One Magic Square

January 18, 2010
Australian gardener Houbein has a personal and intimate understanding of food security, having survived famine during the Nazi occupation in Holland. In this charming but meandering book, she warns of the dangers of globalized, corporate agribusiness and “aims to put you in control of the production of at least part of the food you need.” She claims that one square yard of garden will provide a 10th of a person's food needs and encourages everyone to start a “magic square” or two. The book provides basic gardening information and a wide variety of square-yard vegetable garden plans, from salad plots to curry and anticancer plots, with sections on fruit trees and chickens thrown in, but this is as much a compilation of Houbein's gardening life as a straightforward step-by-step how-to manual. Like an eccentric but wise great aunt, at turns whimsically practical (“apart from spreading shredded bracken on beds to decay, use ferns as parasols for seedlings”) and confusingly questionable (“At this point in time, vast stretches of land are being poisoned by carbon dioxide smoke from brush and forest fires”), Houbein offers much valuable advice, but the presentation is so disorganized that novice gardeners looking for a clear and simple way to get started may be flummoxed.

March 15, 2010
Houbein, who lives and gardens in Australia, introduces her magic square method of organic vegetable and herb gardening. She discusses the difficulties with current food production methods and then goes on to tell readers how to grow food at home using three-foot squares. She describes 30 plot designs including salad plots, a summer stir-fry plot, and a soup plot. She also covers preparing garden beds, composting, pests, and vegetable and herb culture, and she shares some recipes. However, while the author is clearly passionate about her subject, the book is rambling and disorganized, and Houbein just touches on the many topics covered without providing the details that beginning gardeners need. VERDICT Edward C. Smith's "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible", tenth-anniversary edition, is a better choice because he offers detailed instructions for creating and caring for a garden as well as excellent how-to photographs. He also includes vegetable varieties suggested for U.S. gardeners. For those who like using garden squares, a good choice remains Mel Bartholomew's "All New Square Foot Gardening".Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., IL

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