From Container to Kitchen: Growing Fruits and Vegetables in Pots [Paperback]

D.J. Herda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

More and more people are recognizing the need for nutritious, local, sustainable food, but organic options can be costly, and the produce sections of most supermarkets are packed with fruits and vegetables that have racked up more frequent flier miles than a rock band on world tour. How can urban dwellers without ready access to fertile land enjoy the benefits of traditional gardening? And for those with a yard, how do you maximize the harvest of fresh, healthy edibles?

In From Container to Kitchen, D.J. Herda shows that there is a way. Written for the novice home gardener as well as the seasoned pro, this fully illustrated, comprehensive guide will show you how to save up to 70 percent on your produce bill by growing fruits and vegetables in pots. Topics include:

• Selecting the right container size and location
• Optimizing soil composition and nutrients
• Managing light, water, and humidity
• Choosing the best fruits and vegetables for container gardening
• Eliminating pests and plant diseases naturally
• Extending the harvest

Dig in to this bumper crop of container gardening tips and techniques and learn how to create your own moveable feast!

D.J. Herda is an award-winning freelance author, editor, and photojournalist who has written several thousand articles and more than eighty books, including Zen and the Art of Pond Building. He is an avid organic gardener and test grower and has been writing extensively about growing fruits and vegetables for over forty years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For those who find themselves in the “no yard” zone, but with a deep desire to garden and grow your own food…this book is a “must have!- Tina Wilson, Small Town Living

This book is designed for those residing in urban areas who wish to reap the benefits of organic, home gardening – without the convenience of a personal yard for cultivation. - ForeWord Reviews

D.J. Herda’s inspiring book From Container to Kitchen will not only have you rethinking lettuce over petunias for your containers this year, but also looking at just about anything as a possible container.
Herda’s light-hearted writing punctuated with self-deprecating humor and step-by-step instructions on everything from lighting to watering to bugs could imbue even the rankest beginner with confidence. - Bridget Otto, The Oregonian

About the Author

D.J. Herda Is the president of Vista Grande HOA, president of the American Society of Authors and Writers, Executive Editor of SCRIBE! Magazine, and freelance author, editor and photojournalist, who has two plays in production, several thousand articles, and more than 80 books, including Zen and the Art of Pond Building. D.J. lives in St. George, Utah.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: New Society Publishers; First Edition edition (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 086571665X
• ISBN-13: 978-0865716650
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.6 x 6.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #824,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed January 1, 2011

By Robert D. Mathews

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was hoping for some tips and tricks to growing Fruits and Veggies in containers. At first when i read the first couple of pages before purchasing it seemed like the author was witty and experienced. Then after purchasing the book and reading the first 2 chapters I knew I made a mistake. The author started going into the spiritual and medical properties of plants for multiple chapters. Tell me how to make my plants produce more and you have won my heart. Tell me how patients who looked at pictures of plants got better faster and I think you are collecting royalties you don't deserve. He spent an entire chapter on how to buy and decorate pots. He left out a few technical details such as any measurement to define the small medium or large pots that he recommended for a few of the plants. He spent a chapter on proper soil preparation and nutrients, but never gave a recommendation or any actual amounts for different plants. He rambled on and on about where in your home potted plants could be placed and how they not only brighten up the home but have health benefits. Every time I thought I was going to get advise he backs out or changes the subject. I think all the tips and tricks put together if condensed could have been less than a single chapter and most could be found on the back of the seed packet. Most of the book was filler that had nothing to do with how to grow the plants. Do I really want to hear what he does when he gets up in the morning? Do I care where he lives and why? Should I be interested in how his home and pots are decorated or where the pots were found or how they were made? If you want to know more about the health benefits of container gardening this is the book for you. If you want to actually try container gardening don't choose this book. I wonder about most of the other reviews. Some look professional and almost make me want to read the book again to see if I missed all these helpful tips he gave. It also make me wonder if some of the reviewers were paid.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Growing foods the easy way April 26, 2010

By Pamela Robinson

Format:Paperback

Even homeowners with a decent amount of room for a garden can appreciate the good advice in "From Container to Kitchen: Growing Fruits and Vegetables in Pots." After all, poor soil or the need to use the yard in a different way can get in the way. And for those lacking adequate space, containers can be the perfect solution to high bills for poor-quality vegetables and fruits from the supermarket.

Author D.J.Herda starts with the basics of picking the right container for size and location, and then, in succeeding chapters, shows how to overcome a variety of obstacles, such as meeting the correct soil balance and combating bugs, to raising specific foods, from tomatoes to peppers to broccoli to dwarf figs. Each highlighted fruit or vegetable includes information about growing seasons, time to maturation, diseases and likely bugs, health benefits and estimated cost savings by growing your own.

His writing is clear and direct, organized to make reference easier, and illustrated primarily by black and white photos, with a handful of color images.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A bargain for the price December 16, 2010

By James Burdine

Format:Paperback

My copy came from the library, but I found enough in this volume that I will purchase a copy for my gardening shelf. I like to write in my non-fiction books, small notes in the margins as well as underlining and find it frustrating that I can't do so in library books (or ebooks). Those of us that garden in hostile gardening regions that have poor soil (little or no organic material, root fungus, and nematodes) hostile conditions (blast furnace sun,no rain, high force winds, and low humidity) have relied on container gardening to grow food crops for years. The author has managed to place in a small book the basics of gardening food crops very well. I also liked the "recipes for success" for 21 plants that I found very informative. There were a few frustrations; container sizes were subjectively stated as "small, medium, and large" rather than precisely in liters or gallons. Also for a book published as recently as it was, there was no mention of sub-irrigation, or of mylar or other reflective mulches (other than a mention of aluminum foil to discourage cats from using the pots as litterboxes). I would encourage people to also look at Bountiful Container by McGee and Stuckey , Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting bu Rupenhal, and a small pamphlet from Leslie Doyle, Slam Dunk Easy Desert Gardening in addition to this book.