Homegrown Pantry: A Gardener's Guide to Selecting the Best Varieties & Planting the Perfect Amounts for What You Want to Eat Year-Round

by Barbara Pleasant

Now that you ve mastered gardening basics, you want to enjoy your bounty year-round, right? "Homegrown Pantry" picks up where beginning gardening books leave off, with in-depth profiles of the 55 most popular crops including beans, beets, squash, tomatoes, and much more to keep your pantry stocked throughout the year. In-depth profiles highlight how many plants to grow of each crop for a year s worth of eating, and which storage methods work best for specific varieties. Author Barbara Pleasant culls tips from decades of her own gardening experience and from growers across North America to offer planting, care, and harvesting refreshers for every region and each vegetable."

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Agriculture, Reference

329 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 2, 2017

Reviews

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley, Storey Publishing and Barbara Pleasant for allowing me an ARC of this book for an unbiased review.

This is a georgeous book, the photos and articles within it are laid out superbly. It is simple to follow and not over cluttered or complicated. Each section is concise and to the point, with loads of tips and advice. It is a must have for any gardener, either those with previous knowledge or a beginner there will be things in this book that you will learn. The recipes sound divine and i cannot wait to try them.
I have quite a few gardening, preserving books, turns out i really didn't need that many. I just needed this one. Barbara Pleasant has not missed a thing with this book. It has everything you need and then some things you didn't realise you needed. It has topics that cover growing, pests and diseases, storing, recipes for a whole range of preservation methods. It covers vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Jams, chutneys, dried foods, and if that wasn't enough a whole section on teas as well. This is something i have never come across in any of my gardening/ preserving books. It is an inspiration to read. I understand that it is aimed at US readers, but it works well for a UK gardener as well. If i ever come across it for sale over here i will definitley be buying it.

[Amary Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource book.
This book is chock full of information on planting, protecting, using and preserving the produce from your garden. There was information new to me, even though I've had a garden for over 30 years.
Written clear and concise with solutions to many garden pests and problems.
Beautiful pictures and tasty recipes fill the pages.
I am adding this to my list of appropriate gifts for various occasions. I am sure the receivers will be thrilled with it.
I requested and received an ARC

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book filled with helpful information to help home gardeners choose which fruits and vegetables to plant, when, how many, and how to best preserve them for use all year. The author clearly has a lifetime of experience with the subject. There are full color photos throughout, information on pests and organic treatment options and more. I appreciate that it covers how many of each plant to plant per family member for having enough for all year. It also covers canning, drying, freezing and fermenting options. I got this from the library and am considering buying a home copy. It's like a textbook for home gardening and preserving, one that I would likely refer to again and again. The price is also very reasonable for a book of this size and depth. Highly recommended.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! I'd only gotten to "beets" (vegetables in alpha-order in this book) before I exclaimed that aloud. I'm so glad someone has written this book which answers a lot of questions I have had as a burgeoning gardener and food preserver who would like to preserve more of the food I grow (as opposed to stocking up in the bounty of late summer when local farmers are ready to offer good deals). Super good resource, would consider buying for my bookshelf, but for now it's good to know it's at my local library when I start doing my garden planning for next year!

[Jacqueline M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the copy I read from the library and as it merits 5 stars, I've since ordered my own copy for reference. This is a great resource for beginners and advanced gardeners alike. I LOVED the "how much to grow per person" for each entry. The photos are helpful and high quality. The text in any "tutorial" sections is clear and easy to follow. Explanations of WHY each preservation method is or is not ideal for a particular crop are also very helpful.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple book of things to grow in your garden for consumption. A good overview of many items to grow.

[Emma Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never been sadder to give a book back to the library

[Cindy Dyson Eitelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a single book to tell you how to select, grow, prepare and preserve vegetables and fruits, this could be it. The selection parts were mostly useless to me--they didn't reflect the tremendous variation in climate and growing space of different parts of the country. Saying that "sweet banana," "lipstick," and "early jalapeno" are good varieties of pepper is pretty much useless to me--I couldn't find peppers under those names and even if I did, are they good for the Pacific Northwest or for South-Central Texas?

She did much better when she steered away from specific varieties to general characteristics, such as her descriptions of the varieties of carrots or kale. Very helpful to know that Tuscan kales grow slowly, curly kales perform much better in the fall, and flat-leafed Russian kales are fast growing and very cold-hardy.

