This book has been a help, we are new to the garden scene and this is easy to understand and also has illistrations to actually see what to do.

I think this book conatins about all the information one needs to know about cold weather gardening.

i love this book! the author's philosophy is that simple is best, and the best approach is to work with (not against) mother nature. the fact that he can coax a four-season harvest out of his garden in maine is inspiring. i'm a novice gardener, and have read too many books where elaborate systems that cost a lot of money just turn me off. not so with this book. i found his recommendations of cold-hardy vegetables very helpful, because i'm also in the northeast, but they may not apply to all readers.

Not only was this packed full of lots of info, it was almost inspiring for me to get reeved up and planting a fall garden. Living in MN, I'm not sure just how much winter gardening I can do, but I know feel confident that I can easily extend my growing season even more. I'm very pleased with this purchase! I have been gardening for about 9 years and learned a lot from this book.

If you are looking at a more self-sufficent way of life, here is a good start. Growing your own food is the most simple, cost effective, and easy way to start. It's very rewarding and relaxing to know that you are providing high quality foods for you family and are less dependent on every one else to provide food for you.

Stop the insanity of meals that travel 1/2 way across the world. Start a small garden, or even a container full of herbs for the apartment dweller, and grow your own food!

I've read a lot of items published by our local state university, but too much was about how and when to apply which chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides.

Eliot Coleman's focus on healthy soil and healthy plants is so much But better than the focus on getting rid of stuff you don't want, and is a perspective that works well if applied to many areas of our lives.

Since I have a little urban house lot, not a five-acre farm, not every tool or method Eliot Coleman describes suits my purposes.

I love the attitude of this book, one of reading the old and the new for ideas as well as information; talking to gardeners in the same latitude but with different cultural histories; and tracking minor variables in technique to see what works best. Eliot Coleman has the mind of an artist and of a scientist, and apparently loves to eat good food.

There is much helpful information applicable to any garden on soil improvement, transplant techniques, weeding vs. cultivation, keeping the harvest fresh, and more. For every method there is a reason, and watching Coleman's mind at work would be a pleasure even for one with nothing more than a few pots on a windowsill. But he sets a good example in looking at the whys as well as the whats, so his readers may more easily figure out for themselves many answers to perplexing problems in the garden.

The best garden tool is an inquiring mind.

Because of the price of food in America increasing every time you shop, it is important that one becomes self sufficient. This book helps you to accomplish this in a very healthy way. It is an easy read with much information. I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about the future. Ellie Ringdahl

I needn't lament on all the qualities. It has been done enough by others. I read it once, now reading it again. It is packed full of information and will remain close by as a valued reference book.

I look forward to my first winter vegetable garden in part due to this book.

I did learn alot about the gardening geographical similarities between the US and Europe as well how the gulf stream affects the climates. However, in North Carolina, I think the climate may be too warm? in the winter for some of the winter greens he has suggested to grow. I tried Arugula, Endives, and some other winter greens for the first time this winter (inspired by reading this book). We had some warm spells that may have made them taste bitter, but it's possible I just don't like them. I don't know. I would suggest this book for Virginia and points north for real world application. In North Carolina it seems that Brocolli and carrots are the best winter crops for me. They were soo sweet this winter. A good book for the reference library though.

I love this book. It inspires with it's adroit mix of low-tech in an informed, high-tech world. Nope, not a return to the past, but the good past informs and points the way to an unexpectedly lush future. Gardening by latitude? Year-round harvests in MAINE?

Particularly interesting to me is the fresh look of self-sufficient gardening when you harvest just what you need to eat, when you need it, instead of giant harvests for canning and freezing. It makes the entire process fit more comfortably into an ordinary life... exactly what I was looking for. No heroics, lots of common sense.

I'll be using this book a lot!

If they can do it it Maine, it shouod be possible just about anywhere.

Interesting reading with good, usable background info. Plan on incorporating all of their suggestions this coming year!

We love this book. We've practiced what is written in this amazing book for our first garden and were super pleased with the results. Many who have seen our garden are inquisitive about the techniques. My husband is more excited about compost than gardening, this book showed him how to make a great compost pit.

Even if you don't want to garden year round (if you do this is the only book you need), it's a fascinating and fact-filled read. He tells how to garden more efficiently, how to compost and rejuvenate soil with crop rotation and "green manure" and which direction to plant rows for optimal time in the sun. There are formulas throughout such as how high a retaining wall to build to protect plants from cold (the wall heats up during the day and radiates warmth back during the night), or how many degrees to slant a bed to maximize sun and minimize cold wind damage. He tells how to plan succession planting to have vegetables year round, rather than one humungous crop all at once. His tone is congenial, never talking down or above his target audience. It's fascinating--if you buy you won't be sorry!

