Square Foot Gardening [Paperback]

Mel Bartholomew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1981

Twice as much in half the space!

* A complete garden book for both the beginner and the expert
* A new way to garden with 80 percent less space and work
* The companion book to the nationally acclaimed television series
* Over 900,000 copies in print

Square Foot Gardening presents a new way to garden in less space with less work.

* Grow a perfect garden in only 10 minutes a day.
* Harvest the biggest tomatoes.
* Enjoy spectacular flowers every day.
* Ideal for beginners from 4 to 94.
* Simple, easy, attractive and rewarding gardens.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is great and the method is even better."--Bob Thomson, host of Victory Garden

"Top 10 Gardening Best-Seller."--Publishers Weekly

"This is a good, competent gardening book, well written and sensibly presented."--Library Journal

"How to get more from less is one of life's major challenges today. Here is a book that does just that for those with a hoe..."--Booklist

"Bartholomew is a welcome presence..."--Kirkus Reviews

"This amazing discovery truly makes gardening fun and easy."--Mike Levey, host of Amazing Discoveries

"The approach is fascinating. It's new, different and very innovative."--Long Island Horticultural Society

"It's one of the few garden books that offers something new to the reader."--Christian Science Monitor

From the Back Cover

As seen by milions on national television

"The book is great and the method is even better."--Bob Thomson, host of Victory Garden

Twice as much in half the space!

* A complete garden book for both the beginner and the expert
* A new way to garden with 80 percent less space and work
* The companion book to the nationally acclaimed television series
* Over 900,000 copies in print

About the author
Mel Martholomew, a retired engineer, found the answer to the frustrations of most gardeners, "I found a beter way to garden," says Mel, "one that's more efficent, more manageable and less work." The result is Square Foot Gardening. His method has received world-wid recognition for its simplicity and uniqueness and has been written up in every major newspaper and gardening magazine.

What they're saying
"This amazing discovery truly makes gardening fun and easy."--Mike Levey, host of Amazing Discoveries

"The approach is fascinating. It's new, different and very innovative."--Long Island Horticultural Society

"It's one of the few garden books that offers something new to the reader."--Christian Science Monitor

"Top 10 gardening best-seller."--Publishers Weekly

* Grow a perfect garden in only 10 minutes a day.
* Harvest the biggest tomatoes.
* Enjoy spectacular flowers every day.
* Ideal for beginners from 4 to 94.
* Simple, easy, attractive and rewarding gardens.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 347 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; First Paperback Edition edition (February 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878573410
• ISBN-13: 978-0878573417
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MEL BARTHOLOMEW, a retired businessman and engineer, found the answer to the frustrations of most gardeners with his square foot gardening method, which has received worldwide acclaim. He also created the non-profit Square Foot Gardening Foundation to promote easy gardening methods for people around the world. He lives in Utah. For more information, visit www.squarefootgardening.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

202 of 203 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love to garden but hate to dig, this is for you, February 22, 2001

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Square Foot Gardening (Paperback)

I have to admit it, digging the rocky soil of New England never appealed to me. So when I started a garden in our New Hampshire backyard, even though I had a half acre to work with, I used this book and the square foot principles.

There is no reason to create a monster patch of garden if you are only going to have to give away those hundreds of zucchini (people in our town make sure to close their car windows in August, lest passersby fill their auto with their surplus squashes.) The square-foot garden method uses square plots, starting with a 4-foot square, that's all. This book gives you the right number of plants per square to put in each for a typical family. We love lettuce, so devoted more squares to lettuce; and you'd be surprised how few tomato plants you actually need. A married couple with no kids can actually garden in a 4 foot square, which is also helpful for those living in condos or doing terrace or balcony gardening. This method is somewhat related to French intensive agriculture, where a huge crop can be grown in a relatively small space.

Another reason to square-foot garden is to have enough compost to enrich the soil. I never ever have enough of this black gold, even though we compost all our vegetable scraps and grass clippings. (A friend went so far as to strike a deal with the local organic vegetarian restaurant for their scraps to have enough.) And weeding is a lot easier in a small square than on a long, endless furrow.

This is one of my favorite garden books. It's really fun to read, especially in the dark of winter as you plan your summer salad and tomato bounty for the coming summer.

129 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for a suburban gardener., March 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Square Foot Gardening (Paperback)

This is one of the 2 books that actually got me into gardening (the other being Christopher O. Bird's _Modern Vegetable Gardening_). Like most suburban dwellers, I have a back yard that does not lend itself to traditional gardening. With Mr. Bartholomew's method, I grew green and wax beans, peppers, tomatoes, zuccinni, watermelon, canteloupe, cucumbers, sunflowers, corn, pumpkins, lettuce, swiss chard, carrots and radishes all in a garden consisting of 2 4'x8', 1 4'x4' and 1 1'x8' plots. It is an excellent book for beginners, providing basic information on where to place a garden, when in the year to start it, amending your soil (or even making soil, if necessary), etc. There is also a guide for every popular vegetable, showing how and when to plant it, how often to water, how often to fertilize, how to harvest, common problems, and other such things. In conclusion, if you are typical suburban dweller who is interested in starting a garden, this book is a "must read". Not only will you gain great knowledge about a non-traditional form of gardening, but you'll learn that it is really something that you can do, no matter what your level of expertise.

124 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Handful of Seeds, May 2, 2000

By 

M. D. Cummings "Marv" (Kanosh, Utah United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Square Foot Gardening (Paperback)

Are you like I was. . .grab a handful of seeds and sow them like grass then worry about thinning later? Of course, thinning was an arduous chore and never really got done; which meant, I'd usually end up with a lot of small useless vegetables.

"Square Foot Gardening" has done away with the old traditional method of raising vegetables, especially, the plant thick, thin later approach. The first year I used the square foot gardening method I couldn't believe how many carrots I grew, and each carrot was picture perfect. What a difference square foot gardening made for our family garden. No longer is it like fifteen little carrots then one big one. The same is true for all the other produce. My radishes were the biggest I'd ever grown and not a hollow one in the bunch.

Each plant gets undivided attention in an easy almost carefree enviornment. Also, in arid areas such as Utah--where I live. I use only a fraction of the water with the square foot method. It's all explained, and more, in Mel Bartholomew's book: "Square Foot Gardening".