Gardening for Geeks: DIY Tests, Gadgets, and Techniques That Utilize Microbiology, Mathematics, and Ecology to Exponentially Maximize the Yield of Your Garden

by Christy Wilhelmi

Specifically marketed for the geek audience interested in gardening, beyond the basics of design and planting to offer a thorough explanation of the pop science behind gardening techniques, and to present an assortment of cheap DIY tests, gadgets, and techniques that utilize science, technology and gardening smarts to maximize the yield.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Science, How To, Horticulture

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2013

About the author

Christy Wilhelmi empowers people to grow their own food, to be more self-reliant, and to reduce pollution and waste, one garden at a time.

Christy is founder of Gardenerd, the ultimate resource for garden nerds, where she publishes newsletters, her popular blog, and podcasts. She also specializes in small-space, organic vegetable garden design and consulting. She holds regular organic gardening classes in California, and was a board member of Ocean View Farms Organic Community Garden in Mar Vista, California for over 20 years. Between 50-70 percent of her family's produce comes from her garden of less than 300 square feet.

She is author of Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden (Cool Springs Press); High Yield Small Space Organic Gardening (the updated version of Gardening for Geeks (Fox Chapel)); 400+ Tips for Organic Gardening Success: A Decade of Tricks, Tools, Recipes, and Resources from Gardenerd.com (Amazon Kindle); and her debut novel, Garden Variety (William Morrow). The sequel to Garden Variety is coming in Spring 2026.

Reviews

[Guilherme Miotto · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good, but not so nerdy as I expected.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. I was expecting a “geekier” book but it’s till a good overview. I found the rainfall formula interesting, I’ll try it and see how that goes in practice.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is the title.

The book DOES have an overview of gardening but I would neither recommend it as a basic book for beginners nor as one to fulfill the longing of more advanced gardeners for interesting information.

One of the geeky gardening tips is to stick your finger into the soil past your second knuckle... if your fingertip is wet you don't need to water. At just how basic a gardener is this aimed? Another tip is to step back while pruning so you can prune like an artist. I think artistic pruning needs a bit more direction than the few preceding paragraphs. Seed varieties to try are "Great Geeky" I feel like my definition of "geeky" differs from that of the author. The words geek, geeky, and geeks sprout up through the book more than seeds in a garden (54 instances according to the search feature)

Seeing lettuce on the list of warm weather crops dropped the star rating.

[Jennifer van der Fluit · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the many quotable quotes:
biodiversity in the garden is "the opposite of putting all your eggs in one basket."
So encouraging:
"You may come up with the next best bio-intensive method yet."
Another great quote:
"vegetables-just like people-grow better if they are well supported."

I checked this book out from the library. I really don't need another gardening book on my shelf, but the recipe section sold me the book! Oh, and the list of seed companies! And the plans for building a solar food dryer! And all of the insets!

[Logan Streondj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty banal,. Doesn't really do the title justice, only a couple "tests" were mentioned nothing you couldn't learn from your local soil test kit. Otherwise a bunch of outdated unsustainable annual agriculture mumbo jumbo can get from any website on beginner gardening.

[Adriana Mesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a complete overview for gardeners of all levels.
It touches on construction of structures, weather, soil and different types of crops.
Filled with great tips. I´m sure I´ll be going back to it again and again as I build my garden.

[Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent book but there wasn't really anything geeky about it. A better title would be "gardening for beginners."

[Aja Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as technical or detailed as i anticipated from the title, but lots of fun tips and answers to "whys" which i always appreciate! a good general gardening resource.

[Michelle Lines · Rating 3 out of 5]

More on the intro/beginner level scale which is why I'm giving it only 3 stars. The content was good, but based on the title, I was expecting a little more in-depth coverage.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and understand. Good photos. A couple of nuggets I put into practice this year and a few more things I want to try moving forward.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good introductory book to gardening. Explains the process for different types of gardens and lists vegetables and herbs and how to troubleshoot them.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative!

[mathiasx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers a lot of ground, including bio-intensive gardening. More focused on the yard gardener than Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre, so might appeal more to hobbyist gardeners, where Mini Farming explains how to work towards actually earning some income and/or providing the majority of your fresh fruits and vegetables from your farming. Good coverage of pests and non-pesticide ways of combatting them.

Also has a small amount of reference materials in descriptions of common vegetables and herbs, some recipes, and some guides on how to build various raised beds and tomato cribs. Overall, I didn't need these references, but it is good they're there.

Well-written, fun, and decent photographs. 4 stars.

[rinabeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a chemistry geek without a green thumb, despite having a Master Gardener mother. I appreciate the level of technical detail and explanation presented by Wilhelmi. This book is by no means a comprehensive book on gardening (nor does it claim to be), but there's a solid basis for getting started with lots of info for when you're ready to expand. There are a lot of extras that people with infinite time and commitment could do, but I'm trying to sift out the basics. We'll see how it works out next year. My husband has already built some of the raised beds. We're planning to have the structure done before winter so we can get right into planting in the spring. Wish us luck!

[Darci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a book to "read" as much as it is to reference. I've scanned through it and look forward to going into more depth as I have time. I love her podcast which is what led me to the book. Fun "geeky" gardening tips!

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm new to gardening and this book has been super helpful. I'm constantly referencing it. I thought the material would be way over my head, but the author breaks down everything you need to know about organic gardening in an easy to read way.

[Arie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great complement to Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

[JP Canny · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's good, I just expected more science. like for real geeks.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

rather more basic than I was expecting tbh

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more individual plant technology. I really liked the simplified layering approach to composting.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic information for those new to gardening.