This book is loaded with dynamite information. I have enjoyed reading it and will certainly make use of the info therein in the future!

Eliot Coleman has combined how-to text with drawings that inform and inspire. Highly recommended reading!

I am very excited about becoming self-sufficient in feeding my family of six. This book has extremely helpful ideas that are very cost effective. Highly recommend this book.

There is nothing like the satisfaction of talking to another seasoned gardener and having them say "isn't it too early for snap-peas?" and responding "nope, mine are doing great". This book gave me the confidence and knowledge to plant a month and a half earlier than I have ever planted before, without protection for the plants even!

It lays out in simple terms variety selection, location, timing and all the information you need to be harvesting vegetables literally all year round all the way down to zone 3!!

I found this book very useful. It has inspired me to try this in my area and I think the information provided gives me a solid foundation on which to do this. I think this book will retain a permanent place on my bookshelf.

I found this book very useful. It has inspired me to try this in my area and I think the information provided gives me a solid foundation on which to do this. I think this book will retain a permanent place on my bookshelf.

This book was very informative! Great info and ideas. Now for my only complaint....He addresses only zone 5 and so if your in another zone you will need to make adjustments.

A very easy to read gardening book with lots of good info and sound advice. It opened my eyes to what types of fresh food can be harvested during the winter months by creating protected microclimates (such as cold frames, tunnel greenhouses, etc). If Coleman can do this in Maine, think what we can do in NM with our wealth of winter sunshine.

A very easy to read gardening book with lots of good info and sound advice. It opened my eyes to what types of fresh food can be harvested during the winter months by creating protected microclimates (such as cold frames, tunnel greenhouses, etc). If Coleman can do this in Maine, think what we can do in NM with our wealth of winter sunshine.

I've built a few cold frames in north-eastern Massachusetts based on all the latest theories of maximizing and storing solar heat. They didn't work so well. Then I tried Eliott's simple cold-frame design and it was in every way superior! He's not making stuff up to sell a book, this is time-tested and personally tested advice from a master grower. This, and "The New Organic Grower" were my favorite books before I moved South.

This book is filled with useful, easy-to-understand information that you can directly apply to your own garden with basic skills and tools. It's a fun read with lovely illustrations, and has become one of my "top shelf" books.

What I like best about this book is its clear language combined with meaningful visuals and supporting information. This book covers a wealth of topics to help with planning and problem solving, while encouraging gardeners to build around their own love of gardening.

My favorite part of this book is the information provided on working with vegetables through the winter. Based on the descriptions and images included in this book, we were able to build our own cold frames suited to our needs and available materials. This winter our cold frame is housing our very first patch of winter vegetables.

This isn't just a "how-to" book, but rather a collection of experiences, knowledge, and playfulness that help gardeners of all levels improve their annual yields.

I've been working for several years to become more self-sufficient, at least in growing my own food, but I have a very small lot, and growing for long-term subsistence (for canning and freezing) would be difficult on such a small piece of land. Mr. Coleman's book is just what I needed, and the fact that he's also in Maine is definitely a PLUS!

A million thanks to Mr. Coleman for this treasure! I'm sure it will be as "well loved" as my copy of Your Organic Garden.

After joining a farmer's market, this book/author was mentioned several times in conversation with other growers. Since we had recently "retired" to upstate NY, I thought it might be a good thing to see how someone else turned a negative to a positive(such as our frozen north). The result- with the help of my 81 year old friend we are building a hoop house (or 2)instead of the green house I originally desired. Simple and useful-sums the book up best!

Coleman is an experienced organic gardener and has written previous books on organic gardening. Whether you are looking for new organic gardening techniques or ways to improve a self-sustaining lifestyle, Coleman's book will be a valuable resource. He explains how to grow delicious, organically-grown vegetables from your home garden year 'round. Organically-grown vegetables can be harvested throughout the coldest months in all climate zones in the Lower 48 without much extra effort or time. He shows how to design inexpensive, simple cold frames and unheated mobile greenhouses. He explains how to use them along with a root cellar to grow a variety of organic vegetables each suited to their season. Success depends on growing a large variety of vegetables each suited to their season, and in cold frames, mobile greenhouses, and root cellars. Coleman's book will surely guide the grower to extend the growing season!

I love this book! I recently checked this out from the library, to try it out before I buy, and now I know that it's definitely a book to add to my collection. I am going to be starting a garden in the spring, and I was becoming overwhelmed with all of the information out there, but once I started reading Four Season Harvest, I realized that it won't be as complicated as I thought and I was able to relax a little. With all of the thorough and easy to understand information he gives, his system (and his results) sounds like it would be easy to reproduce in anybody's garden. I especially like his mobile greenhouse plans and I am planning on implementing them once I get my garden established. I appreciate the fact that not only does he give recommendations on how to use coldframes and greenhouses, but he also gives suggestions on how to build simple versions, which is great for someone like me who does not already have plans for building those things.

