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5th out of 35 books
—
32 voters
Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces
by
Gayla Trail (Goodreads Author)
Your patio, balcony, rooftop, front stoop, boulevard, windowsill, planter box, or fire escape is a potential fresh food garden waiting to happen. In Grow Great Grub, Gayla Trail, the founder of the leading online gardening community (YouGrowGirl.com), shows you how to grow your own delicious, affordable, organic edibles virtually anywhere.
Grow Great Grub packs in tips an...more
Grow Great Grub packs in tips an...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
February 2nd 2010
by Clarkson Potter
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If you thought you were a plant geek prior to reading this, brace yourself. You'll be dreaming of warm summer days, tomato sandwiches, and ways to fit in a few pots of herbs you may never have even heard of yet (shiso? count me in!). Seriously, Gayla Trail has a very approachable way of introducing her readers to container and small-space gardening. Mark my words, she really knows her stuff. From inventive ways of starting seeds to growing your favorite flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruit (ran...more
This book is totally in tune with the gardening craze that's happening right now. It's modern and stylish with gorgeous, luscious, bright beautiful photos and it's jam-packed with well-organized information. All the families of plants are organized into genuinely useful sections - not just overwhelming, irrelevant information, but really practical stuff that makes it so much easier for you to take action. How fantastic is this book? I'm not sure I even have words. I got this from the public libr...more
I am determined to have my first garden (other than a few pots on the patio) this summer. When I saw this book, it looked like the perfect resource. I was not let down. Grow Great Grub has a wealth of knowledge, plus lots of pictures for those of us who are easily distracted! Gayla included lots of information on growing in all types of locations (window ledge, patio, alley, and yard) as well as information on the plants themselves, how to arrange things and more. I'm about to reconsider my gras...more
Nicest thing is that unlike most farm-ish books, this one was *mainly* container gardening but not *all* about OMG SAVE SPACE WITH LABOR- AND CARPENTRY-INTENSIVE PROCEDURES, which is just as unhelpful for the 3-month-lease-signer as the "What Do You Mean You Don't Have A Haha*" school of gardens and rolling fields of grain.
*Wikipedia: "Ha-ha is a term in garden design that refers to a trench, one side of which is concealed from view, designed to allow an unobstructed view from a garden, pleasure...more
*Wikipedia: "Ha-ha is a term in garden design that refers to a trench, one side of which is concealed from view, designed to allow an unobstructed view from a garden, pleasure...more
I have Gayla Trail's book "You Grow Girl" which has been very useful to me. I didn't even notice that this one was written by her until I brought it back home from the library hold shelf. It has a variety of tips for growing in small spaces as well as how to re-use items that you would normally throw out or recycle. There is also a great section on how to preserve the food that you have grown: drying and storing, blanching and freezing and canning.
Notes:
Rather than buying new plastic containers,...more
Notes:
Rather than buying new plastic containers,...more
I'm reading this in conjunction with 2 other gardening books, Square Foot Gardening and Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 no-fail plans for small organic gardens. These books are great for people who want to start a small garden but haven't done it before or have little experience. Square Foot Gardening in particular is of interest because it's a low-maintenance way to garden--no weeding (seriously!). GGG talks about container gardening, so even those peeps stuck in city apartments can grow stuff on...more
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Great overview for container gardeners and/or those with limited space. 'Microfarming' sounds so cool I almost don't mind not having a lot of space. (almost.) I like this book better than her first book, this one is more specific about each type of plant. My favorite thing that I learned - you can create more basil plants with cuttings! You have to pinch them off anyway to get bushier plants, I thought that was super cool. I did it and I was so excited when they suddenly started growing stems in...more
First of all, the photography in this book alone makes this book a worthwhile read. The pictures are absolutely beautiful! As far as information, it is a great book for a beginning gardener with not a lot of space. It covers the basics of gardening from starting with good soil, all the way to harvesting and preserving your veggies. It has a hefty section on plants, detailing most of the common garden varieties of vegetables and specific growing information on each. It touches on fertilizing and...more
Lots of great info & lush photos.
Book 62 2012 Reading Challenge--I realized late in the book that the author has a blog called You Grow Girl. This edition is packed with helpful and economical advice for growing food in all spaces--small, urban, large, and in containers. She covers attracting predatory insects and companion plantings, and how to make your own fertilizers. Very much a Do - it- yourself book for the inventive person who would rather recycle than get the fancy stuff at a garden center. A section on harvesting is h...more
Good recommendations and tips for plant types and how to grow organically, as well as how to harvest and preserve. Would have liked more info on how to grow in small spaces, however, as most of the plants do best "in the largest container you can get" - and that's exactly the problem I've run into, so I was hoping for a few more creative tips regarding cheap ways to get containers and grow on one's balcony, for instance. Not necessarily a problem with the book, but the subtitle is "Organic Food...more
A nice addition to
. Whereas I read You Grow Girl straight through, this once I used more as a reference guide. It has valuable information and projects. I especially liked the recipes & preserving tips.
