Author: D.J.Herda

Publisher: New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada

ISBN: 978-0-86571-665-0

Click Here To Purchase From Container to Kitchen: Growing Fruits and Vegetables in Pots

Noting the increasing acceptability of the idea of growing edible plants in containers, internationally renowned master grower D. J. Herda sets out in From Container to Kitchen: Growing Fruits and Vegetables in Pots to explore which fruits and vegetables grow best in pots, which varieties outperform their less robust cousins, how to plant and nurture your crops from planting to harvest, how to build your own best recipe for gardening success and how best to get the message out to others: the time is right for organic gardening.

Arguing the health and cost-cutting benefits to be gained from growing one’s own crops, Herda stresses the timeliness of his book in terms of modern inventions, new discoveries about horticultural techniques and new varieties of plants —

both fruits and vegetables — which have opened up unforeseen vistas for the apartment-bound prospective grower. Herda revels in the delights of what you can do and grow with a minimum of knowledge and space, and a maximum of enjoyment.

The topics that Herda covers include selecting the right container size and location, optimizing soil composition and nutrients, managing light, water and humidity, choosing the best fruits and vegetables for container gardening, eliminating pests and plant diseases naturally, and extending the harvest. For each recipe for success for the growing of 25 different types of fruits and vegetables (ranging from everyday, albeit unconventionally grown, tomatoes to the more exotic, though equally practicable, dwarf fig), Herda provides the following details: habit, cultivars, seed or transplants, pot size, water, comments, varieties, seeds, transplants, soil, insects, solutions, diseases, health benefits, ready for the kitchen, and annual savings. This 233-page guide is bountifully illustrated with both color and black-and-white photographs of the crops concerned, as well as of the containers in which you can grow them.

Herda’s style is humorous and highly accessible to the newcomer. Though he provides the scientific names for all the fruits and vegetables that he describes, he does not overwhelm one with a plethora of unnecessary and confusing detail. Above all, what Herda says makes a great deal of sense. For those who wish to read further in the field, he provides a list of web sites and books, though the average home gardener, no matter whether novice or seasoned pro, will most likely find all that he or she needs in this informative and wise text.