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Square Foot Gardening: Growing Perfect Vegetables: A Visual Guide to Raising and Harvesting Prime Garden Produce
Square Foot Growing Perfect Vegetables is a practical guide that answers the age-old question for How do you know when a fruit or vegetable is ripe?
Square Foot Gardening is the most popular alternate gardening method in the world, and this new title is a terrific addition to the SFG family. Growing Perfect Vegetables gets to the root of what every gardener perfect produce, and lots of it.
Whether you grow in a Square Foot Garden, a straw bale garden, containers, or a traditional garden plot, you'll be happy to have this helpful garden book so you can approach harvest time with confidence, not apprehension. Because even the most experienced homegrowers get a little nervous when harvest time comes around.
In Square Foot Growing Perfect Vegetables, you'll find hundreds of beautiful photos that show you exactly how produce should look when perfectly ripe, and ready for picking and buying. It even includes some tips and clues to help you interpret what your plants are trying to tell you about the fruit they are bearing.
Written under the direction of The Mel Bartholomew Foundation, named for the inventor of Square Foot Gardening, this handy book provides crucial information, including optimal planting and harvesting times for more than 60 fruits and vegetables, along with the many high resolution photos of perfectly ripe produce.
Square Foot Gardening is the most popular alternate gardening method in the world, and this new title is a terrific addition to the SFG family. Growing Perfect Vegetables gets to the root of what every gardener perfect produce, and lots of it.
Whether you grow in a Square Foot Garden, a straw bale garden, containers, or a traditional garden plot, you'll be happy to have this helpful garden book so you can approach harvest time with confidence, not apprehension. Because even the most experienced homegrowers get a little nervous when harvest time comes around.
In Square Foot Growing Perfect Vegetables, you'll find hundreds of beautiful photos that show you exactly how produce should look when perfectly ripe, and ready for picking and buying. It even includes some tips and clues to help you interpret what your plants are trying to tell you about the fruit they are bearing.
Written under the direction of The Mel Bartholomew Foundation, named for the inventor of Square Foot Gardening, this handy book provides crucial information, including optimal planting and harvesting times for more than 60 fruits and vegetables, along with the many high resolution photos of perfectly ripe produce.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 8, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 17, 2017
There are lots of things I liked about this book but also some major drawbacks.
PROS:
-- The book is full of gorgeous, full-color photographs.
-- There is a lot of detailed information about how to know when produce is ripe (in the garden and in the stores) and how to keep it freshest.
-- I learned a few new things, even though I am an experienced gardener (for instance, that pears don't fully ripen on the tree and need time in freezing temps after picking, which I have never heard before).
-- There are some nifty little charts and round-ups (ten healthiest fruits and veggies, prettiest, which fruits and veggies continue ripening on their own after picking and which never will, etc.)
-- There are charts to tell when to plant, along with info about whether you can do succession plantings.
CONS:
-- The title seems misleading. It's not really about how to grow perfect vegetables but more about how to know when they're ripe and how to pick them and store them. There is no information about seed starting, soil, fertilizer, pests, watering, diseases, etc. It's not even just about vegetables, since fruits are featured as much as vegetables (including tree fruits like apples, vine fruits like grapes and exotic fruits like durian and jackfruit).
-- The book is rather brief -- almost more "booklet" material than book, even though some of it is quite helpful.
-- Even though this is from the Square Foot Gardening series, it really has nothing to do with SFG and does not give any information on how to do that (it even includes fruits and veggies that the authors admit will not work for SFG).
-- The print price seems a little high. Amazon currently has the print cost much lower than suggested retail, but the retail price is a lot for a book of this length and value.
-- The Kindle price seems far too high. I read this book on my computer (through an advanced reader copy) and did so in one sitting (cover to cover). I would be disappointed if I had paid $10 for an e-book of this length, even a good one.
-- While it's marketed as a gardening book, half the book has to do with store-bought produce. Quite a bit of it is about how to pick out properly ripe fruits and veggies in the store, including a section on imported crops like avocados and pineapples.