Sometimes I think these books are a little unfair for those of us who live in rural areas. They mention all these fantabulous plants, a huge variety, but I cannot find them locally. City folks may not have yards but they're spoiled by selection. I've spent two days looking for Lemon Verbena...more
. Whereas I read You Grow Girl straight through, this once I used more as a reference guide. It has valuable information and projects. I especially liked the recipes & preserving tips.Sometimes I think these books are a little unfair for those of us who live in rural areas. They mention all these fantabulous plants, a huge variety, but I cannot find them locally. City folks may not have yards but they're spoiled by selection. I've spent two days looking for Lemon Verbena...more
Fabulous book! I have almost no skill for growing things, so this book has been super helpful. Everything is laid out in easy to read, friendly formats. She also includes a small blub on each page with information on how each plant does in a container (vs. a bed). Whether you have a ton of space to plant, or a small postage stamp yard like me, this book will have something for you. I borrowed this one from the library, but am now planning on buying my own copy...worth it. Can't wait for spring s...more
Coming from someone who knew jack squat about gardening (that is, ME!) - this book was extremely helpful. I loved the visual layout of the pages, as it made it much easier to comprehend the flow of topics as the book progressed. Gayla's suggestions were wonderful, and her writing is very reader-friendly. I've started a small container garden since reading this book, with great success so far! Would recommend to any would-be gardener with NO SPACE to garden... or so you think. ;)
I thought this was a great book. I'd recommend it to beginning gardeners or gardeners with experience that want a little inspiration. I can't wait till next season when I will grow potatoes in a trash can, ha ha!
I think I will get this book for my brother as well. While he has been an avid gardener in the past he currently does more daydream gardening. I think he finds his large space overwhelming. This book is designed for small space gardening but perhaps this will encourage him to get out the...more
I think I will get this book for my brother as well. While he has been an avid gardener in the past he currently does more daydream gardening. I think he finds his large space overwhelming. This book is designed for small space gardening but perhaps this will encourage him to get out the...more
This is a great book, especially for beginner gardeners. The ideas are simple, the layout is great. I wish more time was spent on "why things don't work". There was a small section on bugs, but you can't say "You can grow anywhere!" without telling us how-I've done all the things-amendments, composting, etc. and my garden still isn't working. But other than that, the book is a great resource for a beginner working in a small area.
This would be a great book for an aspiring gardener who is looking to get started on adding a little food to whatever space that they have. I have probably just read too many of these types of books, so I didn't glean much new information from the book. Still, there were some good tips and other ways of doing things, and of course the great photos are inspiring... especially in the dead of winter.
With gorgeous photos, delicious-sounding recipes, and hundreds of handy tips, Gayla Trail leads the reader through a fantastic guidebook on growing food when space is very limited.
What I am most impressed by in this book is that Trail goes into detail about every common vegetable plant you might want to try to grow, and gives specific tips for growing each in containers. Many gardening books are loaded with ideas on helping different plants thrive, but on a big scale. This is a super reference f...more
What I am most impressed by in this book is that Trail goes into detail about every common vegetable plant you might want to try to grow, and gives specific tips for growing each in containers. Many gardening books are loaded with ideas on helping different plants thrive, but on a big scale. This is a super reference f...more
This book suggests a number of plant varieties best suited to container gardens. It is not often that I encounter a garden book for folks with smaller plots than I have, though I still found lots of helpful suggestions for slightly larger operations. There are also some helpful recipes. The pro-organic rhetoric was pretty mild and not preachy. A great beginning to intermediate level book.
This book has me very excited to start planning my garden. It also has me feeling good about my ability to pull it off. Grow Great Grub also contains, in addition to information about growing both common and uncommon veggies, herbs, fruits and edible flowers, a small amount of recipes and crafty how-to instructions. Quite cool!
Definitely a "getting started" primer. I don't think it will take me long to outgrow (pardon the pun) this book and want something more detailed, but I love the "go for it" attitude of the books. This book makes gardening seem uncomplicated and accessible, which is probably a good place to start, even if there's lots to learn.
Really liked this book's voice and tone, and it was inspiring without being corny (pun intended).
It's a good starters guide for small pesticide-free gardens. I'm going to use some of her tips for container gardening and sprouting, though there wasn't great deal of detail on when I should start sprouting things.
It's a good starters guide for small pesticide-free gardens. I'm going to use some of her tips for container gardening and sprouting, though there wasn't great deal of detail on when I should start sprouting things.
this is a very pretty book with helpful information, especially if you are new to gardening. I lent it to a friend who is new to gardening and don't expect it back, which is good. I know what to do- mulch, make more compost, most importantly, water the darn plants- I just need to do it!
Sean & I are going to try to make our garden more food oriented. I hope this books helps because I do not have a green thumb!
We used this book to decide what to grow, where to grow and how to grow it. I can't even grow an indoor plant so this book has taught me SO much. Sean, who is really into gardening, found a lot of the information useful and even said this is a book we should own, so I take that to be a sign that it deserves 5 stars.
We used this book to decide what to grow, where to grow and how to grow it. I can't even grow an indoor plant so this book has taught me SO much. Sean, who is really into gardening, found a lot of the information useful and even said this is a book we should own, so I take that to be a sign that it deserves 5 stars.
I'm your typical plant-killer with hopes of managing to grow some veggies on my balcony this year. I found this book to be easy to read, practical, and full of advice on which plants I might have the best luck with, considering my space limitations and lack of a green thumb.
I thought this book was a great buy. I live near the beach in Florida, so it's really hard to grow -anything-. This gave me some great ideas for container gardens. Very nice pictures to go along with. It'll get you in the mood to get outside and grow your own produce instantly!
AMAZING book if you're ready to get down and dirty with backyard/deck gardening! Great tips on which plants/veggies to grow and where, how to garden organically, and ways on keeping a healthy, pest-free garden. Definately the best book I've read on container/small space gardening.
I liked this, although I didn't take as many notes as I did for "You Grow Girl." There's a wealth of information here, like the overload makes it impossible to TAKE notes that might one day be relevant to me! I guess that means it would be a good one to buy.
Really helpful! I already garden, but I wanted to know more about container gardening for vegetables and fruit. There were plenty of tips in this book, and I liked the way she used found materials or common items, such as Rubbermaid tubs, to build containers. She also lists the suitability and yield of each plant when grown in containers. Great guide overall.
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I write and speak about urban gardening and growing food. I take pictures too. I do graphic design work. And some other stuff.
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