Desert Gardening: Fruits & Vegetables: The Complete Guide

by George Brookbank

An illustrated guide to growing plentiful fruits and vegetables in the driest of American climates.

Genres: Gardening, Reference, Nonfiction, Food

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 1988

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

(1) Black and white pictures are not helping in a gardening book, especially when comparing pictures of a healthy plant to an unhealthy plant. Different shades of green don't show up that well in monochromatic tones.
(2) Definitely not for beginners (such as myself). The terminology is high-end and therefore confusing and I'm not really up to setting up a long-term irrigation system over my quarter acre garden - sorry, I just don't have that much time or land.
(3) The "calendar" section for what to do when was really unhelpful. I was hoping for something like "February - good time to plant such and such". It's was more information that I would have preferred presented earlier in the learning and tips part of the book. It's good to know how to preserve heat in winter plants, but who says I have to know how to do that in December? Wouldn't I want to know that sooner so I can plan for it?

Not a terrible helper book, but not what I was looking for and I'd bet there's a better one out there.

[A.R. Beckert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice reference book and interesting. Dry to read though and difficult to navigate because of the layout. Could do with an update.

[Tomek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this does have some good information that is very much applicable to the unique context of desert gardening, the calendar Brookbank uses is really only appropriate for lowland desert, not high-altitude deserts. It is also steeped in conventional ag methods (lots of non-renewables, chemical inputs, etc) and repetitive. A good complement to some of the others out there, but I'd hesitate to recommend it as a primary resource.

[Jkboyco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am finding this to be a wonderful guide as a begin a small garden out side my kitchen. It is full of essential info for the desert dweller who wishes for a productive gardening experience. I have been very successfull with gardening native desert plantings, but not so much with vegetables until now, I have a small crop of lettuce, radishes, kolrabi and cabbage. I am enjoying this as much as I can.

[Dree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using this book as a guide, we had an awesome veggie garden in Phoenix! Gardening in the low desert is very, very different than most places. Other than okra and some beans and melons, not much will grow and produce in July and August.

[Cheryl Schibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Brookbank is a legend in the southwest. I don't think anyone would attempt gardening in the desert without his advice and good books.

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gardening in Arizona is so different than gardening in the rest of the country. Without this book my garden would be nothing but a series of heartbreaking failures. Invaluable information.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's like the bible for desert gardening.