Wouldn’t it be great to easily and quickly grow fresh fruit and vegetables in your own backyard? Author Clare Matthews has written a book entitled, “The Low Maintenance Vegetable Garden” to help you with simple shortcuts and unconventional low-maintenance strategies. Would-be gardeners can learn the tricks needed to grow their own produce without putting in a lot of work. The simple instructions are accompanied by inspirational photographs that will encourage novices, while the solid horticultural advice will help even experienced gardeners get great results in no time.
We received this book from the publisher for our honest review.
Clare Matthews’ terrific book on growing your own vegetables with a minimum of effort is a terrific book for anyone who is short on time, but long on the desire for home-grown food. The Low Maintenance Vegetable Garden is a hefty hardbound volume of 222 pages filled with excellent advice and tips to succeed.
Beginning in the obvious place, the author talks about design, the construction of the garden area, and the planning aspects. From the simplest hole in the ground to intricate garden designs with raised beds and paths, there’s a style to fit any taste.
The author’s sage advice about what to grow that will suit your own particular needs or desires is most welcome for those who want to garden, but don’t know where to begin. She advises growing only what you like to eat, choosing plants that give a large harvest with little effort, and not trying to grow a little bit of everything. Less is better. A nice chart lists very-easy, easy and fairly-easy vegetables from which to choose. More than 110 pages are devoted to this section.
Once you’ve chosen what to grow, the book details how to grow it, including soil, no-dig, mulching, feeding and fertilizers, sowing seeds, transplanting seedlings spacing, weeding, watering, crop rotation, pests & diseases, and even growing in containers.
The book is written in easy to understand language and fully described; superb photography enhances the text, and the book finishes with a full index and glossary of garden terms. For anyone wanting to embark on successful vegetable gardening, this book is a great place to start.
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