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All New Square Foot Gardening

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 2,731 ratings · 551 reviews

Do you know what the best feature is in All New Square Foot Gardening? Sure, there are ten new features in this all-new, updated book. Sure, it's even simpler than it was before. Of course, you don't have to worry about fertilizer or poor soil ever again because you'll be growing above the ground. However, the best feature is that anyone, anywhere can enjoy a square foot g...more

Paperback, 272 pages

Published February 14th 2006 by Cool Springs Press (first published February 1st 1981)

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All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

Western Garden Book by Kathleen Norris Brenzel

Gardening Books

1st out of 219 books — 67 voters

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Feb 23, 2009 cheri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Want to grow a veggie or flower garden but don't think you can? Think again. No excuses of not enough space, no yard or no ability. This is the book for any person with any skill level with just a patio or a yard, for the professional or for the handicap in a wheel chair. School children and 3rd world countries have used this technique with great success. I read this book in 1 afternoon and then my 13 year old son and husband built my boxes in 1 more afternoon. I'm taking pictures along the way...more

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Aug 03, 2007 Debra Cleaver rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: gardeners!

Shelves: reference-books

this is my favorite gardening book. what can i say? there's a man with a neck beard on the cover. his name is mel. mel is more or less my favorite person on the planet. he retired from his job as an engineer at 42 and then turned to gardening. when you set an engineer loose in a backyard gardening, you get precision gardening. basically, he figured out how closely you can plant things so that you get the maximum yield per square foot. each individual plant produces less, but the overall yield is...more

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Mar 16, 2013 UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gardening, square-foot-gardening, how-to, pictures-included, must-have-book-for-beginners, 5-stars, 2013-reads, container-gardening

Includes Photos of Our Own Garden

Mel Bartholomew is famous for his Square Foot Gardens, and in All New Square Foot Gardening, he gives us the tools we need to have the garden of our dreams. Pictures, easy to follow illustrated instructions, tips and tricks... regardless of the level of your gardening expertise, this is a must have book!

We live in the High Desert of Southern California where the soil is either sandy or like clay. We haven't had much success with our gardens in the past, but thi...more

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Sep 07, 2007 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Such an anal approach to gardening that you can't help but succeed at it. I love an anal approach (that's what she said) so I was all over this.

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 27, 2008 Kristine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fic, health-and-food

I first heard about this gardening method either watching the church's annual general report or seeing a link to it on the LDS.org website. It was highlighted in a story about teaching poor people in third world countries or in big cities with tiny plots of growing space to start gardens. The church would go in to teach and most of the time they used this method. I was intrigued so I bought the book.

We always had a garden growing up and all I remember is LOTS AND LOTS OF WEEDING and never having...more

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Apr 12, 2008 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: gardening

I guess whatever works for people is great, and it seems like he has a lot of converts...but I sure wasn't crazy about Mel's method and even less so about his delivery. It is like listening to a used car salesman - and immediately after saying that while I was reading, I read the next paragraph, where he compared his book to a brand new shiny Cadillac. Sheesh.

He essentially advocates container gardening, cloaked in the guise of shallow 6" raised beds. The beds are self-contained, filled with a...more I guess whatever works for people is great, and it seems like he has a lot of converts...but I sure wasn't crazy about Mel's method and even less so about his delivery. It is like listening to a used car salesman - and immediately after saying that while I was reading, I read the next paragraph, where he compared his book to a brand new shiny Cadillac. Sheesh.

He essentially advocates container gardening, cloaked in the guise of shallow 6" raised beds. The beds are self-contained, filled with a vermiculite mix, and broken down - literally, he is very emphatic about this - into 1 foot squares. So, effectively, you are planting each crop in 1/2 cubic foot of soil. And not fertilizing, beyond applications of compost he alludes to but never explains. (Wouldn't these tiny bins soon overflow?) He says it works, but there are very few pictures of actual vegetables in his book - instead it is a lot of petunias and such, which I find pretty ugly planted in a visible grid.

I like that his method could encourage rotation, but if you are actually concerned about pests I question whether moving a plant family over one foot would actually make it out of reach of a fungus or insect.

