All New Square Foot Gardening II: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space: 4

This is an inspiring book. Mel's enthusiasm shows through and it's enough to encourage green fingers in anyone, The text isn't directed to gardeners. Instead its directed to non-gardeners to have them take up with a trowel. Mel keeps things very simple, and that's no bad thing. I agree with his methods but I would not practice them to the letter. I'm no expert but i am no beginner either, and I think when I set to and begin creating the kind of beds Mel advocates I will deviate a little from his method. I don't mind digging, so long as I only do it once.I know a bit more about soil ecology and soil fertility than Mel seemingly does, and so I will look to improve soil condition to greater depth than Mel advocates. But that's just me. I used the raised bed and soil improvement approach in a small area of garden before I'd heard of Mel and it has paid dividends. There would be less requirement for irrigation or watering compared to Mels no-dig method. As much as I appreciate the increased drought resistance of my chosen method over Mels there is also prospect of improved storm recovery - and that's a fancy way of saying less chance of a flood after heavy rain. Where I live it rains a lot, and improving soil to greater depth is a way to make the soild more spongelike in the beds, and that diminished risk of flooding about the garden in general.Really it's a five star book but one that has a star docked for being just a bit idealistic and simplistic in it's approach.

The square foot garden is a terrific idea and as an old fashioned 'row' gardener I can confirm that I have been in the situation where I have had to harvest more than I really needed. The square foot method allows you to control better how much you need to grow, saving waste and space.Having said that, and I appreciate that the book was written for beginners as well as experienced gardeners but I found that it was so basic that I read the book in less than a day, not because I was hooked but because I was looking for something new. In my opinion, the basics of the method and tips regarding construction of the raised beds could have been just a few pages long, there is so much repetition and product promotion . Half of the book is devoted to 'normal' gardening principles of cultivation with the number of plants that fit in a square foot being the only difference, and this information is found on the Internet.If you are a beginner to vegetable gardening then this will be a good book to buy but if you have any experience I would suggest that you search the Internet for the information contained in the book. It's not worth £8.

Great method of gardening for anyone with a small garden like me, using Mel''s soil mix is expensive to start off with, but it's a one off purchase that will last for years. So far I have found the square foot system really good and productive even though it's been a lousy growing year far to many bugs and slugs. Other thing I found that the conduit trellis is a great idea but here in the UK you can't get the clamp on elbows, still working on that one. But overall a great method of growing the veggies.

Very helpful and straightforward. Some cross-referencing within the book is needed to get all the information on any particular plant, but the section towards the back does a great job of summing up information about all the plants mentioned throughout and gives a good overview of how to plan and track your Square Foot Garden. Overall the book is laid out well, has a number of useful graphics and photos, and is a great for beginners to SFG like myself.

Had not realised it was American, so not all veg applicable, but the concept and approach is very interesting, will definitely have a go

Very pleased with book, in very good condition. Looking forward to putting square foot gardening into practice. Thanks for quick delivery and trouble-free ordering.

Loads of info

Item as advertised and delivered promptly