Backyard Winter Gardening: Vegetables Fresh and Simple, In Any Climate without Artificial Heat or Electricity the Way It's Been Done for 2,000 Years

by Caleb Warnock

Without fresh, all-natural winter gardening in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries people would have starved to death. The good news is that feeding your family fresh food from your own backyard garden all winter long is far easier and less time-consuming than you might imagine. And you won’t find better-tasting food at any price!

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Sustainability

229 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2013

Reviews

[Shane Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good tips, but the book would have been more beneficial if Warnock had included detailed plans and information on building cold frames, hot beds, and greenhouses. He gives some information, but having never built any of these, I felt a bit lost. However, the lack of details has spurned me on to do more personal research, so the book is a great jumping off point for greater learning.

[Brady Heyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars: great, but not a must-read

A quick and easy intro to winter gardening. Would recommend to anyone unaware that winter growing is possible.

Edit: changed from 3 stars because of how important this topic is and how few books there are about it!

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should be titled "Winter Gardening on Acreage" as many of the suggestions are not possible for those with small lots and no vat of fresh manure from their farm animals. I can not dig huge pits in my small yard and fill them with manure to make hot beds unless I used up my whole yard and got cited for having farm animals. I don't have space for a huge greenhouse, but I CAN wait to pull up all my carrots and/or put coverings on things I can be growing in my current garden space. There are many good suggestions in this book, but so many of them are not new news to anyone who has tried to make their harvest last and others are not possible for a small backyard garden. We will probably try some growing in cold frames next winter and will continue to cover our carrots to harvest in February and get all our potatoes and squashes stored appropriately to last through the winter as we have done in the past.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some good information about growing food in the winter.

Some of his methods will be hard for me to apply since I don't have a supply of hot manure to use for hot beds.

I really appreciate the effort he goes to to find heirloom varieties for his garden. In the other winter gardening books I've read the authors use a lot of hybrids and don't bother saving their seeds since they are trying to make a profit and they turn up garden beds as soon as possible to make room for the next planting. I like reading about someone who does winter gardening in a more sustainable way by using heirloom varieties and proving that you don't have to have a hybrid variety to grow food in the winter.

I must say, I really want to try the recipe he gives in the rutabaga section. I've never eaten a rutabaga before, but it sounds yummy (rutabagas, potatoes, and carrots all mashed together).

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a beginners gardening book. And being a beginner, it’s above my level. I think an advanced beginner of intermediate gardener would learn a great deal from the book, though, and hopefully would give them the ability to try their hand at winter gardening.

I will say, I thought the book would have been more successful if the author had focused the preface more on the benefits of gardening this way rather than the fear-mongering, commercial farming is killing us approach that he took. Whether the concerns about the state of the food industry in our country are well founded or not, I make no claim to have knowledge in that realm. But I do think that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and I think more people would benefit from the book had he focused more on the positive and less on the negative.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! Very thankful I came across it as someone just learning and wanting to learn about winter gardening. I love how informative the book is although I do wish there were more "how to" information on some things. But, for a shorter book that covers numerous things it's a great starter book for learning a good direction to go in for starting to grow in winter. I also love that he put the different varieties that have worked for him year and year again. I'll happily be buying his other books to read!

[Rachel Van Orden · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about how winter gardening can be done. It is impractical for beginner gardeners or people who do not have lots of land and access to animal manure. It inspired me to start seeds early and to try to grow early lettuce in a small greenhouse that I purchased.
Overall the book had a negative tone (don't trust the food in the grocery store, don't rely on others) and the author sounded conceited at times. He often pushed buying his winter vegetable seeds, which is why I rated the book as a 3 and not higher.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I put this book on hold I didn't realize it was the same author of the More Forgotten Skills of Self-Sufficiency that I had read before. Warnock gives a really good overview of winter gardening and why it's important and good to do. My husband and I keep talking about doing a fall/winter garden, but haven't yet. This is a great resource that once we finally make that step I will definitely use. Overall, a good solid book that is a great resource.

[Chrissy Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a total novice with gardening so I am trying to learn by osmosis (reading as much as i can) and sometimes books are too geared to the expert for me to grasp what they are saying without looking up certain, in the know, terms on google. I thought this book was well done and informative. I loved that most of the book is about individual plants and their needs for these types of winter gardening. It was very easy to understand and I loved that it was set up like a teaching manual for us beginners, and it had some history behind it as well for the how's and why's that it works and also why certain plants work better than others for certain areas/climates. I cant wait to read more books by this author.

[Gail Richmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ideas with illustrations. Useful charts & ideas for greenhouses, hot frames, and other options for winter gardens.

