Grow More Food: A Vegetable Gardener's Guide to Getting the Biggest Harvest Possible from a Space of Any Size

by Colin McCrate, Brad Halm

Overview

Just how productive can one small vegetable garden be? More productive than one might think! Colin McCrate and Brad Halm, former CSA growers and current owners of the Seattle Urban Farm Company, help readers boost their garden productivity by teaching them how to plan carefully, maximize production in every bed, get the most out of every plant, scale up systems to maximize efficiency, and expand the harvest season with succession planting, intercropping, and season extension.
 
Along with chapters devoted to the Five Tenets of a Productive Gardener (Plan Well to Get the Most from Your Garden; Maximize Production in Each Bed; Get the Most out of Every Plant; Scale up Tools and Systems for Efficiency; and Expand and Extend the Harvest), the book contains interactive tools that home gardeners can use to assist them in determining how, when, and what to plant; evaluating crop health; and planning and storing the harvest. For today’s vegetable gardeners who want to grow as much of their own food as possible, this guide offers expert advice and strategies for cultivating a garden that supplies what they need.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635864090
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	299,510
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Colin McCrate and Brad Halm are experienced CSA farmers and co-founders of The Seattle Urban Farm Company, a business that designs, builds, and maintains edible gardens. Their work has won awards at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and has been profiled in GQ, Sunset, Newsweek, Outside magazine, Grist.org, Slate.com, and more. They both live and teach near Seattle.
 

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction: Become a More Productive Vegetable Gardener
1 Plan Ahead & Keep Records
Increase yields by using space efficiently, planting at the right time & planting more often.
Chapter One: Evaluating Your Current Garden Setup 16
Chapter Two: Crop Scheduling & Record Keeping 26
Chapter Three: Garden Mapping & Crop Rotation 462 Build Healthy Soil
Maximize harvests by providing soil with high nutrient levels & a diverse ecosystem.
Chapter Four: Prepping Soil for Production 62
Chapter Five: Building & Maintaining Soil Quality 79
Chapter Six: Suppressing the Competition 963 Get to Know Your Plants
Grow more food by planting the right varieties at the right time with the best care.
Chapter Seven: Selecting Seeds 104
Chapter Eight: Transplanting & Direct Seeding in the Garden 118
Chapter Nine: Fertilizing, Pruning & Hand Pollinating to Boost Production 137
Chapter Ten: Managing Pests & Diseases 1504 Create Efficient Systems
Plant more of the crops you want & water them efficiently.
Chapter Eleven: Setting Up a Home Nursery 166
Chapter Twelve: Starting Your Own Transplants 181
Chapter Thirteen: Irrigating Consistently & Evenly 2045 Extend & Expand the Harvest
Harvest longer & more often & store crops properly.
Chapter Fourteen: Extending the Growing Season 226
Chapter Fifteen: Timely Harvesting & Successful Storage 243Appendix: Garden-Planning Worksheets & Charts
Resources
Metric Conversion Charts
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

12/06/2021

“As your knowledge and experience grow, so will your yields,” write McCrate and Halm, owners of the Seattle Urban Farm Company, in their handy debut guide to growing one’s own vegerables. Their approach is centered on treating a backyard garden like a “small-scale farm,” and they kick things off with a discussion of planning and record-keeping (featuring tricks for picking the best site and an exercise to write down one’s “growing priorities”), followed by a section on maximizing soil health, which includes a guide to interpreting soil test results and fixing common problems. Then comes a chapter on seeds; a section with tips for creating “efficient systems” that achieve adequate lighting, water, and humidity in a home nursery; and a final chapter that offers suggestions for extending the growing season, harvesting, and storage. Though the authors apply the seriousness of professional growers, they don’t lay on too much pressure: “Gardening is fraught with challenges. It will make you lose your mind if you don’t take a step back... and laugh at the whole process.” Backyard gardeners looking to bring crops into their kitchen need look no further. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Backyard gardeners looking to bring crops into their kitchen need look no further.” — Publisher’s Weekly 

“Essential reading for all vegetable gardeners. ” —Niki Jabbour, Growing Under Cover 

“Any home gardener will love the professional tricks of the trade.” —Jean-Martin Fortier, The Market Gardener 

"Co-authors and founders of the Seattle Urban Farm Company, McCrate and Halm have gathered their years of experience working with backyard gardeners and small-space farmers into five informative chapters packed with growing tips and strategies for gardening with purpose and an eye on increasing production."  —Pacific NW Magazine

"Authors Colin McCrate and Brad Halm, founders of Seattle Urban Farm Company, want to show you how to grow more food in the space you have—whether that’s a 90-square-foot garden or a half-acre one. They walk you through planning your garden setup, selecting seed varieties, making nutrient-rich compost, managing crop rotation, propagating cuttings, storing seeds and more. This book is a great guide for every stage of the vegetable-gardening process." —Modern Farmer

From the Publisher