If you want a garden, but don't actually want to spend much time gardening, and are a bit of a control freak (he waxes poetic about the beauty of these nice neat 4x4 containers) who doesn't want the messiness of plants, this could be a good book for you. If that sounds sassy, I don't mean it that way - I really do think that this is his audience.

Oh, one more thing - he also talks about "Square Meter Gardening", his effort to stop hunger by bringing his method to starving people in the third-world. It just seems awfully absurd, patronizing, and potentially damaging, to bring this method that is focused on purchasing and importing soil (NOT enriching or using any of the existing soil) and is presumably designed for temperate zones where a lush summer vegetable garden isn't that hard to come by, to dry poor countries. I don't know that it is economically nor ecologically feasible. Is his assumption really that subsistence farmers are starving because they just don't know how to farm? (I believe so, since he actually uses the "teach a man to fish" cliche in his proposal.) If so, I doubt that Mel's method will go a long way towards changing that. (less)

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May 19, 2011 Dahlene rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm starting a new square foot garden this year. I am thrilled at the prospect of no weeds, less watering, and lots of produce! I already have little radishes, romaine, spinach, and some wild flowers popping up!

I'm sure I'll refer to this book all summer. For the first time I am really ready to have a fall garden too. I always say I'll plant a second crop, but by the end of summer and all the weeds I'm tired of gardening. I think this may be the easiest and most enjoyable way to garden!

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Jan 24, 2009 Laurel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love this idea! I would love to give it 5 stars, but I haven't actually implemented the book yet, so I thought I'd wait for the fifth star to see if I actually think it works!

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Mar 26, 2013 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: gardening

I've got a love for gardening, but a small city lot with a small yard. I tried a more traditional "row" garden a few years ago, but found that the small amount of vegetables I could grow was barely worth the effort. The following year, we tried building a small raised planter about 4' x 2', that nicely grew an entire summer's salad supply with a deeper container off to the side for the tomatoes. What a difference that made - less wasted space and better soil. With that discovery already made, th...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Janel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not a beginner gardener... I've had 3 summer veggie gardens. I'm also not anywhere near experienced-gardener level and have become frustrated with the methods taught by my botanist husband who combines a rather unique mix of environmental long-term planning, old-timey row gardening, and plant pathology, not to mention a limited amount of time to assist me. The result was always extremely weedy, hard-to-navigate gardens that produce extremely unpredictable yields. I decided that neither of us...more I'm not a beginner gardener... I've had 3 summer veggie gardens. I'm also not anywhere near experienced-gardener level and have become frustrated with the methods taught by my botanist husband who combines a rather unique mix of environmental long-term planning, old-timey row gardening, and plant pathology, not to mention a limited amount of time to assist me. The result was always extremely weedy, hard-to-navigate gardens that produce extremely unpredictable yields. I decided that neither of us actually know gardens that well even if he has the book knowledge. Since the garden is entirely in my hands this year and we have just moved to a beautiful garden-friendly area (as opposed to the desert-like So Cal gardens I've raised before), I'm making my garden my pet project for the year. It's January, so that mostly means reading gardening books for the moment.

OK, great, so what about this book? Mel Bartholomew is basically the first person to try anything but old row gardening and making a productive garden work in a small space. Yay for intuitive thinking! I love the concept of the square foot garden. I love the idea of planting veggies in an organized and customizable way, of keeping crops rotating easily, of having seasonal crops cared for together without losing track of the big picture. Basically, it's a great starting place and it's worked for thousands or even millions around the world. If you've never read a gardening book, read this one.

But why not 5 stars? Certain things got under my skin. You have to have a permanent grid nailed to your garden bed or it's just not even qualified to be called a square foot garden. Really? I personally find that look very unappealing, sorry Mel. I also felt like he repeated himself 10 times to get a point across. Also, if you don't use "Mel's Mix" to fill your garden beds, well... that's got failure written all over it. I can't afford that kind of soil, even in small beds. Our new place actually had raised beds waiting for us when we moved in. No way am I refilling them with a perfect blend when what's there looks just fine. Also, Mel is an engineer by trade (if I remember correctly) and a consultant on efficiency, and um, you can tell by the pictures of his gardens. His idea of adding interest is planting the four corners of the beds in your favorite color of flower. Lot of other bits and pieces that just bothered me... so 4 stars. It's a great start, but looking forward to another author with a little more aesthetic creativity and a little less adorable of perfectly divisible squares.(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Neil Snyder rated it 5 of 5 stars

