The Sustainable Vegetable Garden: A Backyard Guide to Healthy Soil and Higher Yields

paper, 118 p., $11.95

The apostle of biointensive gardening and soil building, John Jeavons, brings a message a prodigal world needs to hear. Self-sufficient food production for vegetarians is the message; the medium of 100 percent hand labor to grow a limited number of crops will not appeal to everyone, and the pervasive precision of measure and method will deflate many an enthusiastic acolyte. This book is a truncated version of Mr. Jeavon's classic How To Grow More Vegetables — both reflect the lessons learned by him and his devoted students. Jeavons is an inspiring voice on the wasteful food-raising practices of the rest of the world, which would do well to consider adapting many of his principles. The Sustainable Vegetable Garden presents a challenge to our beleaguered planet.

— John F. Swenson, Plant Collector and Master Gardener at the Chicago Botanic Garden.