Stacey Hirvela - Edible Spots and Pots: Small-Space Gardens for Growing Vegetables and Herbs in Containers, Raised Beds, and More

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Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2014 by Stacey Hirvela

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Book design by Christina Gaugler

Illustrations by Lindsey Spinks

Photography credits can be found on .

: Hanging salad garden photographed at Chanticleer Garden, Wayne, Pennsylvania

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

ISBN: 9781609619596
eISBN: 9781609618575

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To Adam,

my partner in the garden and in life

Are you ready for a new way to grow your own food?

An easier way that works, no matter how much space or time you have?

A way that combines both beauty and bounty, enhancing your outdoor space while nourishing your loved ones with healthy, homegrown produce?

Its time to throw off the cloak of convention and grow down a different path with edible spots and pots. This new approach to vegetable gardening combines the sound, proven practices of the past with new ways, new ideas, and a new look for how and where you grow. Its a welcome departure from tradition that acknowledges that you live in the real world where you might not have as much time or space for your garden as youd like, and that the privilege of saying I grew that! never loses its appeal.

Growing edibles in spots and pots is a way to think outside the plot, or the inground places where vegetables have traditionally been grown. Edible spotsor raised bedslet you garden just about anywhere in your yard, no matter what the soil is like. Potsor containersare familiar to most gardeners as a place for flowers, but they are perfect for growing edibles, too. They let you transform any sunny spot on your property (including walkways, patios, decks, even your driveway) into a vegetable garden.

Gardening in spots and pots is more fun and less work than conventional garden plots, and youll save precious time and resources. Just look at these advantages:

Spots and pots take less time to plant and maintainno heavy digging or cultivating.

You can provide the perfect soil, light, and water conditions for every crop you grow.

Rocky soil, clay soil, or compacted soil? No problem! Just grow on top of it.

Fewer pests and diseases will impact your garden, and any that do appear will be far easier to manage quickly, effectively, and without chemicals.

Raised beds and containers eliminate the need to kneel, stoop, or bend, saving your back and your knees.

Fewer weeds appear in raised beds and containers, but those that do are easy to pull, even by hand.

Spots and pots are more convenient to tend and harvest because they can be placed near the house, where it will be easy to pick a handful of fragrant herbs, a newly ripened vegetable, or the fixings for a super-fresh salad.

Extend the season earlier in spring and later into autumn to enjoy a longer growing season and more produce compared to those folks who garden conventionally.

Grow up instead of just out, utilizing walls, balconies, eaves, and window frames as potential garden spaces.

You dont get as dirty working in raised beds and containers, so you can sneak in a few minutes of gardening whenever you have time.

When you grow your own food, the harvest is its own reward. And growing in edible spots and pots does it one better by making it super-convenient and easier on you. When a garden is as beautiful as it is productive, its an inspiring and refreshing place to spend your timewhether youre at work or at play.

There are dozens of ways to make edible spots and pots uniquely your own: You can choose the size and materials for your raised beds and containers, position them almost anywhere you like, and grow nearly any crop you like in them. This book features 16 do-it-yourself projects that give you even more possibilities for customizing your garden, helping you create new places to hold pots and space savers for your raised beds. Save money (and make good use of the off-season) by whipping up a bunch of grow bags or by building your own handsome-yet-sturdy dolly for moving your containers around effortlessly. These projects are based on components that are easy to find at hardware stores and garden centers and draw only on basic household skills to create them. You probably already have materials on hand for many of them, so you can get started right away! These projects are not just beautiful and useful, they are durable and designed for professional looking results, so you know that your time and money are being invested wisely in making your garden more efficient, more productive, and more uniquely your own.

There are projects here for every skill level and budget, all of them designed specifically to work as edible spots and pots. Youll delight in saying not just I grew that! but also, I made that!

A garden is full of life and color, a veritable stage for interplays of interesting plants, and this book brings a fresh approachthe thriller-filler-spiller schemeto combining vegetables and herbs in spots and pots. Simply choose a thriller (a dramatic focal-point plant), a filler (a spreading, bushy plant), and a spiller (a vine or twining plant) to create beautiful and botanically sound edible gardens. And theres no guesswork neededyoull find all of the information you need to combine beautiful, delicious edibles successfully using this method. Each crop has been labeled as a filler, spiller, or thriller, so all youll need to do is decide which crops you and your family will enjoy most, follow the formula, and enjoy the results. Its a feast for the eyes as well as the palate! Long popular as a way to combine summer flowers, this simple, foolproof planting guideline will give you the same lush, appealing results with vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers that it does with ornamental flowers and foliage.