I grew with a traditional row garden and enjoyed eating the fruit and vegetables that came out of it. I also observed that we had to wait to get our first couple tomatoes when essentially all of the tomato plants began giving ripe fruit. Then it was time to begin canning. About a week later, we all of the canned tomatoes we wanted. We ate the three or four tomatoes a week on salads or in chilli, but after the canning was done, quite a few tomatoes went to waste simply because there were too many...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Margaret rated it 3 of 5 stars

My garden roughly follows Mel's plans, so this was clearly an influential book as I built my first garden. However! According to Mel, I don't have a square foot garden because I don't use a physical grid. And I plant a little haphazardly. I mean, it's a great system in a lot of ways, but you don't have to follow the rules. This kind of garden drill sergeant business is not for me, so I just focus on the information in the book that is useful to me and carry on.

There is a lack of detail on some...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 14, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to have to buy this I suppose...I have the library copy. I grew up on a farm and now that I'm, not so young, I have a bit of time to grow things.

Time, but my body is shot, my knees won't bend and my shoulders are week. Neither do i have a lot of money. Still I enjoy a little bit of gardening. Right now there is what had been a flower bed in front of our porch...it's now my basic vegetable bed. Some tomatoes, some bush beans, some onions. A few.

So, I finally got this book (I had to wait...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Linda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: vegetable-gardening

I purchased my 1981 edition of SQUARE FOOT GARDENING in the early 1980's when I was fairly new to gardening. At the time I had limited space and my husband had built me some raised beds. I was able to invest both time and money and grew some fairly decent vegetables. What I learned is that smaller plants such as lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes and onions did well provided that you use good soil to avoid disease problems. It is also important for you to rotate crops.

Another plus was that it w...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Erica Pulling rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: desert-island-books

Absolutely, positively revolutionary! Raised bed gardening, with Mel's emphasis on vertical growth and highly enriched soil mixtures, is the only way to grow, as far as I'm concerned. I never thought I could garden, because I live in an urban environment -- meaning little available space and poor quality, contaminated soil. Wrong! If you faithfully follow Mel's instructions, you will be rewarded with astonishing success. Tomatoes as big as your fist! Green beans that never quit! Lettuce, herbs,...more

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Jun 14, 2010 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I may like the book even better once I actually get a chance to use it the technique. I will probably buy it for reference since it had some good information. It had really good content and ideas, but there were a few details that rubbed me the wrong way.

A major thing that was irritating about reading through it: It read like a commercial. He was constantly patting himself on the back and saying how great the method was, different and better and easier than the way everybody else has always done...more

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May 22, 2009 Jared rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people with really lousy soil

Shelves: non-fiction

Mel Bartholomew is a huge advocate of box gardening. Box gardening is a great idea, especially when you have alkaline clay like we have in our backyard. Constructing the boxes is a snap -- okay, more like a whine, because it takes a drill. He doesn't emphasize enough, though, that the gardens take a huge amount of water, because the wood seems to wick the water away from the dirt.

Stuff seems to grow well in Mel's Mix, if you plant it in the right part of the season. Last year we planted quite la...more Mel Bartholomew is a huge advocate of box gardening. Box gardening is a great idea, especially when you have alkaline clay like we have in our backyard. Constructing the boxes is a snap -- okay, more like a whine, because it takes a drill. He doesn't emphasize enough, though, that the gardens take a huge amount of water, because the wood seems to wick the water away from the dirt.

Stuff seems to grow well in Mel's Mix, if you plant it in the right part of the season. Last year we planted quite late, so our harvest was pretty meager. This year, all of our varieties of lettuce are already huge, our asparagus is coming up, our strawberries are going wild, and our carrots seem to be doing well. For some reason, though, tomatoes seem to just as well in the clay, if not better. So we're doing an experiment: planting tomatoes in boxes and out of boxes to see which are better.

