Customer Reviews

Hydroponic Tomatoes: For the Home Gardener

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading a rather scathing review posted on Amazon.com entitled "Get an editor" I chose not to order this book. Later, I happened across the book at Borders, thumbed through and purchased it. The book is is excellent!

I believe the review misleads readers. I will address the two specific criticisms: Bad chemistry? Resh very carefully explains the concept of PH ( the reviewer missed this)-reference to a PH of 4.0 as very acidic was relative to the PH needs of tomatoes and, in fact, 4.0 is very acidic for a tomato (just a fact of life, not bad chemistry). Sulphuric acid for novices? Resh talks about sulphuric acid/hydroxides because they are, indeed, used within hydroponics (see hydroponic supply web sites). However, he is very clear that he does not recommend their use and lists the same reasons given by the reviewer (somehow the reviewer overlooked this also).Resh goes on to recommend specific safety measures for those who insist on their use.

The book is clearly written, well illustrated and extremely practical. I have read it twice and highly recommend it.

This is my fourth hydroponic book and it tells the story as good as the others do. I give it four stars because it taught me many new things about tomatoes that will come in handy no matter which way I garden. I'm really impressed with the content of this small book in regards to the tomato plant and its fruit. The diagrams are drawn accurately but are small do to the size of the book. The details of the nutrient solutions, how to mix and apply them, has just about scared me off from hydroponics. I don't like dealing with chemicals of any kind. I know that I can buy them pre-mixed but think about this whole thing; what's wrong with this picture? Maybe nothing, but still I wonder.

Please consider buying this book for the wealth of information about the growing of tomatoes; it's well worth the small price. And just think, if La Nina' continues to parch the earth we may all be learning how to grow food hydroponically!

This short book is intelligently laid out, with just the right amount of diagrams. The text is easy to follow, even for a beginner. I am in the middle of attempting to follow Howard Resh's advice, as of early October 2001. If he is correct, I could be enjoying my first harvest before November!...

Dr. Resh's book is copyrighted 2003 but was first published in 1993 and it looks like there were no updates or revisions in this version. The information he gives is good solid technique and practice that is the basis of any hydroponic system. I would put this in the beginner to intermediate knowledge range. His diagrams of systems are strictly from a homemade point of view but the art of building DIY systems has grown tremendously since he wrote this 12 years ago. One last note - in his resource lists there is not one mention of the internet.
I'll keep this book on my shelf for the next time someone asks me how do you do it.

This is the fourth book on hobby hydroponics that I've purchased and I think that it contains a lot of useful information for such a thin, fast read. It does a very good job explaining how to set up a NFT (nutrient film technique) system for tomatoes. It is also told me that tomatoes prefer a pH between 6.3 and 6.5. I had previously read the range was 5.5 to 6.5 and keeping the pH at the higher level has seemed to really improve the health of the plant and the rate of growth. I discover new tomatoes growing on my single plant almost every day now!

I bought with this book because I am a beginner with hydroponics and am mostly interrested in Tomatoes.
I was surprised to find that there are so many diffeent ways to grow tomatoes hydroponically.
The tried and tested methods are saving me a lot of time, trouble, and disappointment.
I recommentd it for anyone who wants to enjoy real tomatoes in the winter.

i especially like how the author listed recipes for hydroponic fertilizer solutions.

the information is valuable if you want to make your own fertilizer instead of paying for high priced fertilizers found in most garden shops. some of that stuff costs $100 a gallon!

all it is made of is about 5 different chemicals(salts) plus the micro-nutrients. i can't wait to try a batch and see if it really compares.

altogether, an excellent book.

The book does not appear to have been updated since its introduction in 1993 and devotes only about 30 of its 142 pages to information specific to tomatoes.

This is a good book for the beginers that want to start their experience with a "hands on" material

Novice level Hydroponics information with little depth. The line drawings of various implementations of hydroponic methods were good. The pictures meant to show detail were generally of poor quality and fairly useless. EC and Ph ranges for happy tomatoes were stated but not supported even briefly and are different than ranges from other sources. I was hoping for more depth due to the narrow focus of the book.