Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden

by Niki Jabbour

Overview

Whether cultivating tomatoes in northern Idaho or protecting leafy greens from a fast-moving hailstorm in Iowa, knowing how to build protective structures and grow in a more controlled environment can make gardening less stressful and more productive. Best-selling author and gardener Niki Jabbour explores all the under-cover options, from hoophouses that are meant to last years to a simple shadecloth tunnel that can be erected when there’s a hot spell in the forecast. She offers detailed information on selecting the protective structure that best suits the situation, how to set up the right kind of irrigation system inside the structure, when to vent it to prevent overheating, how to create passive heat sinks, how to hand-pollinate certain crops for better yield, and which vegetable varieties are actually bred to be grown in controlled environments. Much more than just about learning how to build shelter for vulnerable plants against routine environmental and pest damage, Growing Under Cover provides an entirely different approach to food gardening in an era of intensifying climate change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635861310
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	12/22/2020
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	617,477
Product dimensions:	10.80(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Niki Jabbour is the award-winning author of Growing Under Cover, Niki Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix, The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, and Groundbreaking Food Gardens. Her work is found in Fine Gardening, Garden Making, Birds & Blooms, Horticulture, and other publications, and she speaks widely on food gardening at events and shows across North America. She has been a radio host since 2006. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and can be found online at SavvyGardening.com.

Table of Contents

Preface: Why I'm an Under Cover Gardener
Part 1: Introducing the Covered Garden
  1 Choosing a Structure to Fit Your Needs
  2 Starting Small: Mini Hoop Tunnels and Cold Frames
  3 Larger Structures: Polytunnels, Geodesic Domes, and Bioshelters
  4 Growing the Covered Garden
  5 Setting Up Systems
  6 Preventing Diseases, Pests, and Poor Pollination
Part 2: Vegetables That Love a Cover
  Artichoke
  Arugula
  Beans
  Beets
  Broccoli & Cauliflower
  Cabbage & Chinese Cabbage
  Carrots
  Celery & Celeriac
  Cucumbers
  Eggplant
  Endive
  Fennel
  Kale & Collards
  Lettuce
  Melons & Watermelons
  Parsnips
  Peas
  Peppers
  Radishes & Turnips
  Scallions
  Spinach
  Squash
  Swiss Chard
  Tomatoes
Acknowledgments
Metric Conversions
Index

Editorial Reviews

09/21/2020

Jabbour (Niki Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix), Savvy Gardening blogger and radio host, offers a helpful guide to creating enclosures for vegetable gardens, in order to “grow more food for a longer period of time, grow higher-quality plants bothered by fewer pests and diseases, and mitigate the stresses caused by cold, heat, and extreme weather.” The idea, she points out, is nothing new: “The first reference to using a greenhouse-like structure for growing food comes from Pliny the Elder in the first century CE.” But, as Jabbour shows here, the practice has evolved to include structures large (polytunnels and geodesic domes), small (cold frames and mini-hoop tunnels), and very small (a plastic one-gallon milk jug with the top removed). She highlights the strategy’s advantages, including protection from insects and other predators and greater environmental control—each structure creates its own microclimate that maintains “a dance of heating and cooling, venting and maintaining humidity.” Aided by abundant color photos, Jabbour further discusses determining which structures work best for which plants, and then building the covering one chooses. Her guidance will prove invaluable for vegetable gardeners determined to safeguard and prolong a robust harvest throughout the year. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Niki is who I repeatedly turn to for the nudge, and knowledge, to push the zone a little, stretch the season at either end, protect the plants, and get more, more, more from my efforts.”
— Margaret Roach, author of A Way to Garden

“Growing Under Cover is my new favorite resource. It has all the knowledge you need to take the guesswork out of extending the season. Essential reading for learning how to use covers to extend the season, control pests naturally, and keep your garden growing strong.”
— Joe Lamp’l, executive producer and host of Growing a Greener World

“I can see Growing Under Cover becoming well-worn as it accompanies me throughout the garden in every season. I’m so excited to up my raised bed–garden game with Niki’s techniques and suggestions for materials — from preventing pests to overwintering crops — so I can enjoy fresh, healthy veggies all year long.”
— Tara Nolan, author of Raised Bed Revolution

“Growing Under Cover is Niki Jabbour’s most beautiful book yet! It’s full of practical advice for any backyard food grower, from newbie to Jedi level, small yard to heavy-duty producer. Niki’s latest offering shares information that’s digestible to a gardener with any size plot while dropping a trail of aspirational breadcrumbs on how one could do more (and grow more!). This book is like getting smart, juicy gardening advice from a friend.”
— Amanda Thomsen, author of Backyard Adventure and Kiss My Aster

"[Jabbour] offers a helpful guide to creating enclosures for vegetable gardens, in order to 'grow more food for a longer period of time, grow higher-quality plants bothered by fewer pests and diseases, and mitigate the stresses caused by cold, heat, and extreme weather...'  Her guidance will prove invaluable for vegetable gardeners determined to safeguard and prolong a robust harvest throughout the year." 
— Publisher's Weekly

From the Publisher