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How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries,...

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How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine

byJohn Jeavons

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Top positive review

Positive reviews›

This book is life-changing and my favorite

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2024

I am an older Italian woman who has grown my own vegetables for many years and I own a vast library of books on gardening but if I could only own one book, this would be it. After reading this book, and a couple years of improving my soil, I went from growing a few basic vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to efficiently growing enough food to feed my family as well as a few friends and neighbors.

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Jonine Blackshear

Don't Judge It By the TITLE!

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2009

This book does not tell you how to specifically grow more vegetables from one plant but outlines the details of how to garden in limited space with great yields for a self sustaining lifestyle. Although it does contain useful information I was profoundly disappointed.

If you are wanting a book that tells you how to get more production from your plants this isn't it. Buy a book on composting instead. If you are wanting simple garden techniques that have great yields and specifics about each plant then I would take a closer look at Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza.

6 people found this helpful

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From the United States

This book is life-changing and my favorite

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2024

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I am an older Italian woman who has grown my own vegetables for many years and I own a vast library of books on gardening but if I could only own one book, this would be it. After reading this book, and a couple years of improving my soil, I went from growing a few basic vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to efficiently growing enough food to feed my family as well as a few friends and neighbors.

Real how-to for serious homesteaders

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2012

Verified Purchase

My family of six and I are dabbling in homesteading and trying to grow "all our own food", at least theoretically, on about an acre and a half in Michigan. Out of all the books we have tried, this book has by far been the most helpful for our needs. It's hundreds of detailed pages about building and keeping healthy soil plus gardening tips that you will not get anywhere else so easily.

I have researched and bought MANY books on gardening and homesteading and found that they either fell into the "same old gardening book" camp with an alphabetical list of plant species you can grow, with little or no useful info on soil health, sustainable practices, or companion planting; or into the "inspirational" camp where the author philosophizes about sustainable theory, the impending soil apocalypse, and how growing your own food will save mankind. These arm-chair homesteading book are a lot of fun, but don't actually teach you anything useful.

This book is bursting with charts, diagrams, formulas, lists, and general how-to. It really is like a good textbook. It also gives you easy-to-understand theory behind the practices, without self-righteous environmentalist nonsense. I read it from cover to cover when I first got it, and am now going back part by part trying to get my head around concepts in more detail. This book is a keeper that my whole family will be going back to as a reference for years.

The thing I like best about this book is its rare honesty. The author and his organization put decades of practice behind all their recommendations - no fluff in here. Some of the concepts in this book were amazing to me, like creating micro-climates within the growing beds and root development in seedlings being permanently affected by the depth of their flats. The finer distinction he makes between tilling and "no till" methods, vs.his own "double dig" methods which are really neither - something quite distinct - is something I had never encountered before. He is also humble enough to recognize that he has never actually achieved true sustainability - even going so far as to admit there might not be any such thing in theory. Just "99%" sustainability. There are also no quick-fixes in here or miracle cures. The text constantly reminds you that developing the best garden takes time, effort, and continual skill development. That might not be appealing to some who want a perfect garden now, and it might not seem inspirational to those looking for a religious experience, but the practices taught in this book are refreshingly real.

11 people found this helpful

You've got to get this book and try gardening with this method!

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2010

Verified Purchase

My purchase of the book this time around was simply to restock my library and to share with my community garden team. I saw John Jeavons speak at a fair in California about 20 years ago and thought what the heck, I've got to try this. It worked so well I had people from all over Mendocino, Ca. coming to look at my garden; things grew huge and happy with no pesticides or non-organic fertilizers! I was amazed and have been using this method ever since. I now live in Texas and gardening is a real challenge here due to heat, sun and wind, but the method works tried and true even under these conditions. You don't have to follow everything in the book (planting on moon cycles, for example); planting on centers alone will radically change your garden and increase your yield from anything you plant using this method (flowers, vegetables, cover crops, etc). It is ideal for small or large space gargening; we're using it in our large community garden. Soil is the "sponge" your plants will grow in and this book really teaches you how to care for it with charts, illustrations and easy to follow instructions. The reference charts are an amazing wealth of information; I highly recommend this book!