-- Planting and harvesting information is ONLY about spring planting and summer harvesting. I was surprised and disappointed that there's no mention of fall gardening at all. So many crops can be quite successfully planted in mid- to late-summer for fall harvest (even in cold climates) and I was particularly interested in knowing ripening information for my fall crops.
I did enjoy the book and made a lot of notes for myself, but buyers may be disappointed if they expect the subject matter to be about square foot gardening or how to grow perfect vegetables. The focus seems mostly on how to know when fruits, vegetables and herbs are ready to harvest and how to pick good produce in stores.
PROS:
-- The book is full of gorgeous, full-color photographs.
-- There is a lot of detailed information about how to know when produce is ripe (in the garden and in the stores) and how to keep it freshest.
-- I learned a few new things, even though I am an experienced gardener (for instance, that pears don't fully ripen on the tree and need time in freezing temps after picking, which I have never heard before).
-- There are some nifty little charts and round-ups (ten healthiest fruits and veggies, prettiest, which fruits and veggies continue ripening on their own after picking and which never will, etc.)
-- There are charts to tell when to plant, along with info about whether you can do succession plantings.
CONS:
-- The title seems misleading. It's not really about how to grow perfect vegetables but more about how to know when they're ripe and how to pick them and store them. There is no information about seed starting, soil, fertilizer, pests, watering, diseases, etc. It's not even just about vegetables, since fruits are featured as much as vegetables (including tree fruits like apples, vine fruits like grapes and exotic fruits like durian and jackfruit).
-- The book is rather brief -- almost more "booklet" material than book, even though some of it is quite helpful.
-- Even though this is from the Square Foot Gardening series, it really has nothing to do with SFG and does not give any information on how to do that (it even includes fruits and veggies that the authors admit will not work for SFG).
-- The print price seems a little high. Amazon currently has the print cost much lower than suggested retail, but the retail price is a lot for a book of this length and value.
-- The Kindle price seems far too high. I read this book on my computer (through an advanced reader copy) and did so in one sitting (cover to cover). I would be disappointed if I had paid $10 for an e-book of this length, even a good one.
-- While it's marketed as a gardening book, half the book has to do with store-bought produce. Quite a bit of it is about how to pick out properly ripe fruits and veggies in the store, including a section on imported crops like avocados and pineapples.
-- Planting and harvesting information is ONLY about spring planting and summer harvesting. I was surprised and disappointed that there's no mention of fall gardening at all. So many crops can be quite successfully planted in mid- to late-summer for fall harvest (even in cold climates) and I was particularly interested in knowing ripening information for my fall crops.
I did enjoy the book and made a lot of notes for myself, but buyers may be disappointed if they expect the subject matter to be about square foot gardening or how to grow perfect vegetables. The focus seems mostly on how to know when fruits, vegetables and herbs are ready to harvest and how to pick good produce in stores.
January 15, 2024
Checked this one out from the library. I didn’t officially read it cover to cover. I read the introduction and the chapter about what ripeness means, but then I just skimmed through the various different foods based on what I grow in my garden.
The book seemed more about harvesting vegetables than growing vegetables as the title implied. Nevertheless, I learned some new things. The “extending ripeness” section for each food was particularly interesting to me.
The book seemed more about harvesting vegetables than growing vegetables as the title implied. Nevertheless, I learned some new things. The “extending ripeness” section for each food was particularly interesting to me.
June 15, 2017
I love Mel Bartholomew's approach to gardening. My square foot garden is the best thing that ever happened to my backyard. This book has information on when vegetables are ripe, both growing and purchasing, which is very helpful and is not always touched on in other garden books.
July 31, 2017
A book that every beginning gardener should own! In fact, anyone who eats fruits and vegetables, whether your grow them or not, would benefit from the information in this book. The title is part of a series that started with All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew and has since grown to be so much more. That said, the title of this edition – Square Foot Gardening: Growing Perfect Vegetables – is a little misleading. While it touches on the square foot gardening approach, it is generally about how and when to plant certain species, and the process of ripening. So, if you don’t have a square foot garden, if you don’t have a garden at all, this book will still be of great benefit if you are in the position of selecting ripe fruits and vegetables – even if it’s only at the grocery store or farmer’s market.
