Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook: Perfectly Timed Gardening for Your Most Bountiful Harvest Ever

by Jennifer Kujawski, Ron Kujawski

“Timing is everything,” they say, and vegetable gardening is no exception. Knowing exactly when to start seeds indoors,
what day to transplant them into the ground, when to pinch off the blossoms, and when to pick for peak flavor is the secret to enjoying bountiful harvests all through the gardening season.
In Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook , authors Ron and Jennifer Kujawski take the guesswork out of gardening with weekly to-do lists that break gardening down into easily manageable tasks. Suitable for all gardening zones, the book offers easy instructions for setting up a personalized schedule based on your last frost date.
The Kujawskis are an inspiring father– daughter team who share their own triumphs, mistakes, and misadventures over many years spent together in the vegetable patch. Readers will enjoy the friendly direction and advice these veterans offer. Easy-to-read boxes, bulleted lists, charts, and detailed how-to illustrations make each week’s activities clear and doable. Spots for record-keeping encourage readers to track their own successes and fine-tune their weekly schedules from year to year.
Inch by inch, row by row, week by week, gardeners will move confidently through the gardening season. Whether it’s planting the strawberries, pinching off the pumpkin blossoms, checking for tomato hornworm, or harvesting the carrots, they will know exactly when and how to do it for the most bountiful harvests and the most enjoyable vegetable-growing experiences ever.

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

200 pages, Spiral-bound

First published January 8, 2011

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you keep open on your counter throughout the planning and planting seasons of gardening, because it's that helpful. It's like having a friend walk with you through it all, week-by-week. It keeps me from becoming overwhelmed, thereby helping me to accomplish more. Highly recommended!

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's like a journal. It helped me plant at the correct times for each plant and reminded me what to do each week. It teaches new techniques for each season and the introduction was helpful.

[Colleen Crayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 This book breaks gardening down week by week in a way that makes things manageable. Where the rating falls for me is that they only focus on certain crops, and while there is a lot covered that still leaves some things out. I very much appreciated that they built the book to be used, not just sit on a shelf. The authors even state that the book should get dirty, written in, etc.

[Natalie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great gardening handbook that gives week by week
reminders and tips to maintain a healthy garden. Will definitely revisit this book year after year.

[Samantha Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this does state that I'm starting late, it's very simple and frugal minded on how to get the most out of your garden. There's week by week notes as well as what you should specifically be doing for which type of plant. Super simple and helpful!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful garden resource, that assumes you are new to vegetable gardening. You are intended to start by filling in your last frost date, then working forward and backward through the book to add dates based off the last frost date to each segment of weeks and chores. If I could only have 5 books about gardening, this would be on the list. My only complaint is that I've had to change my last frost date (a nebulous date to begin with) so that the tasks line up better with the dates I actually do them on. Some of the dates for harvesting and pulling spent plants still don't line up very well, so I may end up trying to tweak the dates further.

As an experienced gardener, this is mostly a reference book for me - I look at the tasks for a week (or segment of weeks) and have already done most of them, but there will usually be one or two things I didn't think of doing. The book is laid out very well, with overviews for several weeks at a time, if you don't want to page through the detailed lists. The book also has helpful information about dealing with pests, preserving the harvest, growing herbs, the authors favorite garden tools, amending soil and more.

I would recommend this book to any gardener who isn't quite sure what to do when in the vegetable garden.

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative but light-hearted and funny. Includes areas to write in dates relevant to your planting zone and make some notes. I also really liked the fact that all of the pest management and fertilizer tips were for a more organic rather than chemical-based approach to gardening.

I have not actually followed their plan yet so I don't know how well it works in terms of getting plants in the ground and getting good harvests, and it's a bit late this year, but I'm looking forward to using their plan next year--particularly with regard to the stuff that needs to be done before the average last frost date. I usually forget until the weather starts to be nice and by then I've missed my chance to get a really good start on the growing season.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

A--dare I say it?--witty manual of gardening! They share my love of rhubarb and the little note on the sex lives of squash was simply hysterical! Beside the readability, this was simple to understand and function--spiral bound binding makes for a book that doesn't flop closed on you.

[Lovely Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had purchased this book weeks ago. It came as a book suggestion on Amazon and I thought why not. I saw some of the reviews stating if you lived in a warmer area it wasn't for you, but I live in Ohio so it was perfect. I did some research on the authors and saw they were from Massachusetts and while their weather is much colder than Ohio I thought it would be a better advice than a gardener who didn't get snow. The book has been 100% dead on. The problem is that I am late getting the book. I tried to get too many things outside before a surprise frost decided to come through and the book would have helped me plan a little better. I'm new to gardening so every little bit helps. I will say if you live in an area that gets rain, snow, sleet, and 80 degree temperatures in May this is the perfect book for you. The step by step instructions are helpful to someone who is just starting out and likes guidance in one location.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ron Kujawski was the gardening columnist for the Berkshire Eagle for many years. We still miss his timely advice, full of hands-on wisdom and humor, week after week, even (and sometimes especially) in the doldrums of winter. His daughter is also a trained horticulturist, and putting their prodigious brains together made a wonderful book, organized in a way that breaks down tasks and makes our earnest annual endeavors more do-able. It's designed to accomodate your own notes, just one more reason this is a reference that will have a long life on your shelf. When I pull it out to start each year, I often think of Peter Paul & Mary's gentle optimistic lyrics, "Inch by inch, row by row, I'm gonna make this garden grow." Thanks, Ron and Jennifer, for making vegetable gardening far less overwhelming, and for making us all better gardeners!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since I discovered this book, I have wanted it at my side at all times during the gardening season. As a beginning gardener, it has been my guiding star on practically everything I need to know to grow vegetables successfully. It tells you what to plant when, offers advice on dealing with pests and diseases, and generally guides you through the gardening year. The week-to-week format ensures that you aren't overloaded with information, but instead only need to read up on what's important for that date. I recommend it for anyone who wants to garden but doesn't know where to start. This book will see you through. Just be sure you know the correct date for average last frost in your area; sometimes the internet does not quite get it right. Ask your local gardening club, they will know.

