13 best gardening books

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Grow more with less work

That’s the promise of gardener Ed Smith’s trusted gardening guide. First published in 2009 and an enduring reference for gardeners of all levels, this handbook offers essential, in-depth information on using wide, deep raised beds and organic methods resulting in bountiful harvests.

Gentle on Plants and the Planet

Smith’s approach to a healthy, high-yield vegetable garden relies on effective natural techniques for everything from creating nutrient-rich soil through composting and cover crops to managing weeds and pests through attracting beneficial insects and companion planting.

From Artichokes to Watermelons

A-Z vegetable profiles reveals the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of varieties of crops, and outlines where, when, and how to sow and plant each one. Advice on harvesting and storage give you the information you need to plan your best vegetable garden yet!

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An introduction to gardening

An easy-to-navigate introduction covers everything from constructing a planter box to mixing and maintaining soil.

Easy gardening guidance

Keep your garden happy and healthy with help on essentials like crop rotating, seed starting, and partner planting.

30 Plant profiles

Explore overviews of 30 common vegetables and herbs, including growing and harvesting tips.

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Thyme to start a thriving garden, with crops such as:

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Why Urban Gardening?

I could give a market bag full of grandiose reasons why urban gardening is a wonderful pastime to explore: fresher food, less environmental impact, a more beautiful home. But for me, the real reason is simple . . . it’s fun.

We live in an increasingly digital and disconnected world. Many of us, myself included, are either behind a computer or a steering wheel for much of the day. There’s not much time left to explore Mother Nature.

The solution? Bring Mother Nature into your home and start growing plants. Not only is it a wonderful way to reconnect with the natural world, but urban gardening (or suburban, exurban, or any other kind of gardening for that matter) can also fundamentally change your life.

About This Book

The goal of this book is simple: to help demystify the secrets of the “green thumb” and show you how to get started in urban gardening, no matter what type of living situation you’re in.

Green Thumb Basics

There’s an unlimited amount of information about how to grow specific fruits and veggies. What I’ve done throughout is try to reduce that information into essential knowledge you need to grow a beautiful, productive urban garden.

Getting Started

I know you’re tempted to dive right into the garden plans. And if you’re an experienced gardener, be my guest. But for new gardeners, or anyone in need of a brush up, check out this chapter, in which you’ll learn:

• How to audit your living space and select the right methods for you
• How plants use light, water, air, and nutrients
• Epic DIY soil mixes to fit any budget
• Whether you should start seeds or buy transplants

Understanding these foundational principles will help you be a better gardener from the very beginning. So let’s get started.

Container Gardening

The simplest way to dip your toe into urban gardening is a bit of soil, a pot, and a seedling. My gardening journey began back in 2010 when I grew massive basil plants with my brother. We didn’t have much space at the time but were still able to grow enough basil to have pesto for an entire summer... and then some.

The world of container gardening can be confusing, though. First of all, what type of container is best? Plastic planters, terra-cotta pots, glass? Each type of container has its own benefits, but the best containers have the right blend of these three qualities:

• Volume—They’re the right size for the plants you’re growing.
• Material—They’re made out of the right material for your individual needs.
• Drainage—They let water drain out, reducing the risk of root rot.

Raised Bed Gardening

Raised beds are one of the most popular urban gardening methods, understandably so. There are a million and one good reasons to grow in raised beds as opposed to in-ground, especially in urban environments. Plus, they look beautiful, no matter what style of raised bed you decide to build.

That said, many gardeners get overwhelmed when thinking about starting their own raised beds with questions such as:

• What materials should I use?
• How do I harvest successive crops, week after week?
• How do I maintain my beds, year after year?

Answers to all of these questions, along with step-by-step plans, await you in this chapter.

Vertical Gardening

For the space-challenged gardener, there’s no better method to learn than vertical gardening. Instead of treating the ground under your feet as the only growing space you have, consider the fact that there’s an entire world above the ground to take advantage of.