The greatest strengths of this book are its simplicity and clarity. It is full of bright, clear pictures depicting each type of fruit and vegetable in ripe and unripe stages. It explains which fruits and vegetables are done ripening the minute you pick them and which either continue to ripen on their own after picking or can be cajoled into ripening through simple methods (like placing them in a paper bag alone or with another species that puts off pheromones that cause ripening). It also tells you which vegetables and fruits to keep separate.
Storage is another part of the equation, right? We don’t just want produce that is at its peak when we consume it, but we want to know how long it will keep for, and what is the best way to keep it for as long as possible. Should it be in a plastic bag? Open or closed? With or without paper towels? In the fridge or on the counter? That information is in here, too. And a lot more.
And it isn’t just your basic produce like tomatoes and carrots. Exotic fruits are included as well. Don’t know how to tell if a pineapple is ripe when you buy it at the store? This book will tell you. Guava? Mango? Starfruit? Even Lychee (yummy!).
For those who are growing their own produce, there is very useful information about knowing when to harvest, how to store, even what to do with extras. There are clear and simple charts that show when you should plant (based on last frost – so it’s applicable to all hardiness zones!), whether you should start outside from seed, inside from seed, and at what stage of growth to transplant. The very same chart shows you when harvesting is likely to begin and how long harvest will last, as well as whether or not the plant is suitable for succession planting (if you don’t know what that is, this book will tell you!).
That sounds like a lot of information – and it is – but the genius of this book is that it is visual and straightforward. There aren’t seven typed pages about blueberries. A few brief paragraphs, some great pictures for clarity, and a simple chart about planting). I blew through it and immediately wondered why I had to wait until now to have it.
Normally, I don’t review non-fiction books, but this is the year of the vegetable garden for me. My first year planting and I’ve fallen in love hard. There is nothing like serving a salad made of produce you grew yourself or sautéing fresh summer squash in homegrown garlic with butter and salt and pepper. When I saw this book, I had to have it. Had. To. And it is so much more than what I expected. Even if you purchase all of your produce, this book will be immensely helpful. Everyone who eats fruits and vegetables should have a copy on hand.
Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I pride myself on writing fair and honest reviews.
The greatest strengths of this book are its simplicity and clarity. It is full of bright, clear pictures depicting each type of fruit and vegetable in ripe and unripe stages. It explains which fruits and vegetables are done ripening the minute you pick them and which either continue to ripen on their own after picking or can be cajoled into ripening through simple methods (like placing them in a paper bag alone or with another species that puts off pheromones that cause ripening). It also tells you which vegetables and fruits to keep separate.
Storage is another part of the equation, right? We don’t just want produce that is at its peak when we consume it, but we want to know how long it will keep for, and what is the best way to keep it for as long as possible. Should it be in a plastic bag? Open or closed? With or without paper towels? In the fridge or on the counter? That information is in here, too. And a lot more.
And it isn’t just your basic produce like tomatoes and carrots. Exotic fruits are included as well. Don’t know how to tell if a pineapple is ripe when you buy it at the store? This book will tell you. Guava? Mango? Starfruit? Even Lychee (yummy!).
For those who are growing their own produce, there is very useful information about knowing when to harvest, how to store, even what to do with extras. There are clear and simple charts that show when you should plant (based on last frost – so it’s applicable to all hardiness zones!), whether you should start outside from seed, inside from seed, and at what stage of growth to transplant. The very same chart shows you when harvesting is likely to begin and how long harvest will last, as well as whether or not the plant is suitable for succession planting (if you don’t know what that is, this book will tell you!).
That sounds like a lot of information – and it is – but the genius of this book is that it is visual and straightforward. There aren’t seven typed pages about blueberries. A few brief paragraphs, some great pictures for clarity, and a simple chart about planting). I blew through it and immediately wondered why I had to wait until now to have it.
