California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Eat the Best Edibles for California Gardens

by Claire Splan

California abounds with edible selections to grow in the diverse conditions of the state. California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening addresses the critical elements of climate, soil, sun, and water that affects growing success. More than sixty fruits, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers are highlighted, and helpful charts and graphs for planning and planting the garden are included.

Genres: Gardening, Plants

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty standard 20th century gardening book with lots of updated old fashioned advice about dealing with pests and problems with various chemicals (organic or not) and 20th century gardening methods. It's got lots of photos and gives thorough information about growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, including trees. I garden organically and use far more regenerative principles. This struck me as straight out of the 90's but with better photos. I garden in Minnesota now but started out in California. I have happy memories of my Austrian babysitter Frederika's backyard San Jose garden. That was the 70's and I think she was more progressive than this book, but it's just fine for those who want those standard techniques (spray this, kill that, etc.). Lots of good information about what varieties work best in various California zones.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Hazel Rainfall · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sad little book had only about 10 useful pages within its binding. Most of the information presented was built upon opinions and not scientific accuracy. If you are looking for extremely watered down general information regarding a specific plant then this is your book, otherwise I would suggest picking up a book designed for greater detail and accuracy.
The book is also outdated and suggests techniques that may not work well for most gardeners and or are simply not true.

[Cev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info to have all in one place, however a lot of it was beginner stuff and not very specific regionally.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

In preparation for my eventual homestead (big dream of mine), I have read many gardening books. The first part of this books gives easy to read information that will help any beginning gardener. It explains hardiness zones and micro-climates in California and how to set up a garden. For someone who has been gardening a few years, most of this information will be old hat.

The pest and diseases section has a great chart with different plants, their most common problems, and solutions to those problems. I have flagged this section for easy reference and I KNOW that I will use this during the year.

The best part of this book is the last section where Splan goes alphabetically through edible plants giving detailed information about when to plant, where to plant, how to plant, care and maintenance, and harvesting. This information is invaluable and the author did a good job of being comprehensive in her edible list. They only edible that I grow that isn't on the list is loofah, and I grow mine for sponges, not eating.

In the end this book is excellent for a beginner gardener and has some sections that will aid a more experienced gardener. I would definitely recommend this book for California gardeners.

[Shasta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this book went into further detail on what should be done with each type of plant after harvest.