Besides the space savings, the advantages of vertical gardening are almost endless, including:

• Less weeding and maintenance
• Fewer diseases and pests due to better air circulation
• Easy access is better for less wear and tear on your body
• Perfect for growing vining-type plants in minimal space

Indoor Edibles

If you think you can’t grow anything because you don’t have any space outdoors, then think again. Indoor edible gardening is not only possible, it’s simple. With a little creativity and an understanding of how to care for plants grown inside your home, you’ll have bountiful harvests even if you live in a tiny apartment.

In this chapter, you’ll learn:

• How to audit your indoor space to maximize production
• Simple ways to grow herbs indoors
• A complete guide to growing nutrient-rich microgreens on autopilot

Balconies and Rooftops

My first gardens ever were in townhouses and apartments, so don’t think you can’t grow simply because of your living situation. Use your balconies, railings, and rooftops creatively, and you’ll be astonished at the amount you can grow in such a small space.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to:

• Make sure your balcony or rooftop is safe to grow on
• Deal with the unique challenges of growing in these spaces
• Lay out your garden to maximize harvests

Hydroponics

Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants using only water, nutrients, and a growing medium. The word “hydroponics” comes from the root words hydro, meaning water, and ponos, meaning labor. To put it bluntly, hydroponics is a method of growing where the water does all of the work.

Sounds high tech and futuristic, right? You might be surprised to learn that the earliest examples of hydroponics date back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Floating Gardens of China. Humans have used these techniques for thousands of years.

Growing Problems

No matter how experienced you are with plants, you’re going to run into some issues throughout your growing journey. Whether it’s a pest infestation, disease, or a simple watering issue, this chapter is designed to cover the most common growing problems and their solutions.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to:

• Organically combat the most common bugs
• Deal with pesky animals munching on your crops
• Prevent and control the six most common plant diseases

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Stephen Orr, editor-in-chief, Better Homes & Gardens

'I’ve been an avid fan of Erin’s beautiful photos of her flower farm on Instagram for years. Now, seeing her work preserved for posterity in a book is pure magic.'

Melissa Ozawa, garden and features editor, Martha Stewart Living

'One of the leading voices in the farmer-florist movement, Erin is a tireless advocate for locally-grown flowers. Here she has put together an indispensable four-season growing guide that will inspire you to sow your own cutting garden—whether you plant one row or hundreds.'

Grace Bonney, founder of DesignSponge* and author of In the Company of Women

'Among a sea of new florists and floral books, Floret Flowers stands out. Erin Benzakein's integrity, openness and passion for flowers is unmistakable. In her debut book she not only introduces us to the basics of growing our own flowers, she shares her deep love and understanding of gardening in a way that will leave even the most doubtful grower feeling inspired to get their hands in the dirt.'

Meet the Author

Erin Benzakein is the founder of Floret Flower Farm and is known for her lush, vibrant, romantic floral designs. She pushes the limits of what can be used in bouquets, which led to her winning the Martha Stewart American Made award for Floral and Event Design. Also a winner of the Better Homes and Gardens blogger award, Erin trials an enormous selection of unique varieties each season on her small-scale, high-intensity farm, and her work has been featured in numerous books, websites, and magazines including Martha Stewart Living, Sunset, Victoria, Country Living, Organic Life and more. She farms, designs, and lives in Mount Vernon, Washington, with her husband and two children.

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The Square Foot Gardening Series

Since Square Foot Gardening was first introduced in 1981, the revolutionary new way to garden developed by Mel Bartholomew has helped millions of home gardeners grow more fresh produce in less space and with less work. Now, based largely on the input and experience of these millions, the system has been even further refined and improved to fully meet today's changing resources, needs, and challenges.

Don't wait another season to try Mel's brilliant approach to gardening! We're sure it will work for you and you won't look back.

Whether you grow in a Square Foot Garden, a straw bale garden, containers, or a traditional garden plot, you can approach harvest time with confidence.

End world hunger.'

That’s the mission of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation, articulated by Mel Bartholomew, the inventor of Square Foot Gardening and founder of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation. It’s a tall order, but one we’re already tackling, one square foot at a time.

