Grow All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet

by Chauney Dunford

Want to grow your own vegetables and food, but don't have enough space for a garden? Don't let lack of space get in the way of growing healthy, organic foods at home. Apartment dwellers, schoolteachers, and anyone else who wants to grow a lot of food in a little space will find a great small garden resource in Grow All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet.

Small-space gardeners, find your start in Grow All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet, packed with information on window boxes, potted plants, patio gardening, raised beds, small square-foot gardening, container gardening, and everything else related to growing your own small garden. Whether you want to grow a full garden, grow tomatoes, grow an herb garden, or just pick up great tips for small gardens, Grow All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet is the resource you need.

Reviews:

"Beautiful color photographs and step-by-step instructions distinguish this guide to growing vegetables, fruit, and herbs in small spaces." - Library Journal

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, Plants, Sustainability, Nature

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Myra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This is much less of a general resource book than a specific project book. There is some really good information at the very end about different plants to grow, but the rest of the book was a disappointment. The first 2/3 or so is actually container gardening. And again, not a general how-to, but specific designs and examples. The rest is small plot gardening.

The title also annoyed the heck out of me. They don't mean 3 square feet. The mean a 3-foot square plot.

This book wants to be Square Foot Gardening, but it's not.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. DK books are so great for their photographs, lay out, and simple "how-to". Very helpful.

[Toast · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good source book. Useful info all in once place. It seems you can teach an old dog new tricks. Helpful pics too.
Toast

[Mindy Sagmoen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of great space saving ideas and helpful growing information.

[Dil Nawaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grow All you can in 3 Square Feet is a beautiful book with the beautiful layout. This is more with pictures than details.

You can read this book in a day easily. Recently I am obsessed with planting and gardening. I checked many books on this topic and as you know urban gardens lack space.

Once you got the space you want to grow all you can in your garden. In October I bought around 150 plants for garden boundary wall and added new grass in the garden.

After that We thought we are missing something. Then we bought seeds of vegetables like bottle gourd, Bitter gourd, Coriander, Mint, Fenugreek, Tomatoes, Green chilies.

When you start gardening you want to grow as many plants as you can. Book name is attractive and also many techniques in this book are helpful.

One negative point in this book is this is written in UK and according to UK environment. Every country has its own environment. But you can adapt techniques which you can practice in your country.

Author mentioned plants which you can grow in Summers and Winters. Author also discussed about soils, common plants diseases.

This is a coffee table book or you can enjoy this in your garden.

[Trace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book and will use it to help me plan my food garden in my new-to-me suburban backyard.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really helpful beginning garden book. I really appreciate the suggested plantings, and the information about what to plant when.

[Katie Mcsweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of info... must just try to put it into practice!

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Packed with so much information, but organized in easy to find ways.

I especially liked the section on companion planting. Easy to follow, offers alternative plants to those that are common, great tips about the entire growing cycle.

Great for a total newbie or for someone who is ready to level up. Might be underwhelming for more experienced gardeners.

Lots of ideas about different ways to maximize small spaces, but the info can also be useful if you have larger spaces, as well.

[June Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a huge volume of information for those interested in vegetable/food gardening in a small area. There are colorful photos, diagrams, and lists (and lists, and lists, etc.) of every imaginable detail you'd ever want to know about what crops to plant in which season(s) and how much the seeds will yield, etc. There are care instructions and clever ideas for reusing oil drums and other 'found' items to make planters.

Highly recommended to new and experienced gardeners. I can't wait to try the Spring garden plan next year.

I borrowed a copy of this book from the 'New Books' shelf in our local public library.

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[LS Schulz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the simple, colorful layout of this book. There were a number of good illustrations and the text was clear and easy to read. I think it would be good for both beginning gardeners, like myself, as well as more established gardeners because of the section on different types of garden layouts. There were so many do it yourself/build it yourself garden containers that looked like they could be great fun to try, with great looking directions and pictures showing how to create the same garden for yourself.

[Madi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primarily a 'make your own container' project book instead of a 'how-to' garden book. Instructions were clear with lots of pictures, but not really what I was looking for. I did enjoy the last section with suggested seasonal food pairings for raised beds, so I might reread in the future.

[CloudsJen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great visuals, but they use a lot of terms that a new gardener would not know (and they do not explain them). So I can see how this book would be overwhelming to someone just getting started.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s some good stuff in here, but really it could have been condensed. Lots of repetition if you read it straight through like I did.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this from my local library.

