How to Grow More Vegetables: And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine

If last year's vegetable garden left something to be desired, John Jeavons's How to Grow More Vegetables is the book for you. This thorough and accessible overview of the Grow Biointensive gardening method will show you how to get the most out of your garden (on average, four times the yield of a conventionally tended plot), while preserving and enriching the earth's nutrients, and nourishing the soil for future crops. The best part? The sustainable gardening techniques Jeavons outlines require less water, less fertilizer, and less work(!) than conventional methods. [Editor's note: This review was written for the 7th Edition.] Recommended By Tove H., Powells.com

Decades before the terms “eco-friendly” and “sustainable growing” entered the vernacular, How to Grow More Vegetables demonstrated that small-scale, high-yield, all-organic gardening methods could yield bountiful crops over multiple growing cycles using minimal resources in a suburban environment. The concept that John Jeavons and the team at Ecology Action launched more than 40 years ago has been embraced by the mainstream and continues to gather momentum. Today, How to Grow More Vegetables, now in its fully revised and updated 8th edition, is the go-to reference for food growers at every level: from home gardeners dedicated to nurturing their backyard edibles in maximum harmony with nature’s cycles, to small-scale commercial producers interested in optimizing soil fertility and increasing plant productivity. Whether you hope to harvest your first tomatoes next summer or are planning to grow enough to feed your whole family in years to come, How to Grow More Vegetables is your indispensable sustainable garden guide.

"John's methods are nothing short of miraculous." Alice Waters, author, Slow Food crusader, and founder of Chez Panisse restaurant

"Possibly the most detailed explanation of the Biointensive gardening method available." New York Times

"There are two kinds of vegetable gardeners — those who garden in beds of some kind and for whom this is the ultimate foundation book, a must-read, and an essential reference. Then there are those who don't garden in beds, for whom it's still a must-read and an essential reference. The full title — How to Grow More Vegetables (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine — actually understates the contents. The book is about how to grow pretty nearly all your food and your garden's fertilizer on a modest amount of land." Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times

Perennial seller and a classic in the field of high-yield, organic gardening, How to Grow More Vegetables is the world’s leading resource on biointensive and sustainable gardening methods, fully illustrated, and thoroughly updated.

Long before it was considered cool, How to Grow More Vegetables brought backyard ecosystems to life for the suburban home gardener by demonstrating sustainable growing methods for spectacular organic produce on a small but intensive scale. More than simply a superbly detailed manual, How to Grow More Vegetables has become the go-to reference for food growers at every level. Whether you’re a home gardener dedicated to nurturing your backyard edibles with minimal watering in maximum harmony with nature’s cycles, or a small-scale commercial producer interested in optimizing soil fertility and increasing plant productivity, the desire to grow better food in an environmentally responsible way has become a mainstream ideal.

Based in Willits, California, John Jeavons is the director of Ecology Action, an environmental research and education organization. Jeavons has taken his grassroots solutions global, working with such organizations as UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Peace Corps to solve large-scale hunger by revolutionizing small-scale food production in more than 140 countries around the world. To learn more, visit www.growbiointensive.org.