for again and again, whether beginner or advanced. (I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.)#StarterVegetableGardens2ndEdition #NetGalley #Gardening

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I really liked this gardening book! I have read a lot lately and have been impressed how much more intuitive newer gardening books are to read. This one was as well. It was beautifully, visually, with many how to pictures and clear and concise instructions. It was very informative and is the perfect garden companion for the novice or intermediate gardener.

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An excellent reference book for starting a small garden, I was encouraged to read that you could just cut growing bags open and put the vegetables in there, and which ones are best to plant at different times of year. Of course it deals with expansion to a bigger garden, for those people who want to go that way, but I reckon I will be happy with the bags idea for now, and it is possible to tend to it quite easily, it only takes a few hours. I read through it quickly, but will return to the book as a reference book, because it is easy to understand. Indeed it explains the basics of gardening in such a way that I think it is the easiest book ever to get my head round, not that I have read many books on gardening, so there may be other books that are easy to understand, but this one inspired me to take action. For that reason I would recommend the book wholeheartedly.

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I like the simplicity of this book. The table of contents makes it easy to navigate to what specific thing you are looking for. I especially like the year by year overviews.

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