242 pages excluding index and introduction. First 130 are projects to get your garden set up - containers to grow in, trellises, watering, etc. The projects are simple and attractive and there are many options for various types of small spaces.

The rest is mostly small space container growing and changing crops from spring to summer. It includes several sample plans with some nice variation among them.

There are 16 pages that make up a Garden Planner. It includes images and some basic information about many common fruits, vegetables, and herbs/flowers. The book doesn’t include a ton of information about those thing though, so this isn’t going to be a deep resource about the crops themselves.

Includes a few pages of pests, diseases, and weeds with pictures, which I haven’t seen in the other dozen or so gardening books I’ve been through.

Overall, a nice book to help you set up a small garden. Probably not overly useful if you’re a seasoned gardener.

[Kathy (McDowell) Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thumbed through this book quickly because it's basically a picture book with photographs and captions. I liked the full-color photographs, especially the circular salad idea (I'll be trying that one). I've read so many different gardening books that anytime I can use a couple of good ideas, I consider it a worthwhile book to borrow from the library. The better books I buy.
My favorite takeaways from this book that made it unique from others, is that it stresses what plants to plant during what season, and it offers alternative plants to use in case you can't find or don't like a certain vegetable or herb.
So overall, I'd get this book from the library, but I would not waste my money to buy it.

[Opal]

thanks to braiding sweetgrass i've started growing my own food way too late in the season but i got this years and years ago and i guess it's been helpful in telling me what not to bother trying to grow. i think when i got this originally i would have found it incredibly helpful and a great resourcce but there's so much info online and especially youtube etc now that i'm not sure i needed it rly.
some great little tables though and pages giving info on whether they're good small space plants or not etc. helpful but not essential basically.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has appealing illustrations and easy to follow garden layouts. I especially appreciated the pest and disease guide at the end.

As I was reading, I got the impression that this book was written for a slightly different climate than mine, but I saw nothing that said what region this book was written for or what to do differently if your garden was in a different climate than what they wrote the book for.

[Caitlin Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starter resource for gardening. Has detailed information on common diseases, disorders and pests that I found useful. Also had some interesting ideas for DYI projects that can be implemented in smaller spaces.

I would recommend this read to those wanting to learn some basics about growing their own food.

[ReadingSloph · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
I really liked the way that the information was presented in this book. There is a lot of pictures which makes it really beginner friendly and it makes the topic really approachable. There is a lot of really good information for which plants you could grow in a garden. It is making me really excited to start growing my own fruit and veg.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for those feeling like they are limited in their garden journey because they do not have enough space. Lots of ideas and step by step guides to make your adventure seamless. Even tho I am not limited in space I feel like building a small raised bed and doing some of the methods in this book simply to see just how much food you can grow in a small space.
Inspiring for sure.

[Sara Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of gardening books, and done a lot of gardening. But I was constantly coming across new (to me) and valuable information in this book. I plan to use it extensively in the future, especially about succession planting, and fertilizing appropriately. Well done!

[Jay Muirhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic guide. This has so many options for seasonal growing in small spaces. I would have liked a little bit more information on succession planting and companion planting for optimum produce though. Overall, very informative if you are a novice to growing food.

[Amberwench · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't have a plot to grow in? This book has lots of ideas for the container gardener! How to look for good spots, choosing containers, what to grow, and fun ways to make it attractive. Good for the beginning gardener and the intermediate gardener who's new to only using containers.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle of this is "imaginative gardening for growing in a small space." Very true. This book has lots of really creative and interesting ideas on how to garden when space is at a premium. Wish I had read this when living in Brooklyn.

[kaitlphere · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for small space ideas. Loved the sections on recycling containers and using the same space for different plants throughout the year. The reference sections on spacing, and when to start inside and sow outside are particularly useful.

[Kelsey Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐️
Amazing content for beginners & avid gardeners alike!
So much information on plants for grow, tips for specific plants, different planter crafts for your garden & more!
Will 100% be re-checking this out at the library when it gets closer to gardening time next year!

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really informative and a good coverage of traditional plants. Very handy reference guides and all about the plants section. It did have a bit of a dated feel though with crop selections, it would have been nice for a more varied range. But definitely a great resource for new gardener.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a flick and explore in the summer holiday, but I loved it all the same. It gave me a new found love for growing veggies...although all I managed to grow was a selection of tomatoes, peppers and herbs! 👩‍🌾

[Ruth Paszkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well laid out and amply illustrated this is full of inovative gardening advice for small plots, and contains a good range of different border and rotation suggestions. Some of the advice about pestacides seems a little outdated though.