[Alain Beauregard]

To cold here to use, maybe else were...

[Tam G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. Enthusiastic. Obvious working knowledge. Nice information on the specific plant varieties he uses. Too much time convincing the reader that they want to do this (if you have the book I'd say there's a high interest). Not enough information on building cold frames or dealing with the differences between zones.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book for those of us that think 6 months of gardening is just not enough. He lists lots of varieties that do well in the cold, information on how to build cold-frames and hot beds, and is a local gardener for me so his information is relevant. A few things would have made the book better. He has lots of illustrations, captions would have been great. He gives lots of information, but a chart, a graphic organizer, a calendar, a listing of exactly what could go directly outside would make it so much more accessible. I know that the stuff is in there, but don't make me work so hard. That being said, I will be trying a number of his techniques and varieties come Autumn.

[Kristina Seleshanko · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've never harvested and grown vegetables in winter before, this book is for you. The author focuses on the tried and true methods of winter gardening - mostly cold frames and hot beds. He explains a simple, inexpensive way to build them. He offers the names of seed varieties best suited to winter gardening. He explains how to store certain veggies in the ground or in a cool location, like a garage or cellar. He even explains his geothermal greenhouse, something I've not seen elsewhere. To see more details about what I liked and disliked about this book, see my blog Proverbs Thirty One Woman blogspot.com

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a garden book nerd. I'll admit it. So I've read lots about gardening, but this is the first that I've read that has delved into Winter growing specifically. I found loads of practical information in this book, and I only live on a quarter acre lot. The author gives plenty of options and shares what has and has not worked for him in his years of experience. I particularly like that he gives recommendations for which varieties of open pollinated seeds are the most winter hardy. I'm planning on building a few cold frames this fall and giving his ideas a go!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things that I have always loved about this author’s books is how easy they are to understand. I know nothing about gardening. I have never had a green thumb but with these books I start to understand plants and how they work. I see ways that I can grow as gardener and someone interested in nature. I love purchasing this author’s books because I always learn something new. On a different note, the pictures are just amazing.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

We didn't cover anything in the garden this year, and were able to harvest carrots, kohlrabi, and turnips for Thanksgiving...in Wisconsin! I can't wait to try some of Caleb's ideas for extending the harvesting season even longer. Now...if only I had a backhoe so I could build myself a geothermal greenhouse. I'm going to the library website next, to reserve "The Forgotten Skills of Self-sufficiency Used By the Mormon Pioneers."

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might have to admit I'm a little obsessed with Caleb's books right now. I have learned so much from them and can't wait to try so many things. I even attended his greenhouse gardening class and hearing him in person makes his books even better. He has a way of saying things bluntly, yet at the same time disarming, and peppered with lots of humor. My poor husband now has to attempt to temper my enthusiasm for growing all of our food this winter.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author outlines simple ways to extend vegetables into the winter as well as store vegetables. He outlines good seed varieties and teaches how to use hotbeds and coldframes, and even a basic geothermal greenhouse. Lots of useful tips for keeping veggies, like hanging tomatoes by the vine in the garage for them to ripen over winter. I can't wait to try a simple and inexpensive coldframe for keeping lettuce a bit longer into winter!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Eliot Coleman's "The Winter Harvest Handbook" before this, and found that it had more technical details on sunlight, temperatures, etc -- along with nifty graphs and data. Warnock's book was somewhat of a lighter read, but I'm still glad I read it. The two books cover somewhat different techniques, and I feel like I've gotten a well-rounded look at winter gardening now.

[Serity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checked it out from the library, but this is definitely one I want to buy. I built my own hoop house today and am planting some winter lettuce this afternoon (Dec 2), in Utah!! Excited to be able to grow my own food year round! I really appreciated his recommendations for which seeds to try.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I would have given it a higher rating if I was able the try the advice but I live in a more temperate region.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, but wish it had more tried and true practices in it. But time will tell.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

some very good advice for planting a winter garden. it's geared towards those who live in very cold climes, though.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful photography. Not as much information as I would've thought. Very basic.

[Katlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the ideas... It was hard to find manure to try the hot beds but we did make a cold frame that has worked really well. Most interested in the early starts, which I haven't tried yet.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Focuses on self-sustainability and gardening through a historical perspective. Introduces the use of cold frames, hot beds and (very briefly) geothermal greenhouses.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caleb is what I want to become! I can't wait to use the methods in this book t become more self reliant.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this! I've always wondered how people lived off only the food they could grow and I'm always interested in knowing more. We are going to try winter gardening this year.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. I'm trying a lot of his techniques next winter.