The Complete Beginner's Guide to Greenhouse Gardening: A Month-by-Month Planting Book to Grow 365 Days a Year (Urban Homesteading)

My husband got me a greenhouse for Christmas. Since I am new to using a greenhouse, I needed a good manual to give me easy to understand instructions and ideas. This book hit the mark! I really appreciated the Month by Month Planning guide.

The title of this book might give you the impression that it is just about greenhouses. Don't get fooled, it is MUCH, MUCH MORE than that. The author has covered almost every little detail about gardening altogether and growing your own vegetables, fruit and herbs throughout the year, regardless where you live. This is really a complete guide whether you are an absolute beginner or even an experience gardener, so much information is found here. Richard Bray has covered everything from tiny to large greenhouses/cold frames; location, planning and construction and even pros and cons of each design; large variety of vegetables, fruit and herbs and growing conditions for all zones and climates; both soil-based and hydroponic gardening; pest control and so much more. This book virtually covers everything to get you started on enjoying gardening, growing your own food and actually eating healthy. Kudos Richard!

A lot of great information. Glad I bought it. There is a lot more to greenhouse gardening than I was aware. Buy it.

The Greenhouse Gardening Book is a great introductory primer to year-round gardening. It includes, not just different types of greenhouses, but explains which types work best to extend your crop in your unique region of the country. Unlike most greenhouse books, which focus mainly on aesthetics, Bray includes some handy calculations and charts to help you figure out which crops are suitable for greenhouse extension, versus which crops won't do as well (sorry, folks, it's not as simple as planting a lemon tree in a greenhouse, alas….). The book includes sections on crop rotation, fertilization, seed starting, transplantation, avoiding disease and pests, as well as common problems and how to fix them. As somebody who has previously used plastic row-coverings and deep mulching to extend our growing season by an extra few weeks, I now feel confident to take the next step and build an actual GREENHOUSE. My favorite part of the book is the plant-by-plant growing guides for certain common fruits, vegetables and herbs that lend themselves well to greenhouse growing.

I have thought about a greenhouse previously but never knew where to get started. I saw that there were different styles but had no idea on the advantages and disadvantages of any style. This book did a great job of teaching me enough to understand the decision points without going over the top and making it too complex. Besides doing a nice job in understanding greenhouses Richard also explains techniques for growing various plants in a range of weather conditions. While none where the plants I grow the methods of using different parts of the greenhouse for different conditions was quite informative and transfers to other plants. If you are considering a greenhouse I would recommend reading this book. The mistake of getting the wrong type for your needs is far more expensive than educating yourself with this book first.

Very disappointed in this book. The description lead me to believe I would get help in how to set up my work space. Half the book descriped the different types of greenhouses available or how to build your own. Guess I should have found "Greenhouse Gardening for Dumbies"

Well written and informative. Covering, in detail, a wide range of topics pertaining to green houses. Information about differences between cold frames and green houses as well as covering layout, heating, cooling, venting etc.. Nice coverage of plants and pests as well as providing realistic expectations of growth dependent on season and growing zones. Definitely a recommended book to all interested in green house gardening.

Only thing I disliked about this book is that it hadn’t been out eons ago! Mr. Bray has not skipped a detail in his research and that is worth far more than whatever the book sells for. The knowledge shared is broken down into categories and pro/con for greenhouse types, materials, placement, uses, and more to enable a beginner the confidence in selecting what best would suit their needs. I have an e-copy of the book and plan to procure a hard copy to keep handy in my library. In my opinion, as a lifelong gardener, this book is an inspiration. A bible among my garden book collection. Thank you, Mr. Bray, for the time you put into gathering the information …. and taking the time to organize it and share it!

A good all round book

Showed up on time

Fabulous book! Bought for my mum as a birthday present and she absolutely loves it. Uses it as her guide for growing all sorts of veg etc. Gives loads of good tips

the more information the better

A good start