Book Review: The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible

by Edward C. Smith

More Christmas bounty.

This is an easy read (read it Christmas day), with large font and lots of wonderful pictures. Chris lamented that it is somewhat beginner, but I argue the book explains concepts far more thoroughly and visually (beginning to end) than any other gardening book I’ve come across. I think anyone can benefit from the info it contains, beginner or advanced. (Perhaps buy it used if you’re *super master gardener* just in case…)

The premise of the book is WORD: Wide Rows, Organic Methods, Raised Beds, Deep Digging. The author gardens in raised beds with nicely tilthed soil in Vermont, building long, wide mounds with rich, luxurious soil and then leveling them off for planting. Along the way he talks about compost, the importance of pH, and all the other little things gardeners think about like selecting tools, etc.

His setup in Vermont is inspiring, if not jealousy provoking. The pictures are gorgeous, and highly informational in themselves. This book was worth it if just for them.

Things I picked up:
pH importance, greensand as additive, close spacing in raised beds (finally someone tells me!)

Things I Liked:
Our gardens in 2007 were an experiment: we wanted to see how large things grew and what they looked like! (What does a carrot look like when it’s not in a plastic sack in the grocery store?) I had never come across any books to date that contained that sort of visual information until this book graced my fingers. The pictures of crops were enlightening, and the spacing information was exactly what I needed (ie. you can plant closer than the seed packets say), especially given how we garden in raised beds, allowing roots to grow down instead of out. The pictures were the most valuable part for me.

Simple book, simple concepts. Makes it look easy!

Contains cultural info for many common veggies (always love this part of gardening books)

Things that made me go hmmm...
He’s an advocate of raised beds involving deep digging of the native soil. However, we have tall raised beds made of composite lumber because our soil is rocky and clay-like – not much deep digging going on here. As much as I’d love to have really deep soil beds, it isn’t geographically possible without the lumber/timber supports. Although I see his point, and over time perhaps our soil will be conditioned and become more relaxed and workable…

The more books I read, the more different answers I get seed starting dates, and this book was no exception. I’m now in the habit of referring to a local handbook, California Master Gardener Handbook, because it provides regional info. Many vegetables are better planted in the early “Fall” here in NorCal (ie. September when our average high temp is 88-90^o still), because our summers are so hot an unforgiving, and the veggies have to time to ripen before Winter really sets in (peas, for example).

The author has 1500 ft² of beds. We currently have 200 ft², and there’s no way we’ll get to 1500 ft² on our current property. Like I mentioned, his setup is jealousy-inspiring, but I have space-limiting issues in my neck of the woods. I would love to have a couple flat acres, but I don’t. “If he can have such great production in Vermont, you should be able to recreate the success elsewhere.” Flawed argument there. I won’t hold his large plot against him though. Perhaps I AM jealous!

Overall, I thought the book was interesting and worthy of keeping in my library. I will certainly refer to it again and again, and during the long, cold, wet days of winter, look over the pictures and daydream about my gardens in 2008.

Grade: A-