Tiny Space Gardening
Growing Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs in Small Outdoor Spaces
“[A]n an incredibly handy manual full of information on how to grow plants in small spaces.” —GOOP The beginner’s complete guide to urban, small space and container gardening from “our windowsill guru.” —Bon Appétit This vibrant updated 2nd edition includes 30 earthy recipes for the vegetables from your edible garden and 50 gorgeous inspirational color photographs and illustrations. No matter how small your space, you can grow an edible garden and enjoy home cooked meals from your harvest! With this stunning comprehensive guide, you’ll learn the basics of gardening in pots and containers, find small windowsill and countertop projects, and receive specific recommendations for plants that grow well in containers. Also included are 30 simple recipes you can make with your harvest, from Zucchini Fritters to Herby Pasta with Lettuce and Prosciutto, to Rosy Strawberry Buttermilk cake. You’ll learn all about: • the best containers and pots • DIY planter boxes • tools and supplies • soil for containers • feeding and watering • simple pruning • cooking with your harvest • and much more “With this guide, your garden can be as productive as you’d like, no matter the size." —Modern Farmer
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3.5 stars, rounded up
This is a general handbook about small space gardening which would be great for the beginning apartment gardener but isn't quite as useful for someone who doesn't have a sizable balcony. For example, one part deals with perennial fruits and prescribes 25-gallon pots for blueberries and raspberries. Unless you're planning on living in a balcony apartment indefinitely, that's serious overkill that would end up taking space from other projects, as both will be perfectly happy in 5-gallon pots for several years; I have my patio blueberries in 10-gallon pots and they haven't outgrown them yet (I have successfully used 3- gallon pots for up to three years as well). But at the same time she advises NOT growing tomatoes on a patio as they “need very large pots.” I've grown tomatoes in 1.5 gallon pots on the patio for ten years now, and this is actually going to be my first season to try them in a raised bed, so that advice is clearly wrong–there are even specialized varieties meant for pots.
Another small critique is that each veggie is lumped together without any notes on varieties, except for lettuce. I was expecting a few tips on some of the best container varieties, since this is a large factor, and didn't receive that. I also didn't expect the advice on not to reuse soils, since I have had great success dumping used soil out of pots, mixing it with fresh, and repotting for the next season.
However, the herb section is golden, as she explains multiple tips on what each herb's purpose is, tips on using them, tips on growing them in windowsills, etc. Clearly her passion is in growing herbs and I learned a lot of new tips. I've only grown lavender before and will be adding a number of these to my garden to try.
About 1/3 of the book is recipes, very useful for gardeners wondering what to do with their harvest.
I'm most excited to try out the tomato crisps, which are oven-baked and look delicious.
Overall, recommended for new patio gardeners and new herb gardeners.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.
