Cinder Block Gardens

Rating:
Summary: Good idea but not specific enough
Review: I bought this book after a friend told me about it. I skimmed it at her house briefly and then I ordered a book for myself. After reading about it, I was excited. I have never had a garden before and Mrs. GIllespie made it sound so simple. Build a raised bed with cinder blocks, then put in the special soil mixture she recommends and plant. You will have a garden that will produce more than if you just use the natural soil or your area.

Well, I spent over $300 on a five unit garden. I even called the author and talked to her about her "soil mixture". Because when calling around for the different elements for the soil mixture, I had the people at different nursuries tell me they had something better, so I called and asked if I could use what the nurseries already had pre-made. This would have saved me eight hours of mixing the soil which consists of peat moss, sand and compost. Well Mrs. Gillespie said "If you don't do the soil mix, then you might as well throw the whole book out." Thus I decided to go ahead and make my own soil mixture according to her specifications in the book. Not having ever had a garden before I didn't know what I needed and the book wasn't specific enough. The peat moss and sand were easy to get and not worry about, but the compost was a different story. I bought compost, but only realize now that it was not the type of compost she proably uses. The compost I bought was basically mulch from last year that had composted over the winter and the nursery now called compost. But being new to gardening I didn't realize I probably needed manure compost instead. Thus I am 2 1/2 months into my garden and my plants are not producing hardly anything. My husband who planted a garden by hoeing up a portion of our back yard is producing a ton more produce than my raised bed garden with the magic soil mix.

I am very disappointed. I think that the book has a good idea with using cinderblocks for a raised bed, and that her illustrations of how many things can fit into each unit of the garden it good. However, she needed to be more specific on the type of compost and not so adament that the soil mixture is the ultimate. I could have spent a little bit more on a mixture that probably would have been excellent but since she told me on the phone that the soil mix was the point of the whole book I passed it up to try her mixture.

The book does have some good ideas but dependinding on your geographical location, some of what she says may or may not be accurate. Obviously, the soil that I have in my back yard is better than the soil mix in my cinder block garden. So, if you do the soil mixture make sure you get good compost...

Rating:
Summary: Lots of Ideas and a Terrific Starting Point
Review: I've been gardening for a number of years but have never tried raised bed gardening. This book has inspired me to not only try raised beds, but to do it with cinder blocks. The authors introduction and logic about using cinder blocks as opposed to other materials makes a lot of sense.

The books reads very easily. I especially like the unit approach and the cost estimates per unit and the yield estimates per unit. Very clever and practical.

I must admit that I skipped through parts of the book. The section on soil and pests didn't interest me because I'm not planning to plant such a diverse number of crops. I plan to plant primarily strawberries (not mentioned in the book).

I would recommend that beginners read this book to get ideas and to get their thought processes working. It's not an expensive book but I believe I got my money's worth with ideas I gleaned from a couple hours of reading and hopefully I won't make as many mistakes on my first time out with cinder block raised beds.
Mike

Rating:
Summary: Best Gardening System Since Square Foot Gardening
Review: This book is a real gardening jewel. I predict that it will become a "gardening classic". It covers everything from reasons for growing your own food supply to a very detailed, vegetable-by- vegetable reference guide. Nothing is left out of this book...it covers it all: fertilizers, compost, mulching, weeding, season extenders and detailed planting guides. This book takes the work out of gardening and puts the fun back in. Definitely a gardening system for busy people, the elderly or the "little lady" that doesn't want to be bothered with ungainly garden equipment such as tillers, etc. Written with a "personal" style, that reminded me of Ruth Stout...a very well researched book, but presented in a way that everyone will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Homegrown Book
Review: This little book could have used an editor. There are many errors that would not be caught with a spell checker ("...after further thought it makes since." "By its self..." "...each cinder block unit t the beginning..." "a generous wheel barrel..."). "To" is often used for "too." Sentences are garbled ("I keep my garden as simple as possible by running some of the vegetables up on trellises saves a lot of space." "...what kind if fertilizer to put on the garden."). The book's friendly attitude may overcome its obviously amateurish home production. There are difficulties with its content. It contains undocumented hearsay and very little that has not already been written about in more substantial books. Many ideas are untested guesses. The one tidbit of fresh insight was the author's comments on color clues as a key to watering. For a rank beginner who has not read much about gardening, this book may be helpful--even inspiring. Anyone else is advised to stand clear.

Rating:
Summary: San Diego Gardner
Review: What an excellent Book! I never thought that a gardening method could make such a difference...but I can see that it does. I am very anxious to try this new method this season. I am looking forward to gardening with no weeds, no bending over, in fantastic soil that my plants will thrive on. Lynn's book is very complete, showing all that you need to have a successful garden this year. She cover everything from construction, to planting guides, and pests. I like that she includes cost for everything that you would need...no surprises. I can also in-vision how gardening with the cinder block method can create a very beautiful looking garden so not only good for your health but pleasing to your eyes (and the envy of all your neighbors)! Her approach and style of writing is very easy to understand, moves right along, and is quite humorous. I recommend this book to everyone I know that is growing a vegetable garden. It makes a great gift too. Can't wait to get started! Thanks!