The growing hints were better, but nothing much I didn't already know. But on preservation and storage, she knows her stuff! I never thought of drying potatoes--the idea sounded too much like those boxes of flakes that make totally textureless mashed potatoes" Tasteless, too. To a Tee.

But doing it myself might be a great idea--if I could just find the dehydrator. Flipping back through the book, I see there was a lot of stuff I missed. I'll give it a re-read and just might put it on my "to-own" list.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very well-put together, pretty book. And I'm glad I checked it out from the library. But while I was reading it, I dunno. I felt like if you wanted to lacto-ferment, Fermented Vegetables by Shockey would be a better choice. Or if you're canning, anything by Marissa Meyer, etc. This book gives a broad overview of a lot of things, which means that it's not especially useful if you've been doing this for a while...and if you're new to this, a more in-depth text would provide more details and support for tackling projects.

So. Very pretty. A nice browse. Fewer recipes than I expected. A good "idea" book, but perhaps look elsewhere for details on executing them.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome for the gardener who is thinking...OK I planted, it grew and here we are with a bountiful harvest and no clue what to do with it! It's also wonderful for the gardener with big dreams of being able to put something from your very own garden on the table on a regular basis, hopefully all year long. This book can help you do just that. I love that she doesn't spend a ton of time on the tiny details, she gets right to the important stuff. You want this vegetable? This is how you plant it, this is what you can expect it to produce from this many plants and this is how you can store it so you can eat it later. Also, here is a picture of what it will (hopefully) look like when it's ready to harvest. I read this book and I felt like my Aunt, who owns a ranch and has had a large garden her entire life was telling me her own no nonsense method for planting food crops and how to store them to their best advantage so you can enjoy them all winter. Thank you so much for writing a straight forward, no frills book about how to garden for food and making it so wonderfully user friendly. I expect to refer to it for guidance often in the future.

[Victoria Peipert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great overview of how to grow a garden to serve the needs of a family and any food preservation goals. I like the exploration of a variety of vegetables, fruits, and herbs and realize this is a very broad subject to cover and I think the author did a good job on refining the subject matter to a few key types.

[Joanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads needs a 'skimmed' or 'over my head' option. I picked this book up at the library because I am a sucker for pretty covers. This book, to the gardener, would be a super amazing resource. To me, who has zero green thumb genes, it blurred my eyes with talk of pests, pollination, and other gardeny tech terms that had me close the cover quickly. 😂

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference for the gardener looking to plan carefully and get enough for the household out of each crop (including recommended number of rows per person and preservation methods for each veggie). It makes me realize we don't have nearly enough garden space (does anyone ever?) but I will be turning to this book next winter as a guide to maximize our favorite crops.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. I would even recommend it for someone who has a CSA or shops a lot at the farmers' market. It basically tells you how to save seasonal veg and fruit so you can eat them year round. It offers tips on planting, selecting varieties, dehydrating, freezing, canning, etc. Really great book.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing book! Definitely one to keep on the shelves for easy access for reference. For people just getting started or interested in starting this is a great resource to have for getting an idea of what to plant in a beginner's garden. I can't wait to use the information I learned in my own garden!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great first book (for the reader) for combining how to plan the garden around the pantry. Love that there are varieties suggested! Much easier to approach than some others (although those others may go much farther in depth for a wider range but that is for later, I feel!)

[Rosemary Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing exhaustive information

Balanced pleasant read we will reference often. I am grateful to have this all organized in one book. The voice of experience gives me confidence and makes me wish we were neighbors. Looking forward to reading her other books.

[Kali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well organized and easy to follow, with good ideas and information. You’ll probably want to consult more in depth sources on some topics, especially for canning, but this book is a great place to start.

[Savannah Jenkins Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It was written so well and has everything you need to help prepare your garden for fruits, veggies, and herbs! It even helps guide us regarding what we do after! It’s helped me alot as a new gardener!

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource!

[June Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author does an amazing job of organizing the material in this book! It is a very user-friendly gardening book including recipes, storage ideas, etc. for many favorite fruits and vegetables.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to buy this book

[Kristie Helms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book for getting started

[Janet Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fermenting, drying, cold storage, freezing, canning

[Brianna Sowinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for growing and putting up food.

[Betsy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just delightful!

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really helpful information for the gardener.

[Grenouille78 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bright, pretty pictures; good information on each crop and the best ways to preserve them.

[Terri Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Lots of great wisdom.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well organized, comprehensive, thorough. Copious notes were taken.