Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers

I have read a lot of gardening books, but this is one of the all time best!! It is full of facts, as opposed to general descriptions. "A full grown tomato takes a gallon of water a day." as opposed to some vague keep it well watered that you get in so many books. It is precise, without being dry. Written with a sense of humor, as well as common sense. I found a lot of very useful information, even though I am a seasoned gardener, and a novice would find this invaluable. The information I found was accurate, and as importantly, explained. I love to know the "why" behind something. I must also comment on the pictures. They are good pictures of exactly the plant being talked about. You could easily identify an unknown plant from the pictures and descriptions. That is rare...most books show plants from too far away, or in a grouping...neither of which is helpful to me. All and all, this is my favorite gardening book of all time!! If I had to list a fault, I would be hard pressed to come up with one. Perhaps a bit more on the section on making a self watering pot at home. The basics are all there, but I would have like a bit more on the bigger containers, like how to turn a whiskey barrel into a self-waterer. And to go along with that, a few resourses on parts (as opposed to finished units.)

This book provides a thorough and thoughtful explanation of vegetable gardening in self-watering containers. While Mr. Smith seems to make a point of not endorsing specific brands in his books I would have found that useful. I did manage to google the adjustable reservoir insert Mr. Smith describes in "making a self-watering container" on page 28 and discovered it, or one just like it, is available from the Gardener's Supply Company for $14.95. It would be a relatively simple propositon to make your own from pvc pipe and sheet plastic.

Amateur gardeners often associate vegetable production with labor-intensive work - but it doesn't have to be that way, if you use self-watering containers to grow veggies in pots. Ed Smith has been vegetable gardening for over fifty years, teaching courses on the topic: his INCREDIBLE VEGETABLES FROM SELF-WATERING CONTAINERS USING ED'S AMAZING POTS SYSTEM emphasizes organic yet trouble-free growing techniques. Diane C. Donovan, Editor California Bookwatch

This book is a manual for vegetable gardening from containers. Smith, an experienced vegetable gardener, noted that many would-be gardeners lack access to garden plots, or find tending such plots difficult because of physical challenges. Gardening in containers would make it possible for these people to grow some of their own food, but yields have been notoriously low for container-grown vegetables. Smith and his wife Silvia embarked on a project several years ago to see if they could develop improved growing methods that would produce produce of acceptable quality and quantity in containers. What they found through their experimentation is that virtually all garden vegetables can be grown very successfully in containers, and that some actually do better in containers than in traditional earth gardens. In this book, they describe in detail how to grow vegetables and herbs in containers, noting which crops and varieties are the best choices for container growing. The book is a joy to browse through, with its numerous high-quality color photographs, many of which were taken by Silvia Smith. Smith notes that the key to good vegetable yields is an ample and continuous supply of water. In traditional pots, this is hard to achieve, since the pots must be checked and watered several times a day during peak seasons. A further problem is that many of the nutrients are washed out of the soil each time the pot is watered. This led Smith to the new generation of "self-watering pots," which consist of a container for holding soil and roots, suspended over a large water reservoir, with a significant air gap in between, as well as a means for water to be wicked into the soil from the reservoir. Smith found that when vegetables are grown in such self-watering pots, they can go for days, or even a week without watering, yet the soil never goes dry, nor loses nutrients through watering. He found that many garden vegetables thrive in such pots (although he notes that a few herbs do better in traditional pots). In addition to describing types of pots for bountiful vegetable gardening, Smith provides very useful information about soil mixtures to use in the pots. He enumerates garden pests that may be encountered and ways to overcome them. Throughout the book, he stresses organic methods and sustainable garden practices. A very useful section of the book is the alphabetical guide to garden vegetables, in which he takes up each common garden vegetable in turn and provides specific tips for growing the vegetable in a container, noting any varieties that are better for container-growing than others. I first heard about Smith's container garden efforts when I saw his container-grown artichoke with a giant blue Judges' Choice ribbon at the Tunbridge Fair. That incredible display got me intrigued with the idea of trying to grow some vegetables in pots myself. As Smith notes in the book, certain heat-loving vegetables such as eggplants and artichokes ar

I am very impressed with this book. It has great pictures and descriptions of container gardens that the author tested. He goes over vegetables, herbs and flowers. He also shares which plants do not do as well in self-watering containers. I found some nice self-watering containers at gardeners.com and have already started my first herb garden.