Customer Reviews

Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed's Amazing POTS System

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is a manual for vegetable gardening from containers. Smith, an experienced vegetable gardener, noted that many would-be gardeners lack access to garden plots, or find tending such plots difficult because of physical challenges. Gardening in containers would make it possible for these people to grow some of their own food, but yields have been notoriously low for container-grown vegetables. Smith and his wife Silvia embarked on a project several years ago to see if they could develop improved growing methods that would produce produce of acceptable quality and quantity in containers. What they found through their experimentation is that virtually all garden vegetables can be grown very successfully in containers, and that some actually do better in containers than in traditional earth gardens. In this book, they describe in detail how to grow vegetables and herbs in containers, noting which crops and varieties are the best choices for container growing. The book is a joy to browse through, with its numerous high-quality color photographs, many of which were taken by Silvia Smith.

Smith notes that the key to good vegetable yields is an ample and continuous supply of water. In traditional pots, this is hard to achieve, since the pots must be checked and watered several times a day during peak seasons. A further problem is that many of the nutrients are washed out of the soil each time the pot is watered. This led Smith to the new generation of "self-watering pots," which consist of a container for holding soil and roots, suspended over a large water reservoir, with a significant air gap in between, as well as a means for water to be wicked into the soil from the reservoir. Smith found that when vegetables are grown in such self-watering pots, they can go for days, or even a week without watering, yet the soil never goes dry, nor loses nutrients through watering. He found that many garden vegetables thrive in such pots (although he notes that a few herbs do better in traditional pots).

In addition to describing types of pots for bountiful vegetable gardening, Smith provides very useful information about soil mixtures to use in the pots. He enumerates garden pests that may be encountered and ways to overcome them. Throughout the book, he stresses organic methods and sustainable garden practices. A very useful section of the book is the alphabetical guide to garden vegetables, in which he takes up each common garden vegetable in turn and provides specific tips for growing the vegetable in a container, noting any varieties that are better for container-growing than others.

I first heard about Smith's container garden efforts when I saw his container-grown artichoke with a giant blue Judges' Choice ribbon at the Tunbridge Fair. That incredible display got me intrigued with the idea of trying to grow some vegetables in pots myself. As Smith notes in the book, certain heat-loving vegetables such as eggplants and artichokes are practically impossible to bring to maturity here in northern Vermont, but they can actually produce significant yields when grown in self-watering containers. Although I do most of my gardening in a large earth garden, I'm looking forward to using Smith's methods to grow eggplants in containers this summer. With some luck, I may finally be able to enjoy some homegrown eggplants, despite our cool Vermont climate.

This book starts out good and states that it's going to tell you how to make your own self-watering containers. However, once you get through all the initial fluff, I found the details necessary to actually follow through on the author's suggestions to be extremely limited. The author discusses how to make any pot self-watering, but uses a ready made insert. Then he does not say where to get the ready made insert from. Parts of the book read more like a pat on the back to his own successes with pictures from his own garden. That's great, but I bought the book to learn how to set up my own self-watering system which I still am at a loss after reading the book. I was very disappointed.

I learned a great deal from Edward Smith's other book, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, and I use it as a reference on germination and growing soil temperatures. So I did not hesitate to order his Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers when I decided to buy some books on container gardening. I ordered this book and McGee and Stuckey's Bountiful Container. Bountiful Container is comprehensive, thoughtful and very helpful. However, this book reads like an ad for self-watering containers, which were apparently provided free to the author with the hope that he might endorse them. Unlike the author's first book, this lavishly illustrated book is short on information, more suitable for a coffee table than a container gardener. If there were a money-back guarantee, I would request it.

I have been gardening seriously for the past couple of years and really got interested in containers last year. I have been asking myself a lot of questions about container gardening, mainly about the nature of the soil to use for pots and I have always wondered if I could reuse potting soil. I have made my share of mistakes (buying lousy pptting soil, for one, or not fertilizing enough) but I have really been craving a seasoned gardener's advice. I already owned the The Vegetable Gardener's Bible (10th Anniversary Edition) from the same author and McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers. Both were great but the former was really focused on raised beds (which is fine) and the latter lacked pictures and specific guidance. I appreciated that the authors of the Bountiful Container leave it to me to decide whether I want to grow organic or not but sometimes you just need somebody to tell you what works!