[Justin Roote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of great bullet points for various crops, organized around the growing season by week. The information is concise and explains the reasoning for each piece of advice. Lots of room is left for note taking, and the different parts of each season are easy to locate. I would like to give it 5 stars, but I have not had the chance to employ the strategies mentioned yet. The index is also lacking, and it’s difficult to find information about specific crops due to the chronological organization of the book - which largely assumes you are following their timeline to a T. I’m greatly looking forward to putting my new knowledge to the test in the garden this year!

[Maureen Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the most helpful gardening book I've read in terms of nailing down the timing for your particular zone. Before this year, I've only had herb and tomato plants. This year I attempted to start my own container garden. Although, I wish I'd had this before I started it has still been helpful in understanding what needs to be done each week. I hope to be way more prepared with a plan next year with the help of this book.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best gardening books that I have looked at, checked out, and read into. Covers a little bit of everything, is quite knowledgeable and is date based. This is a book that I have been looking for for quite a while. Well organized, short entries that are easy to read, directions that are easy to follow and includes relevant/amusing anecdotes. I would recommend this to any gardener regardless of experience level.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this is set up week by week! I may buy my
own copy instead of just reading the library’s because it will be good for keeping notes in. Full of suggestions of when to start certain plants as well and info on different gardening techniques I didn’t know much about (cover crops, 2 types of composting, etc).

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to wear this book out. I have it now on the current week and will check off the current tasks. And I'll do it until the book falls apart. i should probably buy a few more copies to have as backup!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library. It has a lot of space for customizing and journaling. Lots of good information so I’m ordering my own copy and am going to try to follow it throughout the year. Hoping for a healthy and plentiful garden!

[Dagger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the dates for starting seeds and transplanting plants were quite a bit off from what other experts agree is correct. For example, peppers are typically started indoors 8-10 weeks prior to date of last frost, . I will have to make my own weekly with corrected dates.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic planner for gardeners.

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, but needs more copy editing. If in May one should do something to a crop, shouldn't have it been planted at some point before?

[Jess Stahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've used this book for years now and have found it to be a critical asset with keeping track of seed starting and planting times every year.

[Christine Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great guide that I will be referencing consistently each year as I plan my garden

[L O'Cwent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a good starter journal

[OneDayI'll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good beginning Gardener's guide for what to plant and when.

[Ligaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this shortly after it was published (10 years ago...) but just now checked it out of my local library. How it would have saved me from SO many garden fails in the intervening years! The week-by-week info on maintaining your garden is great but specifics on plant types are weak and you should look to other references. I think it needs more blank pages to really function as a workbook but I will invest! It's a great resource!

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new backyard came with a pile of a dirt I intend to turn into my own vegetable garden. I grabbed 3 books from the library about gardening and this happened to be the first I read. My review is coming from someone with little experience outside of potted plants. This book had me super impressed and inspired to just go for it. Grow those veggies! The book guides you in finding your area's last frost date and sets you up with a well-thought-out plan for the pre and post frost season. The inside pages are an easy to skim, 3 columns of body type, black and white photos, journaling pages, diagrams as well and some stand alone special sections. Nearly every tip offered was something new to me, being that I'm a complete beginner. I really liked how a lot of the advice centered around making due with what you have rather than wasting money on tons of specialized equipment. There's a lot packed in this book. From what to grow (even suggestions of specific veggie names), when to grow it, and how to grow it, this book filled me with confidence!! Let's hope it fills my garden with great grub too!!

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up some new things and glossed over some of the stuff I knew. I just wasn't crazy about this book though. Part might be because it has circle wire type binding that always makes turning pages a pain in the asparagus. Part might also be because though I'm reading veggie gardening stuff, our new house won't really be ready for a real garden this summer. We'll be doing things in stages and stage one is clearing the land... that might take... a while. So I'm just dreaming and that's not nearly satisfaction enough.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of useful information, plant, insect and time specific. i will definitely adjust their schedule to the shorter alaskan summer. there's plenty of general information that can be applied regardless of area. i do like the idea of using the last frost date as a planning constant, and i like how tasks are broken into categories such as planting, maintaining, harvesting and tool/storage maintenance. will have to see how well it does in application!

[Lablover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this all the way through but I will be reading this throughout the year every year. It is exactly what I was looking for. It gives you a list of things to do and when to do them to prep throughout the year. I find that this will help keep me organized and will also make things seem less overwhelming. I may not start everything until I can clean and purge my garage but I definitely feel better about this coming growing season!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for easy to use content. I love that the book is essentially weekly to-do lists. Instead of being organized into topics like "soil," "pests," etc., it says "Do this task this week."
Minus 2 stars for making it seem like the growing season is about 21 weeks long in every climate zone, without providing instructions on how to make adjustments if your season is shorter or longer.