Greenhouse Gardener’s Companion, Revised: Growing Food & Flowers in Your Greenhouse or Sunspace
Posted on Jan 29, 2010 under Books Dvds and Software | 3 Comments
From Publishers Weekly
There’s something refreshing about a gardening book that doesn’t start out with soil. Smith ( The Bountiful Solar Greenhouse ) puts off the nitty-gritty subject until chapter nine. In the meantime, he covers such subjects as vegetables, flowers and herbs, light and temperature, ground beds and containers, and crop spacing and scheduling. This is not a complicated book; the operative word for it is “companion.” And while some of the advice is rather elementary, it does lead the reader painlessly through the steps and requirements of owning and gardening in a greenhouse. Undoubtedly, Smith’s role as a lecturer and host of a radio gardening show has also inspired him to write in terms simple enough for beginners. His saving grace is a quiet sense of humor that’s evident throughout the book–from his warnings about weather to his “biased opinion of hydroponics.” When Smith does get around to soil, he goes at it from the point of view of providing plants with a healthy root system–covering soil pH and nutrients and organic soil amendments in beds and pots. The extensive final chapter is devoted to everything that can go wrong–i.e., pests and diseases, for which Smith recommends mostly organic and biologic controls. As he points out, a “greenhouse or sunroom garden is probably the closest garden you’ll ever live with.” This is a book to live with. Illustrated. Garden Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The director of Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and author of The Bountiful Solar Greenhouse ( LJ 4/15/82) has produced a practical, comprehensive guide to making the most of any greenhouse or garden room. Addressing almost every aspect except the actual construction, Smith covers the greenhouse environment (light, humidity, temperature), interior design (plant placement, fans, drainage), individual plants and their propagation, pollination, growth, and scheduling for flower or fruit production. There are chapters on problems, diseases, and insects, and lists of associations, mail-order suppliers, and sun averages during the year across the country. As a Wyoming gardener, he puts a good deal of emphasis on using the greenhouse in summer as well as in winter, but this is a useful, practical guide for readers in most of the continental United States.
- Molly Newling, Piscataway P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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August 22nd, 2009 at 2:17 am
This is really a reference book. I can’t imagine anyone reading it cover to cover. For me, the first 90 pages on green house design and operation were exactly what I needed. In the middle, there are 170 pages of commentary, organized by plant, in which the author makes witty and pointed comments on the utility of growing the specific plant in a green house. For example, on Avocados, he writes: “Before you get excited about homegrown guacamole fresh from your greenhouse, I need to tell you that avocados are difficult to get to produce fruit in a greenhouse.” On banana, he states: “Bananas are worth growing solely for the tropical look they bring to a sunspace, and you can also get a harvest from your banana.”
Throughout the other 200 pages, Smith offers guidance (and opinions) on just about everything you might want to know regarding green house gardening. For example, he has his own favorite composting technique and cannot get excited about hydroponics. He is excited about manual pollination techniques, though. He likes to have fun in his greenhouse, and his enthusiasm is contagious.
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August 22nd, 2009 at 3:43 am
I have a lot of greenhouse books- the Ortho greenhouse book and the “Expert Greenhouse” book and others. This book is by far the best. I bought the first release and then upgraded to the (2000) “revised edition.” What a pleasant surprise! It covers all the bases from setting up your greenhouse to growing specific crops. Now I’m eating fresh salads and home grown greenhouse tomatoes. If you want to too- get this book! It even explains organic – chemical free pest controls!
August 22nd, 2009 at 4:27 am
I love this book and am having such fun reading it. Shane Smith shares himself in such a way that although I’ve never met the man, I now think of him as a friend! His writing style is easy going and often very funny and personal and the information he imparts is useful, and obviously comes from years of real experience. Running even a hobby greenhouse can be expensive with all the gadgets, yet he gives good and practical advice for those who don’t necessarily have the means to buy the biggest and best of everything the manufactures would like to sell you! He tells you what you really need to have and know, and what’s just “fluff.” I would recommend that anyone with a hobby greenhouse invest in this book.