As the Foundation enters our third decade in operation, we’re continuing to spread Mel’s original message of growing more food in less space with less waste (of time, materials, and money). Here’s how we’re doing it, at home and abroad, and how you can join us!

HOW TO BUILD A CLASSIC SQUARE FOOT GARDEN TRELLIS

Mel developed the classic trellis for a 4 × 4-foot Square Foot Garden box after years of experimentation, and it remains perhaps the best way for supporting vertical crops—ridiculously simple, easy, and inexpensive. For the vertical supports, ordinary electrical conduit has proven to be an inexpensive and very sturdy material to use. It never rots away, and it is strong enough to bear up under the winds that can buffet a trellis once it is filled with growing vines.

HOW TO BUILD A SIMPLE WIRE COMPOSTER

A compost bin can be an elaborate affair with wooden sides made of high-quality cedar or redwood, but you can create a perfectly serviceable composter from five metal fencing posts, a piece of 4-foot-wide weldedmetal fencing about 8 to 10 feet long, and a dozen or so 1 × 4 pine boards. With this composter, it’s very easy to add materials and turn your compost regularly. This design is from Joel Karsten, author of Straw Bale Gardens Complete.

HOW TO CREATE MEL’S MIX

You’re getting close now. Your Square Foot Garden box is (or boxes are) built. And with all the math out of the way, the fun now starts as you create the actual Mel’s Mix and fill your garden box with the growing medium that will make the most productive garden you’ve ever seen. Before you get started, make sure that you know exactly where you want your Square Foot Garden boxes positioned in your yard, because once you fill them with Mel’s Mix, it will be tricky to move them around.

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Your Hands-On, Step-by-Step Guide to Sustainable Living

Create a more sustainable life for yourself and your family with 40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead! Learn how to make the most out of the space you have and become more self-sufficient, even if your yard is small.

The projects in this book are designed with simplicity in mind—because your time is valuable!

Garden Structures

The heart of any backyard homestead is its garden. Not only will it provide you with a bounty of fresh vegetables, it will also save you money!

In this book, you'll find projects that fit your space, whether large or small, country or urban. Learn how to build an inclined planter, make a bottom-watered container garden, make soil blocks, and much more!

Fences and Pens

Your backyard homestead will surely benefit from a good fence and sturdy pens—especially if you intend to keep animals!

Learn how to install a picket fence or solar-powered electric fence, add a gate, make a PVC hen pen, and more. Your neighbors and livestock will thank you for your efforts!

Plumbing and Wiring

As your backyard homestead grows, you're going to want to upgrade your outdoor plumbing and electricity. Learn the essentials for getting water and power where you want it!

You'll find safe, permanent projects like installing an anti-freeze spigot or a GFCI receptacle, running outdoor conduit and cable, and adding supplemental light for your chickens.

Step-by-Step Directions

Inside this book, you'll find every project broken down into step-by-step directions with sequenced photographs for easy reference. Each project has a handy list of tools and materials at the beginning, as well as an overview of the design you're about to build.

Get the confidence you need to tackle your sustainable living dream!

Diagrams, Illustrations, & Exploded Views

The projects inside this book feature handy diagrams, illustrations, and exploded views that provide easy reference to specific measurements and the anatomy of structures and devices.

You'll find a goat shed plan, perspective views, hen pen measurements, and everything else you need to ensure your project comes out right!

Building Sheds and Beehives

All animals need shelter from the wind and rain to keep them safe, warm, and happy.

Whether you need to build a goat shed, chicken run, or a beehive (Langstroth, Warre, or Top-Bar), you'll find the right project for you and your livestock's needs inside this book.

Solar Power, Wind Power, Aquaponics, and Hydroponics

When you're ready to take your backyard homestead further, you'll learn how to produce green energy by installing a pump or aeration windmill and solar power.

Introduction chapters to aquaponics and hydroponics will help you get acquainted with each method to determine if one might be right for your needs.