Normally, I don’t review non-fiction books, but this is the year of the vegetable garden for me. My first year planting and I’ve fallen in love hard. There is nothing like serving a salad made of produce you grew yourself or sautéing fresh summer squash in homegrown garlic with butter and salt and pepper. When I saw this book, I had to have it. Had. To. And it is so much more than what I expected. Even if you purchase all of your produce, this book will be immensely helpful. Everyone who eats fruits and vegetables should have a copy on hand.
Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I pride myself on writing fair and honest reviews.
June 25, 2017
“Growing Perfect Vegetables” is a great reference book for those who eat vegetables as well as for those who grow them. This is not a book that teaches how to grow vegetables, but instead teaches what vegetables look like when they are at the peak of flavor.
For those who grow, it also contains helpful instructions and charts about planting and growing schedules for most common vegetables. For those who eat, it has wonderful color photographs of those vegetables both when they are ripe and ready to pick or eat, and when they are not yet ready. This helps everyone select vegetables at their peak of flavor either from the garden or from the produce section of the grocery. There is also a tutorial on ripeness, including the climacteric and non-climacteric fruits and vegetables, and the proper storage and handling of fruits and vegetables.
I received a copy of “Square Foot Gardening: Growing perfect Vegetables” from Cool Springs Press and NetGalley for review, and I found it to be an excellent reference book. The photographs perfectly illustrate the stages of fruits and vegetables as they grow and what they look like when they are ready to pick, to buy, and most importantly, to eat.
For those who grow, it also contains helpful instructions and charts about planting and growing schedules for most common vegetables. For those who eat, it has wonderful color photographs of those vegetables both when they are ripe and ready to pick or eat, and when they are not yet ready. This helps everyone select vegetables at their peak of flavor either from the garden or from the produce section of the grocery. There is also a tutorial on ripeness, including the climacteric and non-climacteric fruits and vegetables, and the proper storage and handling of fruits and vegetables.
I received a copy of “Square Foot Gardening: Growing perfect Vegetables” from Cool Springs Press and NetGalley for review, and I found it to be an excellent reference book. The photographs perfectly illustrate the stages of fruits and vegetables as they grow and what they look like when they are ready to pick, to buy, and most importantly, to eat.
September 6, 2019
At first I was massively disappointed when I realized that this book wasn't about GROWING vegetables but is actually about the next stage of gardening: harvesting one's garden produce. In light of this, I believe SFG should change the title of this book and remove the misleading “Growing Perfect Vegetables” bit with something more accurate such as “A Visual Guide to Harvesting and Identifying Ripeness.”
BUT once I got over my disappointment I found out that this book is really useful for beginner gardeners who need to learn how to identify when one's fruits or vegetables are ripe enough (such as yours truly). Included are the dos and donts of storing garden produce, what's the best weather or time of day to harvest specific produce, how to make them last longer, how to choose the best items at farmer's markets or grocer's, etc. There's even a section on exotic fruits — my Malaysian ass was impressed to see durians included in it :)
I think this book would benefit not only gardeners, but anyone who loves cooking and is particular about buying and using the best freshest ingredients in their recipes.
BUT once I got over my disappointment I found out that this book is really useful for beginner gardeners who need to learn how to identify when one's fruits or vegetables are ripe enough (such as yours truly). Included are the dos and donts of storing garden produce, what's the best weather or time of day to harvest specific produce, how to make them last longer, how to choose the best items at farmer's markets or grocer's, etc. There's even a section on exotic fruits — my Malaysian ass was impressed to see durians included in it :)
I think this book would benefit not only gardeners, but anyone who loves cooking and is particular about buying and using the best freshest ingredients in their recipes.
August 16, 2021
Checked out from my local library. This book doesn’t seem overly related to square foot gardening and is more about “harvesting prime garden produce” (knowing when it’s ripe) than it is about growing garden produce.
I’m on my second year gardening and most of this information is stuff I’ve already seen on the internet. I did make a few notes of some new-to-me information. The book was short: about 144 pages of content. There are beautiful pictures and the information is well organized and follows suit with other SFG books.
All in all, I’d suggest finding a copy at your library rather than purchasing.
I’m on my second year gardening and most of this information is stuff I’ve already seen on the internet. I did make a few notes of some new-to-me information. The book was short: about 144 pages of content. There are beautiful pictures and the information is well organized and follows suit with other SFG books.