The square-foot part of the idea seems to work for some things, but it's not as helpful for others. I find his emphasis on the idea a little funny. For things that can be planted in a single square, they're great. But last year our tomatoes plants got so big that they overflowed into other squares, choking out the plants that were in them. And, I'm sorry, but strawberries were meant to take over a whole box. There's just no point in dividing the plants up.

The book is very conversational. Some of the concepts could use better diagrams, like the greenhouse idea. And he mentions that each box will last for several years, but he doesn't give any ideas about how to move the dirt when you have to take one apart. And his idea of putting chicken wire on the bottom of the box to keep critters out is great -- but we've learned that you have to use maybe quarter inch chicken wire, because small rodents like voles can get through the one inch. And the edges of the wire tear up the weed fabric, so we have weeds around the edges of the boxes.

Thankfully, though, the garden boxes themselves are really easy to weed, because the dirt doesn't get compacted from being walked on, like you get with a normal garden. Overall, I'm glad we're using this approach, because the results we got the first year trying to plant directly in our clay (with some topsoil thrown on top) was rather sad -- except for the tomatoes.(less)

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Apr 27, 2009 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gardening

This is, by far, the best vegetable gardening book I have read.

You hear a lot about square foot gardening, but Bartholomew really details every step to make your garden successful. The book is knowledgeable and detailed, but also an easy read. I also found that this book is very easily browsible and searchable, which is a plus for a gardening book.

I was easily sold on square foot gardening:
1. We don't have an excess of space. With square foot gardening, you can have plenty of food for two peopl...more

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May 12, 2011 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The author constantly compares the square foot gardening to the "old" method of gardening and why square foot gardening is better, which didn't matter to me since I have never gardened.
Since I have no previous experience to compare this to, it has so much wonderful information that I have not been able to totally absorb so I find myself going back to it often for more reference and I took it with me to Home Depot the other day.

Maybe I should write this review in the fall after we have grown an...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Recommended to Heather by: Julia Hogan, VT

amazing and the garden method I will choose to do in a permanent home one day.

loved less space, less weeding, less time, and more produce - a win win for everyone and it's artsy how it's done, and easy to maintain and not over plant!

learned a TON about watering, compost, prepping soil in the fall time etc.

favorites:
picture harvest 27-28
overplanting 29
chart 33
53) compost chart
57) coarse vermiculite
prepare soil 63-65
drainage and slope slight southward
easy to grow crops along a vine - upwards (inge...more

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Jul 30, 2010 D. Logan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: homesteading

The latest version of this book is absolutely wonderful in how absolutely basic the information is. Unfortunately, he has honed this science down to such a precise level that you could get almost the same thing with just ten short pages or perhaps one of those 3 fold pamphlets. I read the book at a library and suggest the same for anyone who doesn't just want it for quick reference at their home. For me, it felt like much of the book was padding to create an excuse to sell it for more than four...more

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Mar 20, 2013 T.L. Cooper rated it 4 of 5 stars

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew provides an easy to follow alternative to traditional row gardening. I began reading the book with a bit of skepticism because I grew up on a farm where row gardening was the norm. Over the years, I've since tried container gardening and raised box gardening with mixed results. Bartholomew makes the square foot gardening method seem approachable though I have to admit I'm having a hard time envisioning it being both more bountiful and less work th...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Vicki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, gardening

I purchased this book at the end of the growing season last year and plan to try my hand at square foot gardening this year instead of a huge traditional garden. I really dislike hoeing weeds in the middle of a hot summer, so this should be perfect for me. It's an easy read and can be read in one day. Many times the writer, Mel, compares this book against his previous book, which I found a little annoying at times but you can skip over that part if it annoys you too. He wisely advises you to sta...more

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Jun 14, 2012 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

I remember watching Square Foot Gardening on PBS in the 1980's, then buying and reading the original book, and wanting really, really badly to have my own vegetable garden. The idea of growing a lot of food in a small space, that space being easily planned and managed, each spot used for three harvests a year, staggered planting so harvests of one vegetable when needed and not all at once--this all appealed to my scientific, obsessive-compulsive mind. Problem was I was in graduate school and had...more I remember watching Square Foot Gardening on PBS in the 1980's, then buying and reading the original book, and wanting really, really badly to have my own vegetable garden. The idea of growing a lot of food in a small space, that space being easily planned and managed, each spot used for three harvests a year, staggered planting so harvests of one vegetable when needed and not all at once--this all appealed to my scientific, obsessive-compulsive mind. Problem was I was in graduate school and had no time for it, and even if I had had the time, I did not have a spot to garden in. Eventually several potential spots emerged but not the time--until retirement. Talk about "delayed gratification," it's been at least 25 years.

