Tiny Victory Gardens

Growing good food without a yard
By Acadia Tucker, Illustrated by Emily Castle
Stone Pier Press, 2021

I’ve been growing herbs and vegetables in containers for years and learned a lot through trial and error. Nevertheless, I got quite a lot of good ideas for improvements by reading “Tiny Victory Gardens” by Acadia Tucker.

As the ground begins to thaw in my backyard planters, here are some of the ideas from the book that I’m eager to try for the 2021 growing season:

• Burying pieces of a sponge in the soil to retain water

• Making some of my own soil by alternating layers of dry leaves with coffee grounds and grass clippings

• Planting basil next to my tomato plants to help keep away insects that might attack the tomato plant

The book even gave me hope that I might be able to grow broccoli again.

For years I had great success growing broccoli, which is perhaps the perfect planter crop because (in Chicago anyway) it can be harvested from June to November or whenever the ground freezes solid. But that came to an end a few years ago when some type of insect (wireworms, I think) attacked the roots before the plants could get established. I gave up on broccoli for a few years, then tried again last year but the problems continued.

Tucker suggests laying a tarp over the planter for six weeks to get rid of pests that live in the soil, which I’m going to try. She also suggests planting nasturtiums as a sacrifice crop because the kinds of bugs that like plants in the cabbage family like nasturtiums even better.

Other useful aspects of the book: It contains detailed information on a plant-by-plant basis about how deep a planter you need, what to do about pests, etc. It also offers suggestions for plants that look good when planted together and that will thrive when sharing a container.

Finally, there’s lots of advice about bringing planters indoors. That’s not something I have room for, but that material would likely be of interest to someone with a little more space who’d like to be able to harvest vegetables all year long.

Reviewed by Joan Engebretson, who, when not writing, spends time cooking and gardening in Chicago.