- ISBN13: 9781603580816
- Shape up: NEW
- Notes: Brаnd Nеw frοm Publisher. Nο Remainder Mаrk.
Product Description
Choosing locally grown organic food іѕ a sustainable living trend thаt’s taken hold rіght through North America. Celebrated farming expert Eliot Coleman hеlреd start thіѕ passage wіth Thе Nеw Organic Grower іn print 20 years ago. Hе continues tο lead thе way, pushing thе limits οf thе harvest season whіlе working hіѕ world-celebrated organic farm іn Harborside, Maine.Now, wіth hіѕ long-awaited nеw book, Thе Winter Harvest Handbook, anyone саn hаνе access tο hіѕ hard-… More >>
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Got a little land? Love a lot of vegetables? Then build yourself a Winter Wonderfarm. You may not be able to enjoy fresh garden tomatoes in the dead of winter, but there are more than 30 green and root vegetables that you can enjoy. From carrots to onions, celery to kohlrabi, and almost every vegetable in between, your Winter Wonderfarm will become the envy of your neighborhood. Perhaps that’s where the expression “green with envy” came from . . . a better, greener farm.
The three components to a successful winter harvest, according to Mr. Coleman are:
1) Cold-hardy vegetables
2) Succession planting
3) Protected cultivation
As it turns out, if we can protect our vegetables from the winter winds, we can grow many vegetables successfully, even in the snow. Some vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce and matte, are actually even sweeter and more tender in cooler temperatures. Think you surely have to provide supplementary lighting? Nope . . . not needed when grown in one of Mr. Coleman’s “cold houses”. He uses these cold houses even in the Maine winters of Zone 5.
You’ll also learn about vertical production of tomatoes and how to create your own cold frame with quick hoops made of electrical conduit and 10-foot-wide spun-bonded row cover held down by sandbags. These hoops can cover the same area as a 22 by 48 foot greenhouse at 5% of the cost. Speaking of cost, a recent article in the AARP Magazine indicated that we can save $1,000.00 a year growing our own vegetables in a small garden. Now add your winter crop savings, and imagine what you’d save. Your Winter Wonderfarm will yield delicious, organic vegetables, improving your diet and fattening your wallet. Forget putting out the Christmas lights . . . just grow vegetables.
Lynette Fleming, Coauthor of Lunch Buddies: Buddy Up for a Better Diet
Rating: 5 / 5
Once again Elliot Coleman has provided us with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to both home and commercial gardening. In these times of change, it is reassuring to know that there are those who are more than willing to share what they have learned. We have been using some of his techniques here in New Brunswick, Canada with great success. We are currently eating spinach in April and May that we planted last fall in our cold frame. If a crop can survive one of our winters, they should survive elsewhere. If you want to put in a garden, this is a must book to own.
Rating: 5 / 5
I have his first one, which I really enjoyed. This one is better-with color photos that will really excite any gardener. There are lists of specific seeds he has found will grow under winter conditions in the greenhouse, and how to help them best make it through the freeze. He list helpful items and where to get them. An easy read,for the person who wants to grow for their family or to sell. A helpful fun book. Elliot is a good teacher.
Rating: 5 / 5
In 2006 I planted my first fall garden. The first week of September I sowed one of my grow beds in Indian Summer Spinach and a few other recommendations from an article I read about fall gardens. I was amazed at the productivety from this late planting. The quality and quantity was wonderful, and the absense of pests and weeds was noteworthy. To my astonishment I kept harvesting and enjoying spinach first to Thanksgiving, and then into December. When the first snow fall blanketed the foothills where I live the day before Christmas I thought it was all over. New Years was a clear sunny winter day and so I slipping on my snow boots and wondered out to the garden. There I noticed a little dark green peeking out from the edge of the grow bed in I which I had planted the fall spinach. Gently I lifted away the crusty layer of snow and was astounded to find the spinach still florishing. Reaching down I sampled the crunchiest, sweetest spinach I had ever tasted, before returning to the house for a large bowl. The salad that day from our own garden was devine. I picked almost daily until, with a little melancoly, I harvested the last of it on January 20, 2007. That expience led me to wonder what else might be grown in the fall and winter months, and how it could best be accomplished. If you have ever put together a jigsaw puzzle only to find a piece or two missing just as you were completing it,that’s how I felt in reverse. I had the missing piece or two, but didn’t know where the rest of the puzzle was until just last month when I discovered Eliot Coleman’s extraordinary book The Winter Harvest Handbook. Now I have the whole puzzle. But in his humble way I can almost hear Eliot say, “There are still lots of things we need to learn about the winter garden.” If you are passionate about growing quality vegetables for your own table or for the market, and want to extend your efforts into the wonderful world of the Winter Harvest I hardily recommend this gift from the master of that season. My only comments for the 3rd edition would be to add more information about watering/irrigation in winter and specific information about seed varieties and their sources. I was so impressed with this book that I am now “plowing” through Coleman’s The New Organic Grower.
Rating: 5 / 5
Although there is a great deal of information that can be applied to the small garden, this book is geared for the gardener wanting to sell produce all winter out of greenhouses. It is well written with many resources and tons of technical information. I’m a small gardener, though, and it is beyond what I plan on doing, at least at this point. Still, it is a very good book.
Rating: 5 / 5