Earth Friendly Goodies If it's Good for the Earth it's Good for Your Health I was just perusing Amazon’s special offers this morning (if you’ve ever bought anything on Amazon you’ll know those offers spring up like a spring dandelion patch) most dealing with a timely nudge to be green for Earth Day when my attention was grabbed by the roots by the number one selling book on Amazon – All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.
Since everything is starting to green in our yard I’ve had the itch to start a garden, nothing fancy maybe just a little patch in the corner, but I’m a terrible procrastinator (like right now I should be writing the rest of this post yet I am going off on a tangent about procrastinating) Now where was I?
Oh, yeah this intriguing book that has been on the Amazon top 100 book list for over 3 years! That’s what caught my attention – next was how does a gardening book stay in the top 100 for 3 years not to mention who knows how long at number one.
Looking at Square Foot Gardening I can see why – it is a super simple method to gardening that claims 100% of the yield with 20% of the space – which fits right in with my plan for a little back yard garden. Not only that but Mel reveals his secret soil mix for perfect growing conditions (and never a need for fertilizer): 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 agricultural grade vermiculite spread out in a 4ft by 4ft box. (oops did I just ruin the secret?)
This new version of Square Foot Gardening called All New Square Foot Gardening (pretty original title huh?) Reveals 10 new and improved methods to make the whole process more efficient, easier, and well, garden-tastic. Take a peek at the video and see if you are as excited to get outside as I am – in fact I’m outa here the sunshine is calling…
One last note though, Mel has also written a delightfully delicious book called All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook (he’s got a good thing going with his naming so why change it I guess) that looks to be as savory as the fresh herbs and veggies coming out of the garden.
What are you planting in your square foot garden this Spring? (and when can I come over for dinner?)
Imagine every other household doing this which would put the big boys out of business or make them think again how to price food. Great find and thank you! 😀
I’m glad to hear you’re thinking about growing your own food. I sincerely believe that even if you make $100/hour that it makes more sense to use some of your time to plant a garden (or use that money to hire someone to do it for you) because we do not control how far the dollar will slide or how much food will cost.
Not only that – organic garden produce is a far healthier way to eat. You should see my garden. My neighbors constantly tell me “you shouldn’t do this” and “you shouldn’t do that” (mostly because I use deep, wide beds and plant REALLY close together instead of in rows). And then they stare over the fence grumbling about why my garden produces more and looks better than theirs!
My secret is tons of compost (available free in many cities now) and leaves from really old, tall trees.
Another great book you can review and recommend is The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible by Edward C. Smith. I use it all season long.
What I would love to have is a larger garden. I have as much as I can packed into about 2600 square feet.
@Linda Thanks for stopping by, as an artist I always have people tell me “I can’t even draw a stick figure” I’m sure avid gardeners often here “I must have a black thumb because everything I touch dies” well I say it doesn’t hurt to try, it is often not as hard as it sounds. Besides you can always cheat and plant seedlings that have already been started at a nursery to help get a good start.
@Gail Thanks for the book recommendation I’ll look into it. And yes free compost sites are a blessing – we have one less than a mile from us so I’ve been using it for a ton of projects – the garden is going pretty well for a first start, although the basil looks like it went camping for the summer and left a pile of weeds to garden sit. The spinach and kale is coming up great though!