Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)
ISBN:9780865715530 read summary

This is one of the best gardening books I have ever read... although some of the other reviews noted that the author operated with a condescending 'my way is the only right way' view, I did not take it that way. Mr. Solomon has shared some valuable insights into low input gardening and ways to improve your yields under less than perfect conditions. I consider this book one of my best resources.

When I purchased this book, I was expecting to see the author expound on how to subsistence garden in a small area with limited resources. I anticipated recommendations on intensive spacing techniques, a la John Jeavons or the Square Foot Gardening or other Rodale encouraged methods that have become the standard for many organic or low-input gardeners over the last couple of decades. I also expected the method to be time saving.

Boy, was I surprised! Instead, the author teaches the old wide-spacing row method, with his own twists gained by years of knowledge and experience. He also explains pretty well what conditions might exist to make this method more productive than intensive planting. What surprised me the most was just how much time a large garden planted this way would take to upkeep using elbow grease only.

Ive spent years trying to learn intensive raised bed planting to reduce respource input and minimize the amount of ground required to provide the yield I need. So it took me awhile to really wrap my head around his arguments for his method. I agree with a previous reviewer that this book improves on second reading-or perhaps its just my understanding that gets better the second time around!

If you only have a few hundred square feet of space (most suburban lots) and expect to produce even a fraction of the food you would need in a situation "When It Counts" - ie, subsistence-then I would caution against thinking that his method would work for you. Still a worthy book to have for the basic information presented, as long as a grower could adapt these ideas to their own enviorment and resources. If you have room and don't like to put all your gardening eggs in one basket, a large garden area utilizing BOTH methods might be the safest way to increase chances of a yield no matter what the weather throws at you-have one section planted in raised beds, the other in rows.

If you are looking for food growing guides to help you learn to become more self sufficient, then IMHO this book is a good choice. But I would pair it with an intensive gardening guide or two, "Square Foot Gardening" for beginning gardeners or those with limited size garden plots, and at least one of the John Jeavons guides such as "How To Grow More Food". Add "Seed to Seed" by Ashworth or another definitive seed saving source and you'll be well on your way to having the written resources you'll use again and again.

My advice- there's no single book that will substitute for the experience of getting your hands in the dirt. Buy the books- but dont just put them on the shelf and think you can feed your family if the stores or the money to use them arent there some day. Use the methods, adapt them to your own situation, practice, practice and practice some more- only then will you be able to garden sucessfully "When It Counts".

This man knows more about gardening than anyone but my dad. And that's saying quite a lot. I've bought this book for quite a number of my friends and recommended it to many others. My garden is lush and delicious. Just follow his instructions and you'll be very happy. Grow a garden. It really counts!

I'm about 1/4 of the way through it, and already have learned some helpful tips. The author writes well and is very easy to read. I've gardened for years in the southwest (which is notorious for tough soils,) but thought I should go back and just make sure I've covered all my basics, especially when gardening in harsh times. I'm glad I picked up this book. It's a keeper.

The author was straight to the point what plants are, how they function, how they relate to our us, how to grow them with basic tools and materials.