McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers (Paperback)

by Rose Marie Nichols McGee (Author), Maggie Stuckey (Author) "Every gardener since Nebuchadnezzar, the visionary responsible for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, has had to begin at the same starting point: evaluating the physical..." (more)
Key Phrases: theme garden, basic potting mix, full size red, Rose Marie, United States, Mother Nature (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
McGee (Basic Herb Cookery) and veteran gardening writer Stuckey (Gardening from the Ground Up) share their expertise and experience in the art of container gardening. Armed with this manual, frustrated apartment dwellers can indulge their passion for growing edible things. If there is an available balcony, porch, front or back steps, according to the authors, growing produce in containers can be easy and rewarding. With some limitations, it is even possible to grow foods in a window box or on an indoor windowsill. This compendium of practical advice includes detailed information on the types of containers to use, equipment needed, the right soil, when to plant which seeds and how best to deal with problems such as too much or too little sunlight. They also explain more sophisticated techniques like succession planting, whereby ongoing seasonal planting takes place in the same container. This can yield a harvest of peas in early summer, tomatoes in late summer to early fall and kale that will grow into winter. Included are mouth-watering recipes for harvested container crops. Written for the beginner as well as for those with a background in gardening, McGee and Stuckey's directions are comprehensive, clearly written and frequently inspiring. Illus.

Review
This is a great little reference book! It fits neatly into your pocket or briefcase, and contains just about all the information you need on over 1200 beers from around the world. Everything from Aass Amber, to Zip City Vienna is rated by Klein. Although you may not agree with Mr. Klein's tastebuds on all the beers he rates, you will respect his honest and knowledgeable opinions.

Klein does more than just rate the beers however. He discusses beer styles, color, aroma, taste, temperatures, brewery types, glassware, and how to listen to your beer. The appendixes include beers by state and country, best beers by style, best beers for novices, odd beer names, rating notes, breweries, and brewpubs.

The guide is filled with interesting beer facts and tips. You will pick this one up and use it again and again. -- The Ale & Lager Examiner

(Publishers Weekly )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761116230
• ISBN-13: 978-0761116233
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, June 13, 2002

By	"mariakm" (NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Finally, here's a book on container gardening that focuses on vegetables (and also herbs, fruits and edible flowers). I was tired of looking through tons and tons of books on container gardening that were full of stuff about houseplants and flowers but had zilch when it came to the edible stuff. Was vegetable gardening out of bounds for apartment dwellers like me? I thought so till I came across this book. This book is a godsend for people who want kitchen gardens of their own but who can only garden with containers.
The book has no photos, only illustrations (but then again, who needs another coffee table kind of book with pretty pictures and little content) but it has lots of good advice and instructions. It starts off with the basics (container types, soil, fertilizing, pests etc.), then it moves on to a hefty section each on vegetables, herbs, fruits and edible flowers. Each section has a number of entries with detailed instructions on the particular veggie/herb/fruit/flower in question. These include stuff like planting, fertilizing, soil depth, plant size, light requirements and so on. Interspersed throughout the book are interesting projects, for example, creating a garden for children or a kitchen garden with an asian/italian/greek theme. All in all, this book is extremely useful and a real treasure.

87 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have reference, April 24, 2002

By	KG "oraclegreen" (the Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

The Bountiful Container is simply a delight -- with it on my bookshelf, I now have the courage to move beyond my tiny pots of basil and jalapenos to the exciting world of zucchini and sugar-snap peas. The detailed discussion of specific plants is invaluable (now I know why my tomato plant did so poorly last year); general commentary on soil additives and the differences between plot and container gardening are informative without being overwhelming. Moreover, the text is interspersed with design projects that are as appealing to the eye as they will be to the stomach. This book is ideal for the casual container gardener who is more concerned with produce than Latin plant names.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and interesting, October 17, 2003

By A Customer

When I started growing a vegetable garden in containers on my balcony, I looked to several books for guidance. Bountiful Container was the most helpful.

Boutniful Container addresses garden basics such as equipment and fertilizer, but the bulk of the book is specific information on a variety of vegetables, herbs, fruit, and edible flowers. Each plant is addressed for several pages, with information such as when to plant, sun and water requirements, general care, and varieties suitable for containers.

One unique feature of this book is that they actually address container depth for every plant listed. I was amazed at how few container gardening books spent any significant time on container selection. For instance, I learned that salad burnet, a small plant, requires a deeper container than many larger plants in order to allow its taproot to develop (lo and behold, I was able to grow it for a change!). It disusses the advantages and disadvantages of several container materials, and addresses issues such as reducing the weight of oversized containers.

One frustration I had with other container gardening books, was that they assumed you had at least a small yard in which to plant and much of their information was useless for people who were limited to containers. Not a problem with this book.

Bountiful Container is beautifully written, and the information is well organized and easy to reference. I highly recommend it.