Customer Reviews

The New Self-Sufficient Gardener

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am an avid reader, and avid gardener. I have bought thousands of dollars of books and this is the first book I have ever felt I NEEDED to write a review for.

This is a wonderful book for the experienced gardener and new alike. The suggestions are practical, inexpensive, and can be applied in any garden. He covers soil, pests, different crops, spacing, garden layout, composting, and more. I checked this book out of the library, but am here today to buy it. It may be the only gardening book you will need (although if you are like me you will add others!).

I love his down to earth way of writing, and practical, useful information.

the fact that oil prices and food prices have been soaring exorbitantly should by itself be enough to make the everyday person want to consider self-sufficiency. I've been contemplating it recently because I've always loved to play in the dirt. Previously, I have been a 'tomato plants and maybe some herbs' kind of gardener. This year my garden crops have doubled and I have become more and more interested in different types of crops and self-sufficiency ideas. This books is chock-full of ideas and suggestions for just that outlook. Some self-sufficiency guides are nothing more than expensive wishful thinking. Not everyone can afford to put up a $12,500 wind turbine in their backyard. We can't all install geo-thermal heating systems in our houses. Some of us live in the CITY and cannot get away from city zoning laws. John Seymour's book is extremely practical in explanation and suggestion about simply learning how to garden for your own food needs. I learned some brand new techniques for growing potatoes and other root vegetables, and also learned how to get my own fertilizer without having to build compost bins which will probably offend the neighbors. I'm so pleased with this book and so glad that I spent the cash to get it.

I bought this new edition because, like the other reviewer, I simply wore out my old copy reading it over and over again. I think all of his books are wonderful, but this one is my favorite.

The information is presented in a clear simple manner, that will benefit anyone from the first time gardener to a seasoned expert. The illustrations are superb. It is so much more than a run of the mill gardening book.

If you are looking for a single book to help you grow more and better food for your table, you can't go wrong with this one.

After 30 years of having gardens in small yards, crowded yards, shaded yards and "rented" yards we are finally in the position to tend 25 acres of land.

It's ironic that the practices I've learned from the sustainable ag/permaculture/organic gardeners to make the most of my little gardens have now equipped me to grow more than enough food for our family in several small raised beds! This allows us to leave the bulk of our land wild and free for the wildlife that already inhabits it (which also leaves us a lot more time to enjoy the land and wildlife)!

That said, I've been working my way through my "oldies but goodies" garden book collection and picking up revised editions where possible and reading new authors as well to see how I can make the most of every bit of garden space I have in an effort to leave the remainder of my land naturalized.

This edition now ranks as my favorite all-around comprehensive garden book (and that is a high honor because I have some absolutely brilliant and useful books on my shelf). I cannot believe how much valuable information, beautiful illustrations and new-to-me hints, techniques and ideas I've picked up from this book.

On first glance, it looked like it was going to be another book that presented basic information on overall gardening with a little more detail when you get to the nuts and bolts of individual types of plants. Not so! He gives so many detailed instructions, illustrations and ideas for so many plants and techniques that I'm actually a little overwhelmed.

What I love most is that these are tips and techniques that anyone--rich or poor, strong or weak, with great tools or a $1 tree spade, some seeds and a space in the sun--can use to grow a beautiful, nutritious crop of food AND create a healthier, more productive environment as well.

I cannot imagine any gardener not enjoying this book and finding something useful to apply in their own garden.

It doesn't matter whether you have just started gardening or if you have been gardening for 30 years, this book will be the best manual that you ever own. John Seymour has several books about living a self-sufficient lifestyle and they are all a must have for anyone. Well written, well illustrated and with a dash humor these books are an excellent read and exponentially helpful.

There are a whole slew of instructional books on gardening and preserving here on Amazon. Truthfully I personally never tire of occasionally buying new ones on the subject. Sitting down and reading a good garden book is sorta like seeing a new documentary, or reading a new book on some period in history you have always known and found fascinating. That is, even though they all pretty much tend to relate the same facts and events of a colorful era, it never seems to fail that you still manage to pick up something you never knew before. Or at least learn more about what you figured you always had a pretty good handle on. The Self Sufficient Gardener is one of my newest entries, and already becoming both one of my most interesting, and totally enjoyable as well. All these kind of gardening books are pretty much all about the writers style in relating all the info and instruction in both a fun and educational way. That is to say, all the the facts you should know, the techniques they have picked up over the years as to making the whole experience enjoyable and prosperous, and, tossing in a healthy dose of old wives tales and folklore that either has no basis in fact at all, or has withstood the test of time as being right on good advice. John Seymour's home spun style and laid back manner of relating advice, technique, and instruction will remind many of a kindly old teacher that made a class we thought would be a real sleeper something that we ended up looking forward to just because they did such a good job of teaching it all. Gardening and preserving is something that many of us have a strong hankerin' to learn more of and get our hands dirty with right from the get go. For most of us it all comes down to making the class something we look forward to and understand well, all with an occasional smile on our face from actually enjoying learning something so much. Seymour takes you all the way from the seeding, planting, and tending, to the picking, preserving, and enjoying the delicious fruit of your labor. He does an excellent job of categorizing the different plants, crops, and herbs that you are interested in and guiding you the whole way through. I found it to be overall one of the very best at clearly instructing and illustrating all that one should know to make your gardening and harvesting a fun and prosperous adventure. There really is nothing like growing our own crops, harvesting them, and preserving them for enjoyment months later on a cold winter day when for most of us true freshness in our diet is waiting for springtime to once again come around. This fine book will go a long way in making that all very possible, and a lip smacking success as well. It is also very reasonably priced here on Amazon. In fact I paid the exact same price at a local book store last fall for it.

In conclusion, I did take off one star from this book only because there is one book available here on Amazon that I think is not only better than this one, but the very best I presently own. Canning and Preserving for Dummies is in my opinion the most enjoyable and most complete book on gardening and preserving I have ever come across. It is just a couple of dollars more than Seymour's book, but contains considerably more information and is an absolute joy to read. There is also a review by me at the books site, and I have enclosed a link at the end of this review for your convenience. I highly recommend you check it out as well... And happy gardening! Canning and Preserving For Dummies

This book is very simply written. Concise enough to be usable but not dull. There is enough 'depth' to explain why certain things need to be done but not enough to earn the reader a degree in agricultural science. Nice approach to gardening, not religously organic; rather a realistic acknowledgement that food was grown very successfully before government surplus chemicals needed to be repurposed. There isn't even a villification of commercial farmers. Overall a very usable book about gardening without the social reform platform.

I bought this book after reading some of John Seymour's other books on self-sufficiency and it didn't let me down. This author has a way of giving you the facts without boring you. This book is great for somebody as small-scale as a container gardener all the way up to a 25-acre farmer. Solid advice and valuable information, especially for the organic or natural grower.

I'll admit that I have not read this book cover to cover however it's great for being able to look at the specific vegetable or fruit that you want more information about. I like that it breaks things down to let you know what will make it grow, how to harvest, maintenance tips as well as garden tips. There is other information that I didn't find useful as it is not applicable to my lifestyle, but for any p-patch/backyard plot gardner this book is perfect.

This book is so clearly written and is full of information. It is the perfect gift for anyone interested in gardening, whether they will put everything from the book into practice or not. It's like an encyclopedia of chemical free gardening information.