The author shows you how to get started with gardening and clearly demonstrates how to build raised beds using wood 2x12's (and others sizes). He also offers great coverage of each of the major vegetables that he recommends that you grow. This part contains some particularly good material.

There are many practical and original techniques in this book. Although this is not necessarily a beginner's book, I would recommend this book to a beginner. The only problem I had was his reliance on chemical fertilizers.

Many beginners might find it easier at first to use standard chemical fertilizers, as recommended by the author. However, today many gardeners are finding their way to organics to avoid the industrial wastes sometimes found in the standard chemical fertilizers.

I get the feeling that the author writes with your best interests at heart. He appears to be a successful gardener with much practical experience. His writing is very clear and at times quite humorous. There are plenty of pictures and diagrams to keep the book interesting.

I use raised bed gardening, but use concrete blocks and take an organic approach. Although the materials are different, the methodology is very similar. I highly recommend this book to any one getting started, or anyone who wants to build raised bed gardens using wood (looks better than concrete blocks, but deteriortes more quickly).

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX


It's about what works best, organic or not.   April 29, 2002
 82 out of 100 found this review helpful

If you're looking for a time- and labor-saving method of growing vegetables, this is your book, whether you're a complete beginner or a more experienced gardener. Everything you need to know is clearly set out, including charts, diagrams and practical tips (e.g. why buy expensive little pots for your seedlings when you can recycle styrofoam cups from the office?). The at-a-glance guide to each vegetable from seed to harvest is especially useful, as are the more detailed sections on individual veggies. Christopher Bird writes in a refreshingly informal way that neither patronizes you nor blinds you with science, and the text is enhanced with plenty of mouthwatering full-color photos from the author's own gardens.

A previous reviewer criticizes the book for not being organic enough. But it's obvious to me that Cubed Foot Gardening isn't about organics. It's about intensive, raised-bed vegetable gardening using the most effective techniques available, some of which are organic, others not. That makes perfect sense to me.


More new ideas in Raised Intensive Bed Gardening   August 20, 2005
 54 out of 57 found this review helpful

As someone who cut my gardening "teeth" with Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening", I was interested in what differing suggestions Chris Bird's Cubed Foot Gardening would impart. What was he talking about? Cubed foot? 3' by 3'? NOT. 1' x 1' x 1' deep. I was using raised beds, even with the square foot method...but now I learn that my 2 x 8 boxes aren't nearly tall enough for plants with deep root systems. Next year, I'll add another level of depth to the boxes to at least 2 x 12, if not 2 x 16. I've grown the verticle pumpkins and cantilope. It DOES work. I found Mr. Bird's spacing suggestions a bit more realistic, and he's included several hilarious comments. A great supplement to "Square Foot Gardening".


A step-by-step guide   December 2, 2004
 45 out of 45 found this review helpful

I relocated to South Carolina in July of 2003. Our new yard contained the remnants of a vegetable garden -- skeletons of bush beans and peppers protruding from red clay as hard as concrete. I purchased Mr. Bird's book about a year ago and read it during my Christmas vacation. Having no prior experience growing vegetables,I followed the instuctions exactly. The two-tier indoor plant stand was my first effort. The materials including grow bulbs and some sturdy seed trays from Harris cost under $100. I started my spring-crop seeds a bit late, the end of February, as we are usually frost-free by April 1. About the same time, I started building the 4'x4'x12" frames, a total of six. I thought about building larger frames but was glad I didn't as my wife and I could just lift and carry one comfortably. Then we had a ton of sand and two of topsoil dumped next to the boxes. I blended it with peat moss and composted manure and filled up the boxes. This was the hardest part of the project, but the resulting soil was wonderful. My spinach, lettuce, chinese cabbage and bok choi all did well until it got hot, then bugs started to eat them up despite my best efforts to use ecologically-friendly deterents. The nine heads of broccoli I grew in one frame were particularly nice. They al ripened at the same time so I gave several away to friends. As promised, radishes are especially easy to grow. I didn't get around to building pea/bean trellises but will definitely do so next season. My bush beans gave several good harvests before it got really hot. Once the tomatoes started coming, they didn't quit until frost. Mr. Bird recommends Celebrity for the heat. I had even better luck with Juliette. It has an oval shape, is somewhat larger than a cherry tomato, and produces in abundance. I also grew several varieties of both hot and mild peppers which did very well. Only my okra was a dissappointment, and I'm still not sure why? Per instruction, I got a sweet potato from the grocery store, washed and planted it in the center of the bed where the broccoli had been. For a long time, I thought it was just going to rot. One day I decided to pull it up and discard it only to find it had taken root. Once it got going it was unstoppable. Rather than prune the vines, I just headed them back into the bed. The leaves turned black with our first frost a couple of weeks ago. On Thanksgiving, I ripped up the vines. At first I didn't think there were any potatoes attached. Then I noticed something pink-orange protruding from the dirt. I started digging and unearthed thirty pounds of sweet potatoes. One weighed three pounds. They were extremely tender compared to store-bought. My wife steamed and mashed a few that afternoon and they were much better than any I've ever eaten before. So I'm hooked. I've grown flowers before but never vegetables. I checked a bunch of gardening books out from the library but found myself returning to Cubed Foot again and again. It's a blueprint for success based on Mr. Bird's long experience gardening in many different climates. I can't recommend it highly enough.