The container victory garden : a beginner's guide to growing your own groceries /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Even if all you have is a postage stamp's worth of space on a balcony, patio, or front stoop, The Container Victory Garden equips you to dig into the joys of container gardening, right where you are.

Imagine this: In the morning, you pluck a few mint leaves from your backdoor herb garden and add them to your tea. A few hours later, you step out onto your patio and collect a handful of lettuce leaves for your lunch salad. Just before dinner, you harvest a few basil leaves and cherry tomatoes for a delicious caprese pasta.

In her trademark warm and informative style, bestselling author and expert gardener Maggie Stuckey shares everything you need to know to succeed with container gardening: planning, gearing up, planting, nurturing, and harvesting.

In The Container Victory Garden, you will find:

detailed line art drawings that illustrate many gardening techniques and set-ups first-person stories of World War II Victory Gardens and their inspiration for today's gardeners beautiful full-color paintings of diverse people enjoying their container gardens

This is the promise of container gardening: a fresh bounty of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers you can enjoy in every season.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Gardener Stuckey (Soup Night) delivers a simple manual on how to grow plants in containers. "Gardening is hope made real," she contends, and offers guidance on how those short on outdoor space can develop their green thumb using pots and other receptacles. She explains factors to consider when planning, including how much sunlight the plants will require, which are best suited to one's region, and which thrive during which seasons. Stuckey recommends readers acquire a trowel, cultivator, hand pruner, watering can, and gloves to get started, and she provides a rundown of the pros and cons of various container types (ceramics are "elegant" but break easily, while plastic planters are durable but "not especially handsome"). Step-by-step guidance describes how to plant seeds and nurture their growth, offering such useful suggestions as thinning out seedlings that have sprouted too closely together and transferring newly purchased plants into a watery fertilizer solution before placing them in their final container, so as to loosen up their roots. Ideas on how to make the most of limited space include stacking plants on a baker's rack or fashioning a makeshift trellis out of fishing line. The thorough, no-fuss advice for growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers will get beginners started in no time. Urban gardeners will appreciate the recommendations on making the most out of limited space. (Feb.)

Booklist Review

Veteran gardening and cookbook author Stuckey (Soup Night, 2013) delivers a title, born of the pandemic, that's both sweetly nostalgic and immensely practical. With an inclusive spirit, she encourages folks with limitations due to space, sun, and more to unsheathe their green thumbs, while also embracing those who have tried unsuccessfully before and welcoming people with mobility issues that keep them out of the traditional garden. Since planning is the key to success, Stuckey walks readers through all the factors and variables that will determine a harvest. Next, the veggies (and more) are each profiled with all the attributes to help gardeners pick the perfect plant. Stuckey also offers rich stories on the history of victory gardens and how they nourished families and souls, making this a great read. This entry-level book is sure to become a favorite resource, and whether they're drawn to the warmth of the narrative or Stuckey's encouraging tone, its readers will be anxious to try their hands at gardening this spring.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Maggie Stuckey is the author of a number of gardening books, including "Gardening from the Ground Up" and "The Houseplant Encyclopedia". She lives and gardens in Portland, Oregon.

(Bowker Author Biography)