So I get a Community Garden plot, 16 x 10 feet, and time to do it the way I like. I look to order a used copy of SFG, turns out there is a new edition. "New" SFG. What's that? Okay, Mel lists 10 changes he has made to the original SFG method to make it even simpler than it used to be. You do not have to prepare soil, don't have to fertilize, don't have to weed, just build your box, fill it with 6 inches of Mel's mix (equal parts peat, vermiculite, compost), and plant. The new SFG book is much thinner than the original, because the methods are simpler. You can honestly read it in a night or two. It reads as if Mel is talking to you, very conversational, motivating. Mel is practical and cheap. He points out several ways you can make your SFG at almost no cost, except for the cost of the components of Mel's mix and the seeds or seedlings. Reading this book makes you want to get off your butt and start building your garden now.

Why not 5 stars? Mel can be a bit of a tyrant. He insists your garden is not a >real< SFG unless your build a 1 x 1 foot grid onto a 4 x 4 foot garden box; seriously, it's printed in bold font in the book. Come on, Mel. I made my grids with twine and they are 1.5 x 2 feet on 29 inch x 16 foot frames. So there. Fight the power! Mel also likes to plant 3 seeds per spot and thin to 1; I do 1 seed per spot and add another after a week if germination fails. Most gardeners hate to thin, it's like killing your children. But the chief shortcoming of the book is that it hardly discusses planting tomatoes at all. Mel, many people start gardens specifically to grow tomatoes. Huge omission. Finally book has no index.

All that said, read the book, especially if you are a beginning vegetable gardener or are on the fence about starting a vegetable garden. There is nothing like eating a radish that you grew from seed, plucked from warm, moist soil, washed in your bucket of warm watering water, and nibbled in the sun. Your relationship with vegetables will change. Just about anything you grow will be better than what you can buy, except at farmers markets. It's fun exercise, which usually isn't possible. Mel will get you off to a good start.(less)

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Mar 01, 2010 Kristen Gurri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, 2-non-fiction, how-to

The book was a quick read and very very informative. I like how the hints for sharing your garden with your children are peppered throughout the text and not just at the end chapter on special gardeners.

I will be giving square foot gardening a try. My only criticism for this book is I wanted more compatibility charts and suggestions on where to place the plants in my grid. I know from past experiences that broccoli and tomatoes do not do well together and would have liked other lessons in compa...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Carolyn McBride rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was lucky enough to find this book in a second hand bookstore, after years of casual searching. It presents ideas that are both new, and yet not. The appeal of this book is that one need not be wedded to the idea of a square foot, by square foot garden. The basic principals can be applied to a modified bed. It is worth a few read throughs, with pen and paper nearby for those serious about gardening. It's methodology is very similar to biointensive gardening, and the two ideals together will al...more

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Jan 07, 2010 Kitty rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was sooo helpful to me. I've wanted to start a garden for many years, but was hampered by the thought that I needed a large area like I had seen my grampa use for his garden. Living in apartments and now a townhome I just didn't have the space. This method gave me the space!

I've also been quickly overwhelmed by all the info in most books on how to improve the soil by adding more of this or that. With this method you start with perfect soil right off!

My only suggestion is to place the...more

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Jan 12, 2009 Brent rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a Christmas gift that I had almost finished by the time we arrived back in St. Louis.

I found it helpful to read through the entire process of preparing the soil in spring, planting seeds, harvesting, and then preparing the soil for the harsh winter. The unusual method of planting exactly the number of seeds needed--and spaced appropriately--instead of the typical method of dumping a packet of seeds in a row and then thinning them out later is appealing.

