Editions of the book?

Hi,

I borrowed my Mom's older copy of edition of the square foot gardening book and found it to be a great read. On impulse I bought several copies of the newest edition thinking it would be improved but otherwise the same. Somewhere along the way the writing style changed, perhaps to focus on a different target audience.

At what edition was the book "rewritten"? I like the old style and want to pass it around to the people for whom I bought the newer copies. We're all more on the engineering side of things and the new book reads very differently from what I intended.

Otherwise I'm starting my first garden for this spring in Georgia and looking forward to it.

Welcome to the forum, Krisb.

I bought Mel's original book when it first came out in the early 1980s, and I just received the new edition for Christmas after I did my first year of SFG. (Nothing like putting the cart before the horse to set yourself up for big mistakes.)

Are you talking about that original SFG book versus the All New SFG book? In the original book Mel planted his seeds in soil, and still had the chores of digging and weeding to contend with. In the new book he made a mixture of compost, vermiculite and peat moss, built boxes to hold the mix, and made grids across the top. There is no more digging or weeding with his new method.

If you are talking about a different edition of the new book which is written differently, then I have no idea what you're talking about. All of the new ones that I've seen read the same.

Could you tell us more about the different editions, please?

We have some engineers on the forum. You will be in good company here.

I have heard there was a dollar store version of the All New Square Foot Gardening book put out by the publisher. It is an incomplete version.

There have been many Square Foot Gardening books.

I have one of the originals from 1981 published by Rodale which has Mel standing in the back of the garden.

Not sure when the next was published but it had Mel toward the front of the garden.

There may or may not have been other books in between.

In 2004 there was an Intro to SFG book and a SFG published in 2005.

The First Printing Revised Edition (All New SFG) came in 2006.

Initially I didn't like the All New SFG book, but then working with it, I can see the beauty and ease of the new method. I missed the section in the old method where it said to plant 4 lettuces that you harvest young in the corners of the square and 2 radishes in between the lettuces. Then when those were harvested, you'd plop a tomato transplant in the middle. And there were other great hints that weren't in the New book.

It really IS a much easier version.

Kim

I have the old edition that was the first one I saw. I had my first SFG last summer. Late in the season I found the All New edition. I have had a hard time liking that one. So I keep going back and forth between the books. I had a lot of luck with planting the radishes around the tomatoes. It worked well in Iowa. I will just work out what is the best for my region I guess. I have row gardened for over 40 years counting kid weeding lol...I love not pulling a weed!