Customer Reviews

Container Gardening for Health: The 12 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables for your Organic Garden

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Let me start by saying I have a huge home library, and gardening, homesteading, and other self sufficient topic books make up a huge part of my collection. So when I got this new book Container Gardening For Health-The 12 most important Fruits and Vegetables for your Organic Garden by Barbara Barker I was intrigued but also wondered if this would be a repeat of much of what all the other gardening books had.

So I was surprised and pleased to discover she covers the 'Dirty dozen' so well. Was also pleased that she gives nice clear photos and illustrations like on page 14 where she shows 8 examples of growing containers, rather than the typical pots other books show. Also like how in each section where she discusses the fruit or vegetable she notes the botanical name, pesticide residue ranking, nutritional info,standard and dwarf varieties, yield, fertilizer, pests and diseases, and pruning for the trees. For crops like peppers she notes seed starting, transplanting, soil needs, and harvesting info.

Her chapter 14 beginning on page 83 is about pests and diseases and its a good chapter. And while I knew most of the organic solutions she has, she taught me some new ones as well. On page 100 she has sources for seeds, plants and gardening supplies. Have to admit I was happy to see Bountiful Gardens north of me listed, as well as the Seed Saver Exchange which I belong to.

Again I am an avid organic gardener. Yet even I learned some wonderful new things, and am looking forward to getting a copy of the book as a gift for friends whom I am teaching vegetable gardening to. As well as a copy for my local library. Cannot say enough great things about this book. It is one I will use as a reference tool often.

These days, many of us are concerned about pesticide residue on fresh fruits and vegetables, especially the fresh produce that's imported from other countries. We are also wondering if there isn't something we can do to take responsibility for our own food supply in a time when food security may be in question. In Container Gardening for Health, Master Gardener Barbara Barker gives us guidelines for growing the "dirty dozen": those plants that are most contaminated with chemical pesticide residue, according to data compiled by the USDA. Unfortunately, the "dirty dozen" includes peaches, apples bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes, pears, spinach, and potatoes--tasty, nutritious foods that appear several times a week on the plates of almost every American.

What can you do to ensure your family's food safety? You can start, as Barker suggests, by studying the list and choosing the three items that you consume most often. Learn how to grow these plants in whatever space you have, following the helpful guidelines in this book. It could even be a family project involving kids and seniors--container gardening is an enjoyable activity that can fit the abilities of almost everyone.

I've been a gardener for many years, but I found plenty to learn from Barker's book. Plant by plant, she reviews each of the "dirty dozen," offering general information, reviewing the chemical residue issues, describing varieties (often dwarf) suitable for container gardening, picturing appropriate containers, and giving tips for soil, fertilization, pest management, harvesting, and storage. She has included a comprehensive table of pesticide data (it may just curl your hair to see the kind of chemicals that are turning up in your food), and a helpful chapter on pest identification, prevention, and treatment. This latter is an excellent resource for every gardener. She also offers suggestions for raised-bed construction--a good technique that can turn even the tiniest yard into a productive garden. And there's a first-class resource list, a glossary, and an index: must-haves for gardeners who want to do more research on their own.

There are a number of books on bookstore shelves these days that offer to help us become container gardeners. Barker's book, however, is unique, for she combines the information you need to know about gardening in containers with what you need to know to protect your food supply. Most of us don't have a great deal of extra time on our hands these days, so concentrating our efforts on replacing at least some of the "dirty dozen" with our own pesticide-free fruits and vegetables makes very good sense.

In fact, this whole book makes very good sense. You'll find yourself going back to it over and over again.

by Susan Wittig Albert
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

My wife and I recently built a home in the Sierra Nevada mountains and wanted to grow our own fruit and vegetables organically. However, the climate here is hot in the summer (90's) and very cold (-15 to 0) in the winter. Keeping all that in mind we decided to see if we could not only have an outdoor garden, but an indoor one as well using pots to allow us to have "pesticide free" fresh produce all year round. Master Gardener Barbara Bark goes in to great detail to help you understand pesticides, diseases, nutritional information and so much more.

We are by no means experts in indoor or outdoor gardening and this book really helped to bring us up to speed. I would strongly recommend "Container Gardening for Health by certified master gardener, Barbara Barker for both experienced and novice gardeners indoors or out.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will continue to keep it on my bookshelf for future reference.

I just came from the author's "Organic Gardening: A Primer on Growing Herbs and Vegetables" workshop, so if you think I might be biased, you may or may not be right.

The workshop was fine, hands-on and full of personal experiences. As a gardener myself, I can't say I learned a great deal that I did not already know (but I will add some Nasturtium and Calendula to my garden this year), so it was not until I got home and cracked open the book that I got the full flavor of what Barbara Barker offers those of us who care about what we eat and prepare for stuffing into our families' mouths.

Such an eye-opener!

I knew about "the dirty dozen", but had no clue about growing peaches, apples and even grapes in containers or small gardens. Who knew?

This book's 110 pages make it easy even for city-dwellers to grow their own pears, peppers and potatoes. It tells the reader how and where to grow what, what containers to use, and what pests to look out for. It gives advice on harvesting and storage, imparts soil information, and is precise about pesticide residues on produce we buy in the supermarket every week of the year. Yikes!

Bottom line: Barbara Barker delivers an entertaining and informative workshop. Her book is the clincher.

This book arrived faster than I thought it would.
It was in great shape. Thank you!