The Compact Garden: A Beginner's Guide to Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces

by Marv Lopez, Char Lopez

Easily grow organic vegetables at home, even with limited space, with this simple gardening guide from Char and Marv of @plantedinthegarden.

You don’t need a lot of land or a lot of time to create a beautiful, bountiful garden. This simple and easy-to-follow guide walks you through each step of planning, planting, and maintaining your own organic vegetable garden, regardless of the space available or your experience level. Char and Marv of @plantedinthegarden will guide you

Small-space gardening: Learn how to set up raised beds, containers, and vertical gardens to maximize growing space.Growing beginner-friendly veggies: Select easy-to-grow, low-maintenance crops including tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces, beans, peas, and more.Growing organic produce at home: Manage pests and fertilize plants without the use of synthetic chemicals.  
With step-by-step instructions, you'll be able to create a functional garden that not only provides you with fresh and healthy produce, but also adds beauty to your surroundings and helps you gain a deeper connection with nature. Get ready to embark on a rewarding journey of growing your own organic vegetables with The Compact Garden.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Plants, Reference

256 pages, Hardcover

Published April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Laura Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The images in this book are visually stunning and the flow is very personable and upbeat. I felt like I was having a conversation with the authors, but that could be partly because I've been following them on YouTube for a few years. The book combines the authors' story of how they got into gardening with practical advise and DIY projects. There is a vast variety of information in the book, but it was a little surface level. The DIY projects were easy to follow with written instructions alongside photos and there were suggestions throughout the book based on more economical or expensive approaches, so any income level can benefit from the advice. I enjoyed the section on the vegetable profiles, especially as it listed recommended amendments, container sizes, and helpful growing information. If I purchased this book to actually study and learn about gardening in depth, I may have been a bit disappointed, but as a beginner's introduction and to support the author's I am happy with it. I would have enjoyed a bit more information about their hydroponics systems and indoor grow tent for indoor growing. I admit to being so jealous of their garden and set ups!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great beginner's book for people who have a black thumb or get overwhelmed by all the info found in other tomes. The information is simplified and presented with a warm tone that made me feel better about all my gardening failures. It helped me see exactly what I was doing wrong so I could fix it. You can see the results in my garden. There is the section I planted before I read the book and the section I planted after I started reading the book, and it looks like it was planted by two different people. If they wrote a guide for the intermediate gardener, I would buy it at once.

[Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The imagery and personality were very nice, and the information is useful! I really liked the information about diseases, pests, hardiness zones, and planting schedules. Im also excited to try some of the building projects. The best part is of course that it focuses on small-spaces/container gardening. I appreciated the guidance on what size containers are needed for which plants, as well as the information about companion planting. ♡

[Cagri Yahya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect beginners guide. Exactly what I needed to help me start. My only qualm is that planting schedules are according to America’s climate. Will need to make sure of the seasons when following advice in Australia

[Mary Ann]

This is a beautiful book. The scope of information is astonishing, whether you want one tomato plant in a container, or a massive home garden with every kind of growing style. It was a a library loan, and I had no hope of finishing it all.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Handy, useful and charming. Everything a gardening companion book should be!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice quick intro to gardening, but not much depth. It tries to double as a reference book and comes up short.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with so much information! I'm curious how much money they spend on gardening supplies, though, and if their harvest helps to recover some of the investment. Excellent photographs, too!

[Christine Barth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical tips