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The Bountiful Container: Growing a Full Garden of Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Edible Flowers in Containers

Built around my best-selling book of the same name, this program introduces home gardeners to the notion of growing a bountiful vegetable garden entirely in containers. I cover all the basics: types of containers, soil, fertilizer, watering, and deciding whether to start from seeds or seedlings. I talk about finding the best new varieties developed just for containers, and then we move into the heart of the program: I plant up a small container garden of mixed plants, at least one vegetable, one herb, and one edible flower, introducing the plants and explaining the techniques as I go. We hold a drawing at the end and some lucky person in the audience takes the finished garden home. People love that.

Depending on the characteristics of the audience, I can deliver the same general information from somewhat different perspectives:

  • Kitchen Garden on Your Patio [designed for enthusiastic cooks]
  • Gardening in Small Spaces [the focus is on clever ways to make use of limited spaces]
  • Container Gardening–Easier on Your Back and Your Knees [especially valuable for older gardeners or those with physical limitations]

Also, depending on the nature of the space available and the preferences of the host, I can provide this workshop in these different formats:

  • Slide show, with full Power Point presentation
  • “Meet the Plants” – this talk focuses on cultivars best for container gardening, with sample plants for people in the audience to pass around and fondle. [more effective with smaller groups]
  • Demonstration: I plant up a small container garden of edible plants, as described above.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS; Detail Coming Soon:

  • All About Herbs
  • Soup Night
  • Writing Workshops
  • How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal
  • Book Publishing 101