Greenhouse Gardener's Companion, Revised and Expanded Edition: Growing Food & Flowers in Your Greenhouse or Sunspace

by Shane Smith

Book Overview

The most comprehensive book on greenhouse gardening available today. Today, greenhouses and sunrooms are real living spaces where gardeners spend as much time with a book and a cup of coffee as they do with a watering can and a pair of pruning shears. In this fully revised edition of a best-selling classic, veteran gardener Shane Smith embraces this new "lifestyle" approach to greenhouse gardening. Through lively writing that balances wit with commonsense advice, Smith draws on his more than 20 years' experience to cover everything you need to know to establish a charming and productive greenhouse.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555914500
• ISBN13: 9781555914509
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press - Fulcrum
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 2.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.6" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great fun for being an "informational" source!

I love this book and am having such fun reading it. Shane Smith shares himself in such a way that although I've never met the man, I now think of him as a friend! His writing style is easy going and often very funny and personal and the information he imparts is useful, and obviously comes from years of real experience. Running even a hobby greenhouse can be expensive with all the gadgets, yet he gives good and practical advice for those who don't necessarily have the means to buy the biggest and best of everything the manufactures would like to sell you! He tells you what you really need to have and know, and what's just "fluff." I would recommend that anyone with a hobby greenhouse invest in this book.

COVERS ALL the bases!

I have a lot of greenhouse books- the Ortho greenhouse book and the "Expert Greenhouse" book and others. This book is by far the best. I bought the first release and then upgraded to the (2000) "revised edition." What a pleasant surprise! It covers all the bases from setting up your greenhouse to growing specific crops. Now I'm eating fresh salads and home grown greenhouse tomatoes. If you want to too- get this book! It even explains organic - chemical free pest controls!

Great resource!

This book is like having a good neighbor with a greenhouse or mentor always at your disposal. I really liked how the glazings (what covers the structure)are explained and the new developments in technology that are now available. Benefits and drawbacks of each type of glazing are explored. Great examples about getting the maximum use out of greenhouse space (both in how/what to grow and simple tricks-of-the-trade that only comes with a lot of experience. The information is presented in a detailed but easy to understand manner and is very well organized. You gain experience of the pitfalls other people have gone through like which types of wood preservatives kill plants, without loosing the money. There are good sections on propagation, veggies, flowers (including basic orchid culture) natural insect controls, pruning for best production, etc. I liked all the Appendices expecially all the greehouse supply sources with toll free numbers and web sites all listed. This is a very updated book with lots of goodies. You can tell that the author is someone who really "walks the walk".