Dane Alexander

The soil in my yard is very rocky, and I've heard a lot about raised beds. I would love to plant a small garden, and raised bed gardening is probably my only option. This is a very small e-book--probably more of a booklet if it had made it into print. The author shares tips on construction, what plants need to be planted together or separately, when different types of vegetables need to be planted, and more. It's not comprehensive, but it is a basic introduction. For a Kindle freebie, it's a fairly decent one. I still had questions, but I asked someone with more experience some of those questions as I was reading it. Now the question is whether or not I'll try to plant one this spring or not. If so, I need to see if a friend can build a couple of beds for me so I'll be ready when the vegetables requiring cooler soils can be planted.… (mais)

This book is an extremely brief, though well written, book on urban gardening. It's a basic, quick look at how to garden in small spaces and is intended for the beginner gardener. Alexander has you thinking about the basics, from whether you want this to be a permanent or temporary garden space, whether you want to use containers, raised beds, etc. I personally found it to be rather simplicity and way too beginner for me, even though I've only had a garden for two summers.

I picked this book up for free on amazon.… (mais)

I picked up this book to read the same day I picked up Urban Gardening by the same author, and was equally disappointed with this purchase. I was really excited to read this one, because I'd love to be able to grow vegetables indoors! I live in an apartment, with no yard, porch, or even a railing to hang a pot off of, so I have no way of keeping a garden (hence, the one at my parents house).

However, this "book" (ha, ha-it's not even the length of a good story) is way too basic once again. Everything the author writes about is completely common sense, and it's not even written well like the Urban Gardening book. Basically, the only thing of value in this is the list of what grows well inside, stuff I already had figured out on my own by reading the back of seed packets (think, vegetables that will grow well in cooler / less sunny conditions, such as lettuce, kale, peas).… (mais)