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The book is very helpful when it comes to thinking about winter gardening but I think the average person will not have access to a huge portable greenhouse to accomplish this.
Simple ideas and well-thought through. Here in Minnesota I was unsure if such simple greenhouses, unheated flexible plastic, would work year-round. I have probably been too conservative and have just been extending the crops, planting much earlier in the Spring, and keeping summer plants (and a small Fall planting) going into the Autumn. Everything in the book has been tested year after year with excellent results. Truly inspiring.
In case you didn't know, Elliot is THE master gardener. I have highlighted this book to death. You will learn so much more from this book than any text book about gardening.
(By the way, Solomon is also a proponent of a year long harvest, he just has other recommendations for producing this in our area).In summary, I really enjoyed "Four Season Harvest" and recommend it to anyone living where, even if cold and snowy, there is lots of sun in Winter. But West of the Cascades, we get much less sun in the Winter, when a bulk of the days are overcast.
Not only for the content, but the author is also enjoyable to read. So I read the whole thing through with visions in my head of building a greehouse and harnessing the sun's light to harvest fabulous food year-round.When I was near done, I picked up "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" by Steve Solomon.
"Four Season Harvest" was so exciting for me to read. In Maine, where Coleman ("Four Season Harvest") lives, although it gets very cold in the Winter, the sun still shines frequently.
I live south of Seattle and thought I should see what specific local information I needed to turn my little garden into something more substantial. On page 123 of Solomon's book- 6th edition (and indeed earlier in the book), he talks about how solar greenhouses, which work well during Winter on the East coast, are much less affective West of the Cascades.
No matter how great your greenhouse, if you still don't have much sun filtering through, produce still cannot continue to grow/survive. For those of us living along the North Pacific Coast, I'd recommend instead Solomon's "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades."
Excellent info from someone with experience doing winter gardening in Maine. Info on different methods. I used it in planning on building cold frames and the information was extensive and very useful. An excellent primer on winter gardening from someone who has done it.
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