Sugar Snaps and Strawberries, a Book Review

Sugar Snaps and Strawberries by Andrea Bellamy is the gardening book for anyone interested in growing food in small spaces, and I can say without hesitation that it is a book that I will continue to use for years to come. 

You really can garden anywhere. Finding space is every small gardener's first task, and an entire chapter has been devoted to creative ways to garden even if you don't have a backyard.  As I wrote in a previous post, I started a backyard co-op in order to share my yard with a friend who has no yard at all!

This is the first gardening book for small spaces that I have read that encourages the reader to discover his or her own personal garden style to determine how the space should look before designing the layout of the garden. For example, should it be a formal or informal garden?  Will you integrate your edible plants with your ornamentals?  What gardens in the past have inspired you?

"There is beauty in a garden, no matter how simple or how small."  
 Photo credit Jackie Connelly

One of the charms of this book are the incredibly beautiful photographs by Jackie Connelly. They are incredibly inspiring and make the book a pleasure to read.

Photo credit Jackie Connelly

I found the section on plant families and crop rotation to be one of the most useful in the book.  I've been growing plants like zuchinni and tomoatoes in my raised bed each year, and because they are in the nightshade family I've been battling the same diseases year after year.  I realize that I am going to have to rotate the crops that I grow in my raised bed.

As an organic gardener I an glad this book focuses on gardening organically.  Included in this book are tips about where not to garden (such as near heavily polluted streets as this will leave a layer of grime on your plants) and help for common soil problems.  There are step-by-step instructions about how to prepare containers and build raised beds, and also how to compost and control insects organically. 

I found out that I am not alone in never having grown cilantro successfully, so if you've tried it and failed don't be discouraged!  This book includes a short list of the easiest edibles to grow, and handy information about each one can be found in the "Edibles A to Z" chapter.

My own little container / raised bed garden has been growing for exactly three months now, and you can see a little more of the progress. The peppers and tomatoes are being grown in containers.  I love nothing better that a homegrown tomato so I am in heaven whenever one ripens:

At the end of the summer growing season I'll turn to this book again for guidance about harvesting and storing your own seeds.  I would definitely like grow some of the same varieties again next year.  And I am considering a winter garden this year as well.

Andrea also blogs over at Heavy Petal, so be sure to pop over and check out some of her recipes, tips (like this great post on Low Maintenance Edibles), and garden-related freebies that complement her book.  

Sugar Snaps and Strawberries is a cheerful, enjoyable, informative read, and I recommend this book highly if you want to create an edible garden in a small space.

Disclosure: I was provided with a review copy of this book but my opinions are my own!

The Backyard Co-op Victory Garden

via eBay

In mid-April two friends and I started a cooperative organic garden in my backyard, a.k.a.
The Backyard Co-op Victory Garden. 

It's a creative effort to eat locally and organically (and incidentally, this garden is one of my major life distractions right now). 

We don't have to live with rationing in 2012 so you might ask what exactly are we gaining victory over?  High produce prices, huge carbon footprints, pesticide, and lack of taste in supermarket produce.

via The Victory Garden of Tomorrow poster project by Joe Wirtheim

My husband and I have a typically Southern California tiny backyard (because lots for houses built after 1970 here are SMALL) and an equally tiny bed for growing veggies.  We're also growing tomatoes and bell peppers in containers:

A tiny new lemon growing on our small tree:

In the bed are two zucchini squash, two string bean plants, two green onion (scallion) plants, some Italian oregano, and a basil plant. I've never grown zucchini before and I find the blooms to be so beautiful.

Here are a couple of photos of the Squash Monster, or the largest of the two zucchini plants and a couple of slender new string beans:

As May draws to a close I am amazed at the growth in the garden in little over a month.  Dear readers, have you planted a garden this year?

~ P.S.  I'm participating in a group giveaway over at Modern Modest Beauty!  Head on over and enter by Saturday, there's loads of prizes! ~

Some things never go out of vogue....

It seems that many of us are doing this these days:



And I'm trying to live by this code:



And I'm attempting to do this well:



But so far I've got a jungle in my backyard, along with a few cherry tomatoes and a rock-hard squash. Anyway, I'm looking to the wisdom of the past to get through these tough economic times. Crafting is one of those "little luxuries" that need not break the bank and really adds to the enjoyment of life. At least, that's my two cents!

These and other vintage war posters can be found in Northwestern University's World War II poster collection.