I would also recommend Coleman's book The New Organic Grower. Although it is more geared towards market growers, it has a lot of great information that is also useful for home gardeners.

I'd wanted this book for a year, and it lived up to the anticipation for a number of reasons. First, there is great detail, so much that you gotta fight off being overwhelmed. This will clearly be a great reference book for many years to come. Second, this isn't some new invention in farming... it's something I value even more, the careful collection of old-wisdom and a retraining those of us who have been cut off from the ways of yore. In this case, the author researches growing methods in France and shows us how folk who rely on garden food have long found ways to grow it more effectively.

Cool stuff. Makes me more enthusiastic about winter gardening... and about eating more whole foods.

The author likes to tell stories and reminisce. There is good and helpful information in this book. But I was often frustrated while trying to find it.If this book was half of it's length (cutting out all of the non- technical info)I would find it twice as effective.

It is probably not easy writing a second book on a similar subject.I read and reviewed Eliot Coleman's first book on Organic Gardening.And as you can read in that first review,I just loved that book.The second book,I would have called "Cold Hardy Winter Vegetables",rather than the Four-Season Harvest.
Of course there is a list for growing vegetables all year round.But apart from the list what one can grow during the colder season,it is just pretty much a recapitulation of the first work Coleman put on paper.
So I still give this book 4 Stars.Because if you have not read his first one,then of course it would be a great book.

After seeing the book here on Amazon I thought I wanted it. While looking for another book at the local library I found this book in it's revised and updated edition. I was sadly disappointed. It is more a travellog than a how-to on gardening. I read several other similar books and the best one I found was "Solar Gardening" by Leandre Poisson from Chelsea Green.

This book is really wonderful. I've owned it for several years and have also had reliable winter harvests in Maine (where I used to live). It has also really expanded my awareness of good things to eat fresh from my garden.

Coleman presents his ideas clearly and with plenty of pictures. This is really critical. Using the diagrams in the book, I was easily able to build a cold frame from scrap board. No mean feat, as I am not the most accomplished builder.

The only drawback to the book, which is pretty minor, is the size of the hardiness zone map in the back. I would have much preferred it to be larger and in color.

Eliot Coleman's fine book has given rise to a gentle whisper deep in my thoughts. That whisper says, "Fresh veggies - in the winter! And it's not even difficult..." I find myself daydreaming about winter gardening, planting winter crops in my imagination, planning beds and trellises and cold frames full to bursting with delicious greens. I entertain the radical notion of a four-season independence from boring, tasteless supermarket vegetables for the price of a very small effort.

This wonderful book tells you everything you need to know about four-season harvesting, provides planting dates for a broad variety of garden delicacies, and shares tried and true labor-saving methods. It will inspire you and inform you! An excellent reference, a good choice for a beginnner, and a perfect gift for the avid gardener.

Eliot Coleman's love and deep knowledge of gardening comes through in this easy to read, and easy to use book. I love the idea of a four season harvest, and if he can do it in Maine, then anyone can do it! The book opens the readers mind to the wide spread possibilities that await gardener's with imagination, an open mind, and the willingness to work at it. He offers ideas for cold frames, row covers and tunnels to extend the season. Good explanations as to how they protect crops. The book also gives a great amount of detail for a wide range of vegetables. Charts provide information on when vegetables can be harvested throughout the year, and offers the reader many vegetables to choose from for a three season harvest, and a fair number for the four season harvest. I would recommend this book to anyone, beginner or experienced gardener!

Eat fresh, home-grown vegetables year round? Eliminate canning and freezing? Do this all at low cost? Eliot Coleman does, you can, too, and here is the how. Coleman is a market gardener in Maine who may eat better than Bill Gates. He shows that sunlight and wind protection are more important that temperature--and, by the way, most of the U.S. gets more winter sunlight than Coleman's place. Inexpensive, unheated greenhouses that he calls tall tunnel houses--some say hoop houses--and cold frames protect from wind and keep snow off the veggies. Greenhouse comfort is more to benefit the gardener. The key is what and when to plant. Full info given for planting dates, construction details, sources of seeds, tools, greenhouses. Well illustrated. An essential guide for organic gourmands.

Great advice on extending the harvest season, by using inexpensive, easily constructed cold frames and tunnels. I, for one, am planning on eating vegetables fresh from my zone 5b garden, all winter this year.

Excellent resource for extending your growing seasons