Fast Fresh Garden Edibles

Fast Fresh Garden Edibles by Jane Courtier fails on so many levels I’m not sure where to begin.

0 out of 10 stars.  This book has no redeeming qualities.  Much information is missing and it reads like someone’s Pinterest board with little bits of information that don’t go together and are ERRONEOUS.

Containers

The subtitle of this book is Quick Crops for Small Spaces, so you’d expect a large section on where to plant vegetables and make the best use of space.  The only section on any type of planter/bed/etc is the one on containers and it is small.  It doesn’t describe how to disinfect planters which is really important for edibles.  Even the wood we buy these days is treated with chemicals.  There was no description of this type of planter versus this type of planter and the author recommended terra cotta pots which are terrible for cold weather vegetables (root vegetables).

Watering

There was an entire section on watering when so many other sections were completely missing.  The author even recommends using a soaker hose in your urban garden small space.  LOL.  Apparently she has not been shopping at the garden store lately.  The smallest soaker hose is 25 feet.  Good luck fitting that in an urban garden.

Fertilizer

There’s a section on fertilizers not on fertilizing your plants.  There is a difference.  The section on fertilizer describes different methods of delivery, i.e. pellets versus powder versus liquid, and really only describes what you’ll find on the shelf at the store, not how to use it.  There was no discussion of what fertilizers to use with various vegetables.

Pests

The only pest control remedy given was beer for slugs.  I’ve tried this.  It doesn’t work.

Harvesting

A very small harvesting section recommended picking vegetables young so the plant keeps producing.  How young are we talking here?

Cultivars

The rest of the book, which is most of it, is all about cultivars and the different cultivars that are available.  There is no recommendation for which one will work best in small spaces and the vegetables the author listed were very different from the vegetables that are usually recommended for small spaces.  Like kohlrabi and fennel (huge bulb plants).

0 out of 10 stars.  I came across a book two years ago that was written entirely from Pinterest pins, information gathered from other sources.  It was a disaster waiting to happen.  This book is very similar.  It’s disjointed and poorly put together.  I have no faith in this author as a gardener based on what she put in this book.

Reviewed by Betsy.