Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers by Edward C. Smith

Non-Fiction: Gardening. Paperback from Storey Publishing, LLC. Published in 2006. 272 pages. On loan from the Kent District Library.

When I can, I like to do a small container garden with tomatoes, jalapenos, cucumbers and the like. One of the problems I have is keeping them properly watered, so I was intregued by this idea of "self-watering" plants. I'm hoping to try at least one pot that way this summer to see if it is worth the effort. My only disappointment was that his instructions on how to make your own self-watering planter consisted mostly of saying "go and buy the kit" and here's how you put it together. I would have preferred instructions on how to actually do it yourself from "scratch". Oh well. The book has some good basic gardening information, which I can always use being only a moderately knowledgeable gardener, and there is a decent list of gardening suppliers, including where to buy self-watering planters.

Publisher's summary:
Shiny green cucumbers; firm, juicy tomatoes; baby lettuces handpicked one salad at a time—these are the tasty benefits of the backyard vegetable garden. But earth gardens are a lot of work. They require a plot of plantable land and a significant time commitment to sowing, watering, weeding, and tending each plant.

Is there a solution? Self-watering containers allow vegetable gardeners—from the casual weekender interested in a tomato plant or two to the very dedicated gardener with limited space—to grow richly producing plants in a controlled, low-maintenance environment.

Lifelong gardener Ed Smith became fascinated with the possibilities of self-watering containers and began testing dozens of vegetables in various containers, experimenting with nutrients, soil mixtures, plant varieties, and container positioning. Now Smith is here to tell gardeners that anyone can grow and enjoy wonderful organic vegetables, using pots with continuous- flow watering systems.

Smith shares advice on choosing appropriate containers, how to provide balanced nutrition using his secret soil formula, and what additional tools benefit the container gardener. The reader will also find advice on starting from seed versus buying plants, which vegetables thrive in containers and which might be a bit more challenging, along with space-saving tips on pairing plants in single containers. After the last green tomato has been picked and is ripening on the windowsill, Smith wraps everything up with a chapter on fall clean-up and preparing for next spring. Now there’s really no excuse for store-bought tomatoes!

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers
amazon.co.uk: Incredible Vegetables from Self-watering Containers
amazon.com: Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers
Audible.com: not available as audio