Mittleider Gardening

All about the man

Dr. Jacob R. Mittleider, world-renowned international agricultural consultant, developed this method of gardening while conducting family garden-size agricultural training and program development in 27 different countries. The Mittleider Method is based on 55 years of study and gardening experience.

After 20 years of growing flowers and vegetables commercially, Dr. Mittleider embarked on a program of sharing his expertise with gardeners and would-be gardeners around the world. In 1964 he was asked by Loma Linda University in California to take an extended trip to study the diets of the people in developing countries. He traveled through the Middle East, Africa, India, Australia, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific.

He found that the diseases, insects, and nutritional deficiencies were similar in all countries visited and that the agricultural problems closely resembled those in the United States. He concluded that the solution to their food problems simply required carrying out the recommendations of experts in plant nutrition and following scientific agricultural practices.

Thus he developed the Mittleider Method of gardening-an easy-to-use method that allows gardeners to raise an abundance of vegetables and other crops on almost any soil, in practically any season, in almost any climate, and virtually at any elevation.

About the Mittleider method

Learn about the best gardening method ever developed

The Mittleider Method combines the best features of soil-based gardening and hydroponic gardening, but without hydroponic expense! It's a complete, easy-to-follow plan that eliminates guesswork and ensures success anywhere: an apartment patio, a city yard, a country lot, or a farm.

The method is based on maximum utilization of space, time, and resources. Crops are large because plants are close together, nourished by supplemental feedings of natural mineral nutrients (as in hydroponics), but with no special equipment.

Also, unlike hydroponics, the Mittleider Method gives plants access to the natural soil for nutrients as yet unknown or that, while not essential to plant growth, are useful in human nutrition. You can use the Mittleider Method by raising crops in either soil-beds or grow-boxes.

Why the Mittleider method of gardening is for you

Here are a few reasons you should use the Mittleider method

Ask yourself the following questions to decide if the Mittleider Method is for you.

Do I want to:

* produce a large quantity of food in a small area of land?

* minimize gardening time and effort?

* garden with only simple gardening tools (so I won't need to invest in expensive equipment)?

* conserve water?

* achieve uniform plant growth and raise healthy, attractive plants?

* minimize weeding time?

* make sure my plants are getting the nutrients they need for optimum growth (no matter what my soil is like)?

* harvest two or three crops each year?

* grow any vegetable, in any climate, with minimal water and effort per unit of produce?

If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, the Mittleider Method is for you.

Use the lessons provided in this site to learn how to create your own garden using the Mittleider Method.