Samantha Hilder: Vertical Vegetables & Fruit

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit

From the Back Cover Limited Space and Little Time to Garden? Try Growing Your Food UpIn a very small footprint, you can take advantage of vertical acreage by planting vegetables and fruit that climb, ramble, and twine toward the sun.

Small, contained spaces also minimize weeding and pest control and maximize your harvest.Begin with peas and beans, the stars of climbing vines, and then explore the vertical possibilities of other popular garden foods: * Grow tomatoes in a hanging planter; pick them off the dangling vines* Train cucumbers along the sloping sides of an A-frame trellis* Tie melon vines to a fence and use slings to cradle the heavy fruit* Weave sweet potato vines through a trellis; enjoy the foliage as a decorative plant and dig the potatoes for dinner* Confine sprawling squash plants to a tepee instead of having them take over valuable garden space About the Author Rhonda Massingham Hart is a master gardener and the author of several books including Vertical Vegetables & Fruit, The Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb, and Deerproofing Your Yard & Garden.

She has written articles for a variety of magazines, including Flower & Garden, Woman's Day, and Fine Gardening. She writes extensively on organic gardening techniques and lives in Washington State.

At last, here comes an innovative solution for urbanites, apartment dwellers, and anyone who wants to grow their own food in small spaces - growing up! "Vertical Vegetables & Fruit" shows how easy and fun small-footprint food gardening can be.

Low maintenance and big harvests are just two of the benefits of using teepees, trellises, cages, hanging baskets, wall pockets, stacking pots, and multilevel raised beds to grow vegetables.

Whether the soon-to-be garden is a narrow alley, a balcony, a rooftop, or just a windowsill, master gardener Rhonda Massingham Hart provides expert advice for constructing the site, preparing the soil, and planting and caring for vegetables and fruits that will produce a hearty harvest.

From beans on a tepee to tomatoes on a wire archway, melons on a slanted fence to cucumbers on a trellis, kiwis on a clothesline to strawberries in a pot, there are simple growing guidelines here to fit every gardener's favourite tastes and site.

Consumer review about Vertical Vegetables & Fruit :
Very American but a usefull starting point for British gardeners will be buying more on subject before start spring planting(Read more)