The Self-Sufficient Garden by Klaus Laitenberger, reviewed

We look at the latest book by Klaus Laitenberger, drawing on his several decades of gardening and growing vegetables in Leitrim, and having taught many courses as well. You can buy the book from his website here.

The Self-Sufficient Garden by Klaus Laitenberger, reviewed

Klaus has a long and extensive experience in this area, and the title of the book itself is a nod to a previous book by the self sufficiency expert of the 70s and beyond, John Seymour. Back in the 90s we heard Klaus speak at several events in Dublin, and his passion for ‘black gold’, aka compost was as in evidence then, as it is now. This book tackles an area that we have seen increasing interest in since the world, and Ireland in particular went into lockdown 12 months ago.

It is easy to understand why people are interested in being more self reliant and growing more of their own food on site. This book therefore comes out at a logical time, and is an informative and helpful guide to how to do it as well as possible.

The book is written in an accessible and approachable way, with useful black and white drawings to illustrate his key ideas and concepts. Even you if you already an expert gardener there are still useful insights and tips to takeaway from this book. For the newbie it is also helpful and breaks things down into understandable and easy to follow sections.

The middle section of the book covers a core of key vegetables that grow well in Ireland, with good tips about when to grow then, and how to maximise the returns on what you produce. Kale may not be everyone’s favourite, but it is hardy and resiliant in terms of what will survive Irish winters, springs, and even summers, and, if you can only eat so much kale, then chard is a great choice to grow in Ireland too.

Laitenberger discusses how to grow it, how much of it to grow, when to grow it, and potential problems you may experience. Like chard, beetroot is another Irish winner, that does well in this climate too.

It is not over long full of lots of practical advice, and written in an open and nontechnical way, a good gift for the non-expert gardener in your life.

More about the book ->

Delighted to launch our new book ‘The Self-Sufficient Garden.’  It’s a practical guide on how to grow the 30 most common vegetables and to plan how to get a year round supply of fresh vegetables from your own garden.

An essential guide to growing and maintaining a self-sufficient garden. Incorporating both sustainability and practicality, it demonstrates the     possibility to grow in a way that promotes biodiversity whilst producing a sizeable harvest.

It conveys the fundamental preparatory measures for beginning a self-sufficient garden. It can be referred to for precise instructions on spacing and storing your vegetables.

It is based on a specific model which can be applied to any plot.  Detailing the thirty most important vegetable crops, it is a condensed formula for self-sufficiency. Written in consideration of the traditional and modern obstacles facing gardeners today, The Self-Sufficient Garden reaches for a natural and productive symbiosis.

You can also buy seeds from their website too, on this section of the site.

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