In 2008 I planted my first...more

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Dec 05, 2008 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gardening

The idea that I like is that it reminded me that I want to grow more things vertically this year to get the most out of my kitchen garden. I also love that it encourages you to get away from the mindset of planting in rows and following the seed packets word for word in terms of spacing. From experience, raised beds are excellent for starting a garden from scratch. I created and tended two 8'x4' raised beds when I lived in our former house that didn't have a backyard garden (we were in a townhou...more The idea that I like is that it reminded me that I want to grow more things vertically this year to get the most out of my kitchen garden. I also love that it encourages you to get away from the mindset of planting in rows and following the seed packets word for word in terms of spacing. From experience, raised beds are excellent for starting a garden from scratch. I created and tended two 8'x4' raised beds when I lived in our former house that didn't have a backyard garden (we were in a townhouse at the time so I also planted heavily in containers on our deck - my first plant was chives and I absolutely think they are the perfect first herb for kitchen gardeners as they are so easy to grow... but that has nothing to do with this book - LOL!).

So let's get back to the book...What I didn't like was the planting mix recommended and the need for soil testing. I read the newer edition (from my local library) as well as the older one that I had on my shelf to compare. The newer one eliminates the need for soil testing but I think makes use of peat in the recommended soil mix, which is not renewable, so is rather taxing on our planet if everyone went out and built a garden like this. I'm much more in favor of building up the soil with compost. And them measuring for each square foot and nailing it down with window blinds!!! Are you kidding me? I just can't imagine myself doing this (though I was tempted to try this method next season for the sheer reason of getting rid of all of the weed seed - what I SHOULD do it just put some black plastic or newspaper down now and plant through it come spring).

I also don't think I would like how everything will *look* in a garden of this sort. The tomato will be in this square. And the lettuce will be in this square. It just seems too orderly (even for someone fairly anal such as myself). Also if all of my lettuce and carrots are planted in their own square all together isn't this like open invitation to the bunnies that frequent my garden to come right in and make themselves at home to our square-foot buffet? The only reason I had some lettuce and arugula available is because some of it was hidden under some other plant and they couldn't get to it. (Yes, I should probably look into some protective covering... and I DID use some this year on the strawberries but the birds still got to the ripe berries. I was so frustrated with our lack of berries that I pulled the pushes a few weeks ago and tossed them in the compost. Of course, I sorely regretted it two days later... but these are the challenges that we invite into our lives when we pick that seed pack and shovel).

I am aiming for more of a casual kitchen garden - a cottage garden of fruits/vegetables/herbs (though I am very far from having this garden ideal since I haven't found any good references on this subject but not for lack of trying. So mainly it's been trial and error. I've either found lots of books on formal kitchen gardens and one where you would need to become a full time landscape architect to be able to have the time and knowledge to be able to implement such designs). But I have a strip of dirt on the side of my house... no room to make fancy hexagonal herb gardens that you would need a gardener on staff to maintain. I envision rosemary intermingling with peas, and tomatoes getting cozy alongside basil, lavender alongside green beans. I am continually inspired by the French potager gardens and the casual Italian kitchen gardens that I've seen. Maybe this is too idyllic or maybe it IS something that can become a reality.. along with the garden arch full of trailing roses that are free of disease (which has a few years yet before these will even be purchased)... but I still have a lifetime to perfect it. And as all gardeners know, despite these trials and frustrations out in the garden, when December and January roll around we will be right there by the mailbox awaiting the seed catalogs for the new year. I've already started collecting the stack that started arriving and making a list for the essentials that I MUST have in next season's garden. I can just taste the potatoes now (that will be grown in an old garbage can on the deck just as soon as Mike drills holes in it or shows me where the drill is)!(less)

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May 23, 2013 Bird rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gardening, non-fiction, read-in-2013

I liked it overall. There's a lot of good information for gardeners just delving into square foot gardening, and I used "Mel's mix" in our raised beds, but since we haven't harvested anything yet, I can't comment on how well that worked compared to regular potting soil.

The downside is that this book reads like one extended infomercial. Mel loves to toot his own horn, and it can get (really) annoying at times. Also, there's not a ton of plant info in the back of the book, and some of it is pretty...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/192503.All_New_Square_Foot_Gardening?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328756827l/192503.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/192503.All_New_Square_Foot_Gardening?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew[/url]

All New Square Foot Gardening

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All New Square Foot Gardening

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