7 people found this helpful

Peter R. Mcintyre

Intensive gardening

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book takes the concept of Square Foot Gardening and really expands on the idea. You always start with the soil. This author makes it seem easy to double dig garden beds. This is an ancient technique going back to ancient Greece and China. The theory is that if the soil is loose and aerated to a depth of 24" or so the roots will grow deeper, and be stronger. Having used this technique myself I know that I have always gotten a higher yield in the beds that have been double dug.

I think that this author gives long time gardeners some ideas for consideration, and he also gives novice gardeners a plan to follow. And he always goes back to the soil, building it year after year, until it will be black gold.

Peter McIntyre

5 people found this helpful

What I was hoping for in a book with this title (7th ed. 2006)

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2009

Verified Purchase

As a non-specialist gardener with limited resources and space, I found a great deal of practical advice that I was able to put into practice on my small plot immediately. I've read some of the negative reviews and I still don't know what exactly most of those writers were expecting. For my part, I was expecting information on, ummm, how to grow more vegetables than I thought possible on less land than I could imagine. Well, I feel that the book delivers on that. The chapter on bed preparation, a key to high yields, is a case in point: short but concise and with clear instructions on how to prepare your plot, large or small, for maximum yields. That's just what I want and not a 30 page chapter on the minutiae of bed prep. I have to admit that there is some digression here and there (the sustainability chapter has a few) but for the most part the chapters don't overwhelm the reader with too much information to follow and too many alternatives to put into practice. It has an approach and it sticks to it. I'm very glad I purchased this book.

2 people found this helpful

You can't go wrong adding this to your gardening library.

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

A lot of good information in this book.

Great way to learn about intensive gardening.

I don't need to go through it all in a review as others have said it before and better than I could.

Even if this style of gardening isn't for you it's still a good book to have because you might find some good ideas in it.

easy for beginners

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2011

Verified Purchase

I am an amateur gardener and in response to some of the other reviews I found this book extremely easy to read and use. Jeavons gives step by step information that is easy to follow. For the master charts and such I didn't even look as it's a bit confusing for me but the part I liked best was the sample garden plans for a 1 person 100' bed and 4 person family that progresses over 4 years. To me the book was a lot more than just gardening advice but also taught me a lot about the ecology and how we need to give back to the soil what we take away in order for it to be productive. I think the 100% sustainable model is extremely inspiring and although I may not make it all the way, at least by trying I can reduce my impact on the earth!

3 people found this helpful

Practically Perfect in Every Way!

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2008

Verified Purchase

This is the sort of book you search for. You can now recycle your other garden books. This book along with a good seed catalogue is all you'll ever need. It is packed to overflowing with detailed information about the hows and why's plantings in your garden will or will not work. Inside it has lists of companion plantings, and plants that would be detriment to each other. It is science with practical field experience. It also contains detailed charts and guides to truly make the most of your garden. The author has given you exactly how many seedlings you need to plant to provide for a family of one to four. Brilliant! They've taken the guess work out of the adventure! And that is a huge relief!!

26 people found this helpful

A good book with surplus pages

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2007

Verified Purchase

This is a definitive guide to the Bio- Intensive method of growing vegetables. It is well written, and you can see that a lot of time and effort are behind the concepts presented here.
Two things bother me; There`s an almost 100- page bibliography included in the book!? Couldn`t it have been put up on a website or something, instead of just making the book (look) bigger and thicker? The second issue is that I find it always a bit irritating when a lot of equipment or systems get mentioned in a book, but to get their specifics or plans you must buy another book. Maybe the plans for the U- bar or for the mini- greenhouse could have fitted on those bibliography pages?
Anyways, the four stars is for the part where the actual system gets described.

28 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book it full of useful information. Unfortunatley, very very full. It is a un-interesting read and isn't very easy to understand. I don't think I would have bought it had I known it would be so hard to keep my attention on. I will however keep it, because it is so full of information. I recommend this book to anyone that needs detailed information, very detailed. Maybe I'll give it over the winter for me to push my way through it.

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