All in all, I’d suggest finding a copy at your library rather than purchasing.
July 27, 2020
I don't know, I guess today is just a 3 star day?
I really wanted information on how to care for plants throughout their lifespan, and this book was entirely focused on how to tell if produce was ripe. It assumed a lot of knowledge about the square foot gardening method, which I would have liked to know more about.
At the same time, the information about each vegetable or fruit was clearly organized and gave information about how to harvest it on my own or choose good produce to buy, which is useful.
I really wanted information on how to care for plants throughout their lifespan, and this book was entirely focused on how to tell if produce was ripe. It assumed a lot of knowledge about the square foot gardening method, which I would have liked to know more about.
At the same time, the information about each vegetable or fruit was clearly organized and gave information about how to harvest it on my own or choose good produce to buy, which is useful.
April 17, 2021
A slim little veggie reference book. Again, got this from the library while waiting for the original Square Foot Gardening book to be available. This has some nice references for sowing seeds/transplanting/harvesting the most commonly grown garden veggies. Also has some nice reference pictures. I think this one would be better in physical form than the ebook version I checked out. It was helpful in planning some spring planting for this new gardener!
July 1, 2017
Another excellent resource for new and intermediate gardeners. I've has a garden foe decades, but there was new information for me. Beautifully punctuated with stunning photography. This a wonderful addition to Square Foot Gardening, my go to for information. I highly recommend any learning gardener get both resources for a highly successful season.
October 12, 2017
Some interesting facts about which plants can go together and which can't. Lists are given of fruits and vegetables that ripen after they are picked and those that don't. Also lists of which ones need to be used quickly and those that can be refrigerated for a while. The pictures are each vegetable showing it ripe (ready to pick) is very useful.
April 24, 2021
Had a little nerd spree and checked out a bunch of books on gardening from the library. Mainly picked up this one for the pictures, oops. Despite the title it's mostly just about how to tell when every fruit and vegetable you could think of is perfectly ripe. This would be a good reference book to have around the house, but was only mildly interesting to read through cover to cover.
October 7, 2020
Has a lot of good information on when to harvest fruits and veggies based on ripeness.
Each item has an optimal planting and harvesting chart, sadly not useful for Tucson, AZ, but good for most of the US.
Each item has an optimal planting and harvesting chart, sadly not useful for Tucson, AZ, but good for most of the US.
October 8, 2020
This book had so much information in it that if you really wanted to remember it all, you’d need to buy the book or take notes. I enjoyed the variety of fruits and veggies that were talked about. It was a well written book!
June 18, 2017
I have been growing food for quite a while, and since I am always adding new foods it was nice to read about when things are truly ripe and over ripe. And how to pick them at their peak.
March 22, 2020
It was good enough but I would have liked better charts with regard to how long you could continue to plant produce. The descriptions of when to harvest were excellent
January 17, 2021
Very basic. Mostly tries to describe when a fruit/veggie is ripe or unripe.
April 20, 2021
Very very basic guide on what vegetables look like and when you should harvest them.
September 28, 2020
I have been interested in trying this method for a couple of years and finally read the book. I already have raised beds and am excited to start square foot gardening in the spring. A very informative book.
January 3, 2018
What a great concept. Well thought out book. I love gardening vegetables and this will certainly make me consider a different way next season.
January 30, 2018
As an owner of a previous version of Square Foot Gardening, 357 pages (1981) by Mel Bartholomew I was excited to read the newest version, Square Foot Gardening: Growing Perfect Vegetables, 160 pages (2017). Although it is the same concept, it is definitely updated for this generation. Not only are the photographs much better, the content is slimmed down. I was disappointed in the lack of true growing instructions because this short version addresses how perfect vegetables look, not really how to make sure you are starting them out perfectly. Seed starting information is readily available at a number of sites and through catalog companies, so I am sure this version of Square Foot Gardening will be useful to the beginner and those wanting to try something new with their garden. Full Disclosure: I was allowed to read a copy of this book for free as a member of NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not influenced to give a positive review.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews