Four Must-Have Beginner Gardening Books
It’s never too early to start planning your garden. Try these beginner gardening books to avoid my mistakes.
I grew up on a 150-acre sheep farm in rural Virginia. We had a fabulous garden right out our back door. We ate from it all season long and well into the winter. Our pantry and freezer chest were chock-full of homegrown food. I still have vivid memories of picking fruit and vegetables throughout the summer, sweet corn, green beans, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, snap peas (my personal favorite as a child), potatoes, lettuce, squash (not my favorite as a child), pumpkins, strawberries, and even blueberries from the bushes my grandfather planted along the garden’s edge.
I don’t know about you, but when we went into COVID-19 lockdown I decided to start a backyard garden with my kiddos. I suppose it was partly nostalgia and the desire to keep my children outside busy and learning—and partly the new reality of limited trips to the bare-shelved grocery store that provided the motivation I needed to give backyard gardening a try.
Having grown up on a farm, I figured how hard could it be? I donned my mask and gloves, armed myself with a bottle of hand sanitizer, and made a trip to our local garden center for seeds and soil. Feeling optimistic, we started all kinds of seeds.
In the end, we managed to keep a small patch of snap peas alive long enough to harvest and learned a ton along the way, including what “leggy” beans are, that plants have to be hardened in New England (who knew?), that squirrels are out to get you (they love strawberries!), and that your garden zone really does matter.
Which got me to thinking, if only I had spent a few hours flipping through beginner gardening books, perhaps more of our plants would have seen the light of day. So, without further ado, here’s a short must-have list of beginner gardening books to get your garden growing.
From exactly what plants (and how many) to buy, where and when to plant them, and how to care for each vegetable throughout the season, Pleasant encourages readers to start small, grow the food they love, and expand their plant selection as their skills develop. Specially tailored plans offer choices to fit a wide range of sites and food preferences, from the Front-Yard Food Supply to the Marinara Medley, Sweet Corn & Company, and High-Value Verticals.There's a plan and plant selection to fit every gardener's passion. Detailed plot plans show progressive stages for how each garden can be expanded gradually over the course of three years, ensuring that beginning gardeners will experience success and satisfaction without being overwhelmed by an over-ambitious plan at the start.
Whether you’re a seasoned gardener determined to increase crop yields or starting your very first vegetable garden, the Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook will help you manage your schedule and prioritize what’s important. Detailed weekly to-do lists break gardening down into simple and manageable tasks so that you always know what needs to be done and when to do it, from starting seeds and planting strawberries to checking for tomato hornworms and harvesting carrots. Enjoy a bountiful harvest with this organized and stress-free approach to gardening.
Food definitely tastes better when you grow it yourself. Would these faces lie? We’d love to see your garden grow. Share your photos with us online @storeypub.
Oh, and if you are curious, my parents sold our farm after my little brother, older sister, and I left to start our own families. A lovely couple purchased it, and they carry on our family farm tradition (and then some!).
Related Books
Featured Titles
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The Vegetable Garden Planner
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The Creative Vegetable Gardener
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Plant Partners
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Epic Tomatoes
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Growing Under Cover