I liked the Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible the moment I put my hands on the book. It is abundantly illustrated (a huge help for a novice gardener like me!!), from pictures of containers with mature plants, to pictures of good quality soil (so you know what to look for) and how to make your own potting mix (loved the advice to mix it all in a rain barrow!). The author encourages you to add a slow-acting fertilizer to the potting mix so you do not have to fertilize too much, if at all, during the growing season (I used Dr Earth fertilizer if you are interested in organic gardening without bone meal, by the way). There are also instructions to make self-watering containers and advice on which veggies like them best. That is the first part of the book.

The second part of the book focuses on the various varieties of vegetables that you can grow in containers and the varieties that the author thinks grow better in containers are marked "Ed's Picks." Those include lettuces, various greens, or eggplants (especially if you live in the Northern states). The book has beautiful photos of every herb and vegetable with the minimum information you need to grow them successfully. A few varieties of each veggie are recommended. I find that McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers provided more in-depth information on each edible and I liked that the book covered fruit trees ans flowers while Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible focused (obviously) on veggies. The Bountiful Container also was more "poetic" in its descriptions and gave more advice specific to each edible variety, in my opinion. At the end, I would recommend both books. Use the Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible to get started and see pictures, then refer to McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers for more in-depth information on each variety.

This is a great book for learning about vegetable container gardening, but if you already own Edward C Smith's Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers, there's no need to buy this too. This is basically a rewrite, 9 pages longer. Had I realized before purchasing, I would have bought his Vegetable Gardener's Bible instead, to improve my earth garden. Still, this is a very useful book for container gardening. Read either one and improve your vegetable crops this year! Edward C Smith's books are essential to my library when I make my yearly garden plan.

I'm a serious organic gardener, with 4500 square feet of flowers, herbs and veggies. I have a good garden library and I'm glad to add this book. As far as I know, it is the only container gardening book that addresses organic vegetable growing. I used to think that tilling the earth was superior to container gardening. In recent years, however, time pressures have made me wonder about the viability of growing convenience items (lettuce, tomatoes, onions) close to my front and back doors in containers so that dinner would be easy to harvest. Having read this book, I'm ready to try it. A very quick and lively read, the book's only shortcoming is lack of adequate information on how to create your own self-watering pots.

I have read a lot of gardening books, but this is one of the all time best!! It is full of facts, as opposed to general descriptions. "A full grown tomato takes a gallon of water a day." as opposed to some vague keep it well watered that you get in so many books.
It is precise, without being dry. Written with a sense of humor, as well as common sense. I found a lot of very useful information, even though I am a seasoned gardener, and a novice would find this invaluable. The information I found was accurate, and as importantly, explained. I love to know the "why" behind something.
I must also comment on the pictures. They are good pictures of exactly the plant being talked about. You could easily identify an unknown plant from the pictures and descriptions. That is rare...most books show plants from too far away, or in a grouping...neither of which is helpful to me.
All and all, this is my favorite gardening book of all time!! If I had to list a fault, I would be hard pressed to come up with one. Perhaps a bit more on the section on making a self watering pot at home. The basics are all there, but I would have like a bit more on the bigger containers, like how to turn a whiskey barrel into a self-waterer. And to go along with that, a few resourses on parts (as opposed to finished units.)

I am very impressed with this book. It has great pictures and descriptions of container gardens that the author tested. He goes over vegetables, herbs and flowers. He also shares which plants do not do as well in self-watering containers. I found some nice self-watering containers at gardeners.com and have already started my first herb garden.

This is one of the best books I own. It's not only chock full of information, I like the way it's organized. There is a large section of general information with clear and colorful subject titles with a wide range of information. About half the book is dedicated to individual plants with information on choosing a pot, planting it, protecting from bugs, raising the plant and harvesting it. There are many, many photographs a good hardiness zone map and a very efficient index. I can't wait for warmer weather!

This book provides a thorough and thoughtful explanation of vegetable gardening in self-watering containers. While Mr. Smith seems to make a point of not endorsing specific brands in his books I would have found that useful. I did manage to google the adjustable reservoir insert Mr. Smith describes in "making a self-watering container" on page 28 and discovered it, or one just like it, is available from the Gardener's Supply Company for $14.95. It would be a relatively simple propositon to make your own from pvc pipe and sheet plastic.