Projects for Your Innovative, Functional Homestead

40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead was written with simplicity of design in mind. Each makes the most out of basic materials to respect your budget. Attention is also paid to the human factor—that is, making each finished project convenient and simple to use on a day-to-day basis.

Your time is valuable, and this book does not expect you to be a master builder. Inside, you'll find all the projects you need to make the most of your homestead, along with concise step-by-step details that will give you the confidence to build them.

Get started on your road to sustainable living with 40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead!

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What’s a Kitchen Garden and Why It’s Time for a Revival

“So, what exactly is a kitchen garden? Is it a garden inside the kitchen?” (I get this question a lot).

Called kailyards in Scotland and known as potagers in France (sounds fancy, right?), a kitchen garden is a place closely connected with your kitchen and everyday life. It’s a distinct area of your home and landscape where vegetables, fruits, and herbs are grown for culinary use.

A kitchen garden can be as small as a collection of garden boxes on the patio or deck or it can be as large as a formal stone garden that covers hundreds of square feet. No matter the size, the purpose is the same: a garden that’s tended regularly and used frequently in everyday meals.

It’s not a vegetable patch or homestead. It’s much smaller and doesn’t require nearly the amount of work those do. Unlike a farm, which is cleared all at once, planted all at once, and harvested (you guessed it) all at once, a kitchen garden is tended regularly.

Why a Kitchen Garden revival?

Kitchen gardens, though we may have forgotten the term, aren’t a new concept. They’ve been a thing for thousands of years. But somewhere along our way of progress, we lost the kitchen garden. With the input of technology and industry, our food systems have changed dramatically over the last century. And while not all the change has been bad, the kitchen garden is something that should’ve stayed.

To create whole and happy lives, for the beauty in our homes, for the benefit of our community and for the good of the world, it’s time for a kitchen garden revival. A revival is a magical thing. Perhaps this book will be that seed. (Fingers crossed!) But I’ll need you to bring the rain and the sunshine.

HOW TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN REVIVAL

If you’ve never grown a thing before, don’t forget the Gardenary (gardenary.com) step-by step plan.

There are loads of resources in addition to the journal to help you start growing herbs or salad greens right away. Grab yours at gardenary.com/book

Once you’ve begun to enjoy herbs and greens from containers or small planters, you’ll feel the nudge to go bigger. It’s time to install a full kitchen garden (even if it’s just one raised bed), add trellises or supports, and start growing roots and fruits.

Already growing or can’t stop talking about your garden experiences? We’d love to have you on the Gardenary platform as a Kitchen Garden Business or a Gardenary coach. Don’t forget: My mission isn’t just to bring back the kitchen garden but also to make gardening a viable profession.

So, if you’ve fallen in love with gardening and want to share that passion by coaching and helping others, Gardenary is the place for you. And bonus—you’ve already completed step one in the application process by reading this book!

As always, share your kitchen garden moments—the wins and the struggles—using #mykitchengardenrevival anywhere you post on the web. I’ll be looking for you!

Woody Herbs (Lamiaceae Family)

• Begin with locally grown plants
• Harvest outside and lower leaves regularly within 2 weeks of planting
• Water conservatively

Lettuce & Greens (Asteraceae Family)

• Begin with seeds
• Thin if necessary
• Water consistently
• Harvest outside and lower leaves frequently within 4 weeks of planting

Root Crops (Umbellifer, Brassica, and Amaranth Families)

• Begin with seeds
• Thin if necessary
• Water consistently
• Moderate fertilizer
• Harvest a few at a time within 45 to 90 days after planting

Fruit Crops (Solanaceae and Cucurbit Families)

• Begin with seeds or locally grown plants
• Water deeply
• Fertilize weekly or bi-weekly
• Prune regularly
• Protect, if necessary
• Harvest 60 to 100 days after planting

Add water to the potting soil mix and mix in thoroughly.

Fill the cells to the top with moistened soil mix.

Using a dibber, make the planting hole to the proper depth.

Place the seeds at the proper depth in each hole.