A hip, eco-friendly guide with fun and easy projects for all levels. Eating locally has so many benefits—for the planet, for your health, and for your tastebuds—and you can’t get much more local than your very own backyard. But is planting a garden too big a commitment? Then this book is for you. A Little Piece of Earth is all about starting small, with more than fifty self-contained, doable projects. Whether you have a yard, a terrace, a rooftop, or just a windowsill, there are plenty of ideas and inspirations to choose from. Harvest your own precious vanilla pods from a pot indoors. Grow savory shiitakes on a small log in your kitchen. Build a miniature vineyard trellis on your deck or build a raised bed on your patio. Recipes for using your homegrown bounty are sprinkled throughout. Charming illustrations guide you through step-by-step, and there’s a complete resources section. This is about making dirt work for you, taking some control over your food supply, and, most important, enriching your life with the quiet, simple pleasures of produce raised organically with your own hands.
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Editorial Reviews
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"Maria Finn proves that green-thumbed urbanites needn't feel limited to a few houseplants. Charming illustrations accompany instructions for growing lemons, shitake mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, figs, and more on windowsills, balconies, patios, and rooftops. Chapters on foraging and community gardening round out the book." ~Sierra Club's The Green Life blog
"A small, lovely book about gardening in tight spots: patios, fire escapes, windowsills." ~Entertainment Weekly
"Finn gets you thinking literally outside the box about endless possibilities for growing exotic produce within apartment limits" ~San Francisco Bay Guardian
"A small, lovely book about gardening in tight spots: patios, fire escapes, windowsills." ~Entertainment Weekly
"Finn gets you thinking literally outside the box about endless possibilities for growing exotic produce within apartment limits" ~San Francisco Bay Guardian
About the Author
Maria Finn has written for Saveur, Metropolis, Forbes, The New York Times, ABC.com, and The Los Angeles Times. She is the founder of Prospect & Refuge, a garden-design firm specializing in edibles in urban gardens.
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More About the Author
I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri and when I finished college there, I moved to Homer, Alaska with the goal of earning lots of money so I could travel in Latin America. I earned very little money in Alaska, but fell in love with the raw beauty, the adventures, the storytelling and so went back season after season. First I worked on a small salmon seiner skippered by a woman, and then in remote fields camps where I monitored salmon swimming up rivers for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. I spent a winter in Guatemala developing a fishpond on an orphanage, one teaching English in Seville, Spain, and two hiking and climbing in Peru. I moved to New York City to attend the Creative Writing MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College. I lived in Brooklyn for over 10 years and taught in the English Departments at Hunter College/CUNY and St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights. I moved to Sausalito, California in 2008 and live on a floating houseboat with a rooftop garden that includes a tango floor. This year I have two books being published. "Hold Me Tight and Tango Me Home" (Algonquin) about recovering from heartbreak by learning to tango, and another one, "A Little Piece of Earth, How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Spaces" (Rizzoli) about edible gardening for foodies. I write a weekly newsletter/blog, City Dirt: City Dirt: The Bay Area Weekly Garden Newsletter for Foodies, Foragers, Tree-Huggers and Beauty Lovers. (www.citydirt.net) My author website is www.mariafinn.com.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this expecting tips for a beginner but instead the book focuses more on cute ideas and how to grow in small spaces. It serves better for unique ideas and fails to offer a beginner much advice on problems growing in a small space. If someone is looking for unique planting ideas or how to be a little more "hippy" this is a great book. If a reference is needed, avoid this book and consider it later when gardening skills are more developed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Tippy
Format:Paperback
A great, fun read that will inspire your imagination. I bought this book at Powells while visiting Portland, OR: the mecca of garden-growing earth lovers. Finn's voice is authentic, warm and encouraging while her specific advice remains a bit laconic. This is by no means the tome for which you will absorb the world's wisdom of food growing. "A Little Piece of Earth" is a delightful primer, targeted at inspiring you to begin your progress, which of course will require referencing other regional gardening guides and, most helpful of all, gardeners and food-growers. Once you get going (with either more space, or more ambition), "The Organic Garden Book" and "Mini Farming: Self Sufficiency on 1/4 acre" are incredibly helpful. But for inspiring your imagination, for both beginners and experienced green-thumbs, I strongly recommend "A little piece of earth".
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By D. Reynolds
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
What a great book. I am an experienced gardner and still found great reference material and information. It was fun to read also.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good source of information
Most small-space garden books that I've purchased seem to assume you have at least a small plot of real earth to plant in, and give scant information about container gardening. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Rachel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun read with practical advice
The first time I read this book, I thought gardening was hard, and my space wasn't right, etc etc. So once I finished, I put it down and failed at some tomatoes. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ratalal
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth the paper it is printed on
I am thankful that I read this book before my 12yo got hold of it. The writer's use of a vulgar anecdote and crude language immediately relegates this book to a list of the most... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Happy
1.0 out of 5 stars
Inappropriate and disorganized
I borrowed this book from my local library and am glad I didn't waste my money on it.
I was looking for a straightforward informational guide on space-efficient... Read more
I was looking for a straightforward informational guide on space-efficient... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Freedom Rider
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Love This Book
I bought this book for myself and have since bought several copies for gifts. The books itself is so cute: beautiful color scheme, drawings and overall feel. Read more
Published on May 9, 2011 by Erin Rose
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little piece exactly
I'm not into gardening because I don't have a lot of space to do it. I picked up this book to get a crash course in small space gardening, and was pleasantly surprised to get just... Read more
Published on April 5, 2011 by Ryan Burdick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your average gardening book.
With great advice like how to know when a fig is ripe and to place a planter in a conspicuous place because "...chance are that if you see it, you will remember it". Read more
Published on May 